Stuff

[eee1313]

Thanks to nmissi, I've been made aware of the craziness that's been going on due to CIPSA. CIPSA is the law that was passed a little while ago, stating that lead paint is bad for kids and all products with lead paint are EVOL. Which, true. To an extent. Want to know what falls under this category of EVOLNESS? Books. Basically, any books made before the mid-1980s are full of lead which will kill your children on contact. So all of the books we loved as children are now essentially illegal. Sure, we can keep them in our own homes. But if we want a copy of a book we loved as a child, and it hasn't been reprinted? We can't buy them from a used book store, a thrift store, or a book collector because these merchants could be faced with civil/criminal penalties if they're caught. (According to the law, resellers don't have to test the lead in their used merchandise, but they can't sell stuff that they think may have it, unless they have the capability to test for lead in their used merchandise. Catch 22, anyone?) But hey, what all does this really matter when children's books are only good for 20 years, anyway? At least the ALA is fighting to make books exempt from this law.

Now there's a new thing going on called the Food Safety Modernization Act, which looks good on paper. Anyone who sells food needs to be regulated to show that their goods are safe and whatnot. But, like CIPSA, this has the potential to spiral out of control. Check out this post for info. Sure, the post is a hotheaded, but it has a point. Under the vague guidelines of the FSMA, anything from bake sales to farmers' markets will be risking illegality by operating. Old books are EVOL now, folks, those tomatoes and homemade breads may be next. I'm just getting the word out.

In much happier news, my friend (and my sister's BFF) jennlavigne is once again participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. She and her team are currently accepting donations to walk for 15 hours around a high school track to raise money for the ACS. Jenn and her team write the names of friends and family who both died from and survived cancer. Should you donate to her relay team, she'll add any name you request as well. Jenn's team can be found here. It's Jenn's fifth year doing the Relay for Life, so if you can help her out I'm sure she (and the ACS) would appreciate it).

Comments

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

Re: CPSIA. It's worse than you think. It's not just illegal to sell books, but to "distribute" them in any way. Those book shops and libraries can't even give you the books, even if you're an adult, because they're "intended for use by children" and they could be liable. Theoretically- if Tim loans the boy across the street a book that was printed before 1985, I could owe 250,000.00 in fines just because the book was not tested. I could go to prison, should my neighbor have a mind to put me there over such.

Yes, it is that bad.

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

Oh. And even if the ALA gets libraries exempted, even if they get books in general exempted- it's still bad law. Because the book situation I outlined above? Applies equally to the handmedown school uniforms I give to Josh's mama every summer. It applies to the big box of wrestler toys I sent across the street last week. None of this stuff's been tested, and I'm liable for it under the CPSIA.

[spasticat.livejournal.com]

Now bakesales are victim to ultra restrictive laws? The toy industry, no matter how big or small, has to follow strict testing regulations. Fine for the big guys. Not so good for etsy sellers and craft fair vendors. Big companies can afford the high testing fees. Little companies that produce handmade toys (http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/), even those made entirely of safe and splinter-free wood with no paint, cannot afford those fees.

[spasticat.livejournal.com]

ps...I can't believe that books, items pulled out from the shelves on an infrequent basis, are now subject to such strict rules.

I still have my most favorite children's books. About ten or so books that I look at now and then. If I ever have children the intention was to hand them down to them. Does this mean I could potentially be a bad mom? Egads!