Published Oct. 14, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report analyzed the timeliness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) response to product safety risks.
“Consumer Product Safety Commission: Challenges and Options for Responding to New and Emerging Risks” is a 30-page report from the GAO indicates that the CPSC runs into challenges protecting consumers from new and emerging risks because “the CPSC was established to respond to risks after products have been introduced into the market,” according to The National Law Review. The agency’s timeliness is affected by:
- Compliance actions that can involve litigation
- Reliance on voluntary standards
- Rule-making procedures
- Restrictions on sharing information with the public and international agencies
- Limited agency resources
While the GAO makes no recommendations, the report lists options that have been suggested previously to improve the agency’s response capabilities:
- Preventative regulatory approaches
- Expedited rule-making authority
- Enhancing CPSC’s authorities to address unsafe imports
- Enhanced data analysis capabilities
To read the entire report, visit www.gao.gov.
