The Cost of Compliance - Volume 3 - Sending your items for XRF testing

Special Edition! Two posts in one day...OY! I just couldn't wait the whole weekend to post. Ok, I’ve been sitting on this information for a week, dying to share it with everyone. But whenever I endorse a company, I want to be sure that my endorsement is well deserved. So I waited to get my results back from my tests to ensure that I could really recommend this company. And I can recommend this company with no reservation.

The Breaking News! I have found an affordable place to get your items XRF tested. I sent them an email and heard back early the following morning from Seth Goldberg, President of the company. A few minutes later, I had him on the phone and we talked for nearly an hour. Since then, we’ve talked several more times at length. Essco Safety Check is a small business just like mine. As a result, Seth understands the implications of CPSIA on my business and he wants to help people like me. His service and accessibility have been beyond reproach. And to me, that type of personal service is really valuable. Not to mention he’s an expert in the field.

Essco Safety Check charges by the hour and they can do ~50 tests per hour. I sent in 200+ components for my items and will be charged only $500 for their services. While they charge by the hour, break that down and it was about $2.25 per item. Based on all the other quotes I’ve seen from various companies as well as renting my own XRF gun, this was definitely the most cost effective. And here’s what I got for my money:

1) ~225 items XRF tested
2) All the data from each test in excel format
3) A certificate for each test detailing a picture of the item, a graph of the contents, and a pass/fail reading (some other things are on there but these things were most relevant to me)
4) A CD with this company’s software detailing all the information needed for me to make my GCC (coming to me when he returns my items via snail mail)
5) Also, this company is working on a way to make data available in HTML so you can make it accessible on your website or potentially have your data hosted on theirs.
6) He will re-run the data based on the changing lead levels over time. In my case, 99% of my items tested 0 and the other 1% were less than 27ppm, so there would be no need to re-run as that is well below the eventual 90ppm limit that will be imposed. But that kind of follow up service may be very important to some people!

Essco Safety Check
2018 156th Ave NE
Suite 100, Building F
Bellevue, WA 98007
P: 425-749-4136
http://www.essco-safetycheck.com/
Seth Goldberg, President: seth@essco-safetycheck.com

How long did it take? I mailed my package to them on Tuesday. They received it Thursday (2 days from PA to WA using USPS...WOW!), and I had my results early evening on Friday. I’m not really sure you can get much better than that. And if you’re local and don’t want to send your stuff to him, Seth will come to you. After reading this, if you decide to contact Seth at Essco Safety Check, please tell him that Jessica from BuggaLove recommended him to you. It’s one way I have to show him how much I appreciated his service.

The Cost of Compliance with CPSIA

I’ve been researching XRF testing for about 2 weeks. As many people are finding it to be the way they want to go to test items (at least until August). I looked into the DIY version. Of course, I DIY everything else! Why not this?? So here are some company names and rental rates.

Renting your XRF gun:
Here are 3 companies that will rent an XRF gun to you. All of these companies say that they’re easy, user-friendly machines. They’ll download your data into an excel document for you. Honestly, at first I thought this would definitely be the way to go. Until I saw how much it would cost me.

Innov-X Systems
100 Sylvan Rd., Suite 500
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: (781) 938-5005 Ext. 309

My contact was Kyle and he sent me a document detailing the following rental costs:
Monthly Rental - $4,900.00
Weekly Rental - $1,900.00
Daily Rental Daily (2-day minimum) - $575.00

I never got the information about training from Kyle. Though it seemed as though there was some type of training involved.

Atlas Inspection Technologies
500 Elliot Ave W
Suite A
Seattle WA 98119
Office 800-281-0650 ext. 2424

My contact was Tyler. In his email to me, he stated, “As far as training goes, if you are in the US no training is necessary. We send the gun along with a good set of instructions and it is very easy to use.”
Daily Rental - $500/day
Weekly Rental - $2000/week.

Ajax Environmental and Safety Supply
2537 S. Gessner, Suite 238
Houston, TX 77063
Ph (713) 789-4149

My contact was Judd. I spoke with him on the phone and he emailed me the following rates:
$400 - day
$1,400 - week
$4,000 - month

Estimated shipping $235 (EACH WAY).

After contacting these 3 companies I determined that there was no way I could do this myself. It was simply financially prohibitive. If a company were to provide me training, I might be more inclined. But again for those enormous daily rates PLUS shipping costs for overnight shipping each way (it costs a lot of money to ship an item that costs $40K to replace!), I determined this was not a cost effective method of testing for me.

My next step was to a local company who tests for lead in the home. They had never heard of CPSIA. They said while they use an XRF gun it’s not the same type of gun I needed and therefore were really unable to give me a definitive test. They’d charge me $125 just to come visit my house and then up to $500 for half a day of testing. But since they didn’t have the proper equipment to give me a pass/fail based on the lead levels required by the CPSIA, I decided this was not the best way to spend my money. However, I’m sure there are local companies out there who are equipped to handle these types of requests. So it is definitely worth exploring in your area. One place you might call to find one is your pediatrician's office. Since they often deal with testing children for lead, they may have a suggestion for a company that typically tests your home.

At this point I determined that neither of these options, renting a gun or finding a local company was the right one for me. I was starting to lose hope that there was a viable, affordable XRF option. I also considered trying to arrange for a co-op of folks to rent a gun with and split the cost, but I was having some trouble getting traction in that arena as well. So I decided to explore my options in terms of where I could send my items to be tested.

Stay Tuned for XRF Testing – Volume 2 Sending your Items for Testing

My meeting with Congressman Dent

This past Friday I had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Dent. I found him to be very receptive to my concerns as a small business owner and truly interested in finding a reasonable solution to the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. And I believe after speaking with him that the affects we’re feeling truly were an unintended side effect. Earlier in the week he drafted a letter to the Energy and Commerce committee leaders. He recruited 5 other Pennsylvania Congressman to sign that letter. So even before meeting with him, I knew that he had been working toward learning more about CPSIA and the impact it was having on his constituents.

So, what did we talk about?
Truth be told, I did most of the talking. He was very interested in the fact that all of my supplies were purchased in the US. I mentioned that of the suppliers (most of them at this point) I’ve contacted, none of the supplies I use contain lead. I showed him a sampling of my products and detailed how each component was lead free.

We talked about the testing requirements, how it is physically impossible for me to comply and financially burdensome/impossible to comply with third party testing requirements. I talked about the end unit testing requirement vs. component testing and the effect of that on my made-to-order items. I mentioned XRF testing as a reasonable testing program instead and I gave him a contact who is an expert in XRF testing in case he had additional questions about it. I mentioned the labeling issue as well that will arise for me in August.

I discussed how the paint I use is acrylic, non-toxic, water based paint, made in the USA and is lead free. I let him know that as much as I want to comply with the law, I am unable to and this will result in my business closing down as of August. I mentioned I’d be using XRF technology to screen my products for lead at this point, and while I was making this good faith effort, even that wasn’t approved to keep me compliant in terms of my painted products the way the law is currently written. I left him with some notes on our meeting (Who I am, What I do, What my Concerns are, etc.).

It sounded like he felt it might be prudent to slow the deadlines down, that there were too many issues to address in such a short a period of time. It sounded like he was interested in helping to get amendments made to this law so that I, and those like me, will be able to continue business as usual. It also sounds like the Energy and Commerce Commission has most of the power in this situation to make changes since the law has already been passed.

Overall, I feel the meeting was productive and I feel as though he listened and heard me. He assured me his office would maintain contact with me about the issue. One of my concerns was that now that I’d met with him, my issue would just fade away. He assured me that would not be the case. For my part, I don’t think there’s any more action that I can take that will be any more effective than what I’ve already done.

What should you do?
1) Write or call the leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee. They need to continue hearing from us.
2) Call your Congressman and ask for a meeting to discuss CPSIA (no more emails or letters, it’s time to meet). Emails are ineffective for making real contact, Congressmen get too many of them.
3) Continue blogging, contacting news media, and spreading the word about CPSIA. Don’t stop the noise.

Late Friday there was some GOOD news, about the issue. The Energy and Commerce committee had a committee meeting Friday afternoon. From that came the following letter:http://energycommerce.house.gov/images/stories/Documents/PDF/Newsroom/nord%20moore%202009%201%2016.pdf

This is very important! It shows that we are being heard, most of the main issues we need addressed are included in that letter. Things are happening. We can only hope the CPSC will respond quickly with some answers that will be clear and address our concerns.

At this point, with so little time before the February 10th deadline, I have to make business decisions that represent due diligence on my part even though there the limitations within the law for made-to-order, one-of-a-kind and painted items. Should changes not be made, I will be closing my “doors” come August. In the meantime, I have come up with a plan. A lot of people have been contacting me and asking me what I plan to do. While I cannot endorse that this will be a good plan for everyone, it is what I am going to be doing.

I believe based on my research regarding XRF testing that it is a good screening tool for lead for all of my products. Additionally component testing is the only reasonable way for me to test, because my products are made-to-order (MTO) and/or one-of-a-kind (OOAK). So digestive testing is not physically possible, in addition to being prohibitive financially. So, I am going to move forward with my “reasonable testing program”. I am going to stay in business until August and hope in the next seven months there will be change enough to allow me to continue BuggaLove.

My reasonable testing program:
1 – Contacting the manufacturers of my items to determine whether the possibility that there is lead in them exists.
2- Component testing (regardless of the manufacturer’s assurance of a product being lead free) using XRF technology.

I am mailing my components out tomorrow for XRF testing. When I receive the results, I will be blogging about my experience with the company I chose to use as well as providing a variety of quotes for rental of an XRF gun. For those considering this method of testing, the following is an important note to make. I sat in on a conference call on the afternoon of Thursday, January 15th. Among the panelists was Jennifer, aka The Smart Mama. Jennifer talked a little bit about XRF testing to keep items in compliance until August. There are some items that can be XRF tested in order to remain compliant with CPSIA until the mandated third party testing requirement goes into effect in August. My creepers, for example, can be XRF tested in order to remain compliant. However, the way I understood it, items that are painted require the third party digestive lead testing now and XRF is not acceptable. XRF is acceptable for determining total lead content which is seen differently within CPSIA than the lead paint requirement.

Take that information and apply it as you see fit to your own solution for remaining compliant. I have determined that between my contact with the manufacturers and the XRF testing, I will have the highest level of confidence that my items are within the lead limits set forth by the CPSC and that is the spirit and intent of the law, even if I cannot follow the exact subscribed testing method that is mandated.

CPSIA - What is a General Conformity Certificate (GCC)?

I'm struggling very much with the interpretation of the CPSIA as it is intended for micro-manufacturers of handmade goods like me. I have been reading and turning it over in my mind. My goal is to stay in business while Congress and the CPSC figure out the law and what amendments should be made to it.

While it is very clear that in August 2009 the new regulations require third-party testing. The February 10, 2009 deadline allows for XRF testing and/or another "reasonable testing program".

So, based on that, until August I can come up with a reasonable testing program and produce a general conformity certificate regarding this program. So what is a general conformity certificate. Well, it just so happens that the CPSC has some guidelines on what that means.

Here's what I've learned:

• Certification means vouching that a product complies with the standard set by the CPSC, In this case lead limits (and phthalate limits if those apply to you)
• Certification may or may not include any laboratory testing
• Certification may or may not include a label or mark on the product
• If the product has a private label (like my BuggApparel does), the private labeler must also issue a certificate

What needs a certificate:

• Certification must be based on a test of each product OR a reasonable testing program.
• All products intended for children under 12 must be tested.

Where do you get a certificate?

• You make it yourself based on the information and data you get from your "reasonable testing program"

What goes on the certificate?

• Certificate must be in English
• It must identify the manufacturer AND private labeler of the certificate issuer
• It must identify the party doing the testing by listing name, address, and phone number
• Date and place the product was manufactured
• Date and place the product was tested
• Contact information of the person maintaining the test records
• Each applicable standard (or ban)

What do you do with the certificate?

• If you are the retailer of your own products: File it away, if someone asks for it, you must be able to produce it.
• If you do wholesale or consignment of your products: Send it with any wholesale order you receive or with any products you intend to consign as the retailer must be able to produce it if asked.

General disclaimer: This is only MY interpretation of my source about GCCs. I am NOT a lawyer. Here is my source: http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/conformity.pdf

Here is a template for your GCC: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/elecertfaq.pdf

In the upcoming days I'll be talking about XRF testing. I'm currently researching costs and gathering information. Stay Tuned!