Testing Children's Apparel with XRF
With raised public awareness and concerns over the possibility of hazardous levels of lead in children's apparel and other child-accessible products such as toys, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), also known as H.R. 4040, was signed into law. What are the highlights of this law and what do they mean to you, the manufacturers, importers, and retailers of children's apparel?
Watch CPSC video
- Decreased permissible levels of lead in paint
- Regulated levels of lead in all other materials such as plastics, metals, ceramics, and wood
- Increased civil penalties
- Critical deadlines for lower lead content first on February 10, 2009, and again, most recently, on August 14, 2009
Portable XRF Handles the Details
According to the new law, the test for lead in children's clothing applies to:
- Fabric
- Appliques
- Buttons
- Zippers
- Footwear
So, what's the most efficient and cost-effective way for you to handle the clothing test for lead and other toxins? Thermo Scientific Niton x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, now available with GOLDD™ technology. Using these breakthrough instruments, you can confidently screen children's apparel for lead as well as testing accessories for lead and toxins. Quickly. Accurately. Precisely.
An effective program to test children's clothing for lead using handheld or field-mobileXRF analysis greatly reduces the chances that non-compliant clothing materials will enter the manufacturing process, or accidentally end up on store shelves. This starts with a process that includes rapid screening of metals, plastic, wood, fabrics, and inks & paints:
- At the receiving dock
- In the warehouse
- During product assembly
- Even at vendor sites, including testing through packaging to save time
You, and all stakeholders, can implement a standardized inspection protocol for incoming shipments to verify compliance, while simultaneously requiring supply chain documentation based on empirical testing. The further back in the supply chain that the test for lead in children's clothing takes place, the easier it is to prevent a non-compliant garment from finding its way to a child.
Thermo Scientific Niton XRF Analyzers – The Ideal Fit
Thermo Scientific Niton XRF analyzers, from the handheld Niton® XL2 Series to the handheld Niton XL3t Series to our Niton FXL Series field x-ray lab, are the ideal tools to screen children's apparel for lead, as well as the seven other regulated elements in products designed for children under the age of 12 (lead, barium, antimony, selenium, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, hexavalent chromium).
What's more, they are the only XRF analyzers that are capable of differentiating between lead on the surface of an object such as clothing and lead that exists in all other substrates. You benefit in a variety of ways from these remarkable tools:
- Fast – Screening apparel takes seconds to minutes, not days. Decision to ship product can happen
immediately
- Flexible – Screen children's apparel and other child-accessible products for compliance with CPSIA, EN-71 and California's Proposition 65
- Easy to use – TestAll™ Technology automatically selects the correct analytical mode for non-technical users
- Powerful – Integrated CCD camera and spot size as small as 1 mm help you accurately isolate small samples and visually document your measurements
- Non-destructive – The analyzed clothing is not defaced or affected in any way
- Portable – You can test for lead in-situ on the children's clothing, in the factory, product integrity lab, on the dock, or in the warehouse...or can easily be used for vendor audits
Thermo Scientific Niton XRF Analyzers – Always in Style
Discover why major toy and consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, Internet shopping sites, as well as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the European Union's Product Safety Enforcement Forum (PROSAFE), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs & Border Protection, and Health Canada have all chosen and use the Thermo Scientific Niton XRF analyzer.
Contact us today for a demonstration and discover how these versatile instruments can easily help you meet the requirements of the CPSIA and keep our children's clothing safe!
US Consumer Product Safety Commission list of recalls for lead exposure hazard to date.
