Consumer safety agency to post inspectors at biggest ports

The federal agency that polices children's toys and other consumer goods will permanently station employees at the nation's largest ports for the first time in response to congressional and public outcry over recalls. Acting Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord said she is coordinating an effort to focus CPSC employees on suspect shipments and high-risk products.

"We will be starting at the busiest ports, the ports where the most products come in. That's Long Beach, that's Seattle, there are a number of other ones," Nord said.

Staffing for the permanent port presence is undetermined since CPSC received a $17 million budget bump when Congress approved $80 million for the agency last month.

CPSC staff at ports will not be authorized to turn away dangerous cargo, but it can advise U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who have the power to deny unsafe products entry into the country. CPSC employees are posted near ports and sometimes conduct inspections, but they also are assigned other duties. The permanent port staff will have access to information on recalls and high-risk products through a tracking system CPSC is developing, Nord said.

The House passed a consumer product safety bill before recess. Nord praised the bipartisan bill that requires third-party certification of children's toys, reduces the allowable lead level in toys and implements a tracking system to aid store-owners during recalls, but she is not as amenable to a more stringent Senate bill crafted by Democrats.

"As for the Senate, I'm not sure what to say, but the process used to develop the legislation was different than in the House, and the final product shows," she said.

Nord has complained that the Senate bill goes too far by banning lead in toys and adding provisions that would discourage companies from coming forward when potential problems crop up. Senators are talking with Democratic leaders about getting floor time for their consumer safety bill while trying to iron out problems Republicans have with the bill, an aide for lead sponsor Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said. Nord defended her commission and said a recent increase in recalls, particularly for lead in children's toys, was not a bad omen.

"The increase in recalls represents more effective enforcement on a broader range of product attributions," she said. "They do not mean there are more unsafe products on shelves than recent years."

She blamed last year's spike in lead-related toy recalls on more vigilant industry self-policing. Nord was quick to note the CPSC was created by Congress to aid with recalls, not give pre-market approval to consumer goods, potentially catching unsafe products before they hit store shelves.