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Health Canada notice to industry regarding products containing magnets
Health Canada issued a notice to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of products containing small, powerful magnets. According to the notice, such products are a danger to children and, accordingly, Health Canada is taking steps to remove them from the marketplace.
The products in question include some novelty magnet sets, as well as toys that do not comply with international safety standards. These products violate the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).
Health Canada is concerned about novelty magnet sets containing more than one small, powerful magnet, regardless of the intended age of the user, where the set is intended for use as a toy or manipulative for general entertainment, such as puzzle working, sculpture building, mental stimulation, or stress relief.
Health Canada is also concerned about some children’s toys that contain small, powerful magnets or magnetic components. Health Canada’s position is that toys on the Canadian marketplace should conform to at least one of the latest versions of internationally-respected safety standards, such as ASTM F963, EN 71-1, or ISO 8124-1, with respect to magnets or magnetic components.
Per the notice, industry should immediately stop the manufacturing, import, sale, or advertising of these products, any of which is a violation of the general prohibition set out in the CCPSA.
For more on magnet restrictions, contact Compliance & Risks!
New York Assembly Passes AB 6327 on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting & Reduction
The New York Assembly passed AB 6327 and transmitted it to the senate for consideration. The bill would require major sources of greenhouse gas emissions to begin reporting their emissions in 2014 and require the department of environmental conservation to promulgate regulations to reduce the state greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2016, with further reductions every 5 years to achieve an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050.
For further information, please contact us.
Washington State Legislature Passes E-Waste Amendment
The Washington State legislature has passed Senate Bill 5699, which amends the state e-waste law to require that funding of the e-cycles programs will be based on market share beginning in 2016. The bill also allows an entity to assume the responsibility of another manufacturer beginning in 2016, as well as register in lieu of that entity with Ecology. Having received near unanimous support in the legislature, the bill will be transmitted to the governor for final approval.
For further information please contact us.
North Carolina Introduces HB 921 on Mandatory Distribution of Smart Meters
North Carolina House Bill 921 was introduced on April 11, 2013. The bill would require each regulated electric utility to equip each premises within its service area with a smart meter no later than January 1, 2016, to help customers control their energy usage and costs. It would also require the utilities to recover their costs through resale of the power saved due to the use of the smart meters.
For more information please contact us.
Nevada Assembly Passes AB 354 on BPA, Deletes Chemicals of Concern Requirements
On April 22, 2013, the Nevada Assembly passed an amended version of AB 354. The amended bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of infant cups and bottles, baby food and formula that contain or come in direct physical contact with Bisphenol A. The amendment removed provisions in the original bill that would have required the Health Division of the Department of Health and Human Services to create a list of chemicals of high concern. The bill has been transmitted to the Senate for consideration.
To monitor changes to this legislation and similar chemicals of concern legislation, sign up for a free 30-day trial of our compliance knowledge management platform?
US DOE issues final rule on energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers
The Department of Energy has published a Federal Register notice of final rule concerning amended energy conservation standards for liquid-immersed, medium-voltage dry-type, and low-voltage dry-type distribution transformers. 78 FR 23335 (April 18, 2013). The distribution transformers final rule was the DOE’s first “negotiated rulemaking,” conducted under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act.
In this final rule, DOE is adopting more-stringent energy conservation standards for distribution transformers. It has determined that the amended energy conservation standards for this equipment would result in significant conservation of energy, and are technologically feasible and economically justified.
DOE is adopting TSL 1 for liquid- immersed distribution transformers. DOE notes that the potential for significant disruption in the steel supply market at higher efficiency levels was a key element in adopting TSL 1 in this rulemaking. DOE will monitor the steel and liquid-immersed distribution transformer markets and by no later than 2016, determine whether interim changes to market conditions, particularly the supply chain for amorphous steel, justify re-evaluating the efficiency standards adopted in today’s rulemaking.
For further information, please contact us.
US EPA releases Draft 4 Energy Star specification for Lamps, Version 1.0
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is distributing Draft 4 of the ENERGY STAR Lamps V1.0 specification for partner and stakeholder review and comment. This specification is intended to replace the existing Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Integral LED Lamps specifications, as well as the certification requirements for GU24-based fluorescent lamps previously detailed in the Residential Light Fixtures specification.
Stakeholders are strongly encouraged to e-mail feedback on the Draft 4 Version 1.0 specification to lamps@energystar.gov by May 17, 2013.
Since the release of Draft 3, EPA held a webinar and met with stakeholders in person and over the phone to discuss key topics in greater detail. The draft distributed today reflects changes resulting from the review of submitted comments, industry discussions, and further research and analysis.
Stakeholders are encouraged to carefully review comment boxes incorporated throughout the draft which provide further details about proposed changes and additions, including:
- Clarified reporting requirements for products covered by ENERGY STAR and federal efficiency standards.
- Updated definitions for flicker, lumen maintenance, omnidirectional, directional and decorative lamps, and new definitions for flicker index, percent flicker, periodic frequency and reflector.
- Further reductions in testing burden with reduced sample size requirements for several tests and expanded opportunities to share test data among minor product variations.
- Revised minimum light output requirements for directional (non PAR or MR) lamps to
provide a more realistic benchmark for efficient products replacing popular products that have been phased out due to federal standards.
- Revised luminous intensity distribution requirements for omnidirectional lamps to better align with variations in incandescent technology, and for decorative lamps, to account for limitations in the current technology.
- Revised correlated color temperature passing criteria consistent with existing passing requirements due to stakeholder feedback on manufacturing variances.
- Revised testing for lamps labeled not for use in recessed or enclosed fixtures, or the like.
- The addition of several toxics exemptions consistent with those included in the European Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive.
- Removal of positive R9 requirement for CFLs due to cost and loss in efficiency.
- Updated testing requirements and guidance to support the dimmability of dimmable products. This testing will not be subject to third party certification however relevant information will be reported through certification bodies. EPA will monitor dimming testing and evaluate the effectiveness of the approach to inform possible future revisions to the specification.
For further information on Energy Star and to stay up-to-date on these changes please contact us.
UK Supplemental Consultation of draft Smart Energy Code
The UK Government has just published today a supplemental consultation on the draft legal text of the Smart Energy Code (SEC) and the Data and Communications Company (DCC) Licence – the two main elements of the regulatory framework supporting the roll-out of smart metering in Great Britain. The deadline for comments is 17 May 2013. For further details, please contact us.
EU Agreement on Priority Substances in the Field of Water Policy
The EU Council today endorsed the informal agreement reached with the European Parliament on the directive on priority substances in the field of water policy. The agreement must now be formally approved by the Parliament and by the Council before entering into force. For further details, please contact us.
Compliance & Risks Launch IS0 14001 Monitoring & Management Service
Compliance & Risks, one of the world’s most trusted compliance knowledge management companies, today announced the launch of a customized ISO 14001 service to support companies by researching and monitoring environmental compliance obligations globally, as well as providing an innovative knowledge management system to store key documents and manage the audit trail.
Companies looking to acquire or maintain their ISO 14001 registration will be able to free up valuable time and resources by working with Compliance & Risks to support their certification. The legal data team track changes in environmental legislation at a country, state and city level across the globe, while C2P allows companies to better control the audit process and benefit from the advantages of being ISO compliant.
“We recognized that constantly evolving environmental legislation puts companies who are looking to acquire and maintain their ISO registration under severe pressure. We’re really excited about our ISO 14001 offering as there are huge benefits to organizations in letting us support them in the tracking, recording and management of regulatory changes affecting their various operations around the globe”, commented Joe Skulski, CEO, Compliance & Risks.
“We’re already working with a number of our existing clients on ISO 14001 and the results have been extremely positive with all meeting rigourous audits from ISO registrars.”
The ISO 14001 service includes researching and reporting on environmental compliance requirements needed to achieve and maintain certification. In addition Compliance & Risks offers on-going monitoring, allowing companies stay up-to-date with the ever-changing avalanche of requirements. As well as receiving comprehensive details on new regulatory developments, organizations get updates on changes to existing legislation and standards, key dates, deadlines, exceptions & exemptions and commentary from regional experts around the globe.
With Compliance & Risks’s knowledge management system, C2P, companies can also record & manage all necessary information to maintain a perfect audit trail. The system enables companies to safely store documents, and organize and control the audit process.
Companies can also maintain and manage other related documents such as checklists, test records and certificates of conformity. Valuable corporate and individual knowledge is shared and recorded directly with the regulations impacting certification, while a comprehensive set of tools allows companies to effectively interpret, assess and manage the impact of new regulations.
For more information or to contact an ISO 14001 expert please visit http://www.complianceandrisks.com/services/iso-14001/ or email ISO14001@complianceandrisks.com.
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About Compliance & Risks
Founded in 2000, Irish-owned Compliance & Risks is one of the most trusted names in compliance knowledge management. Working across more than 120 countries, we help companies manage compliance requirements throughout the world via our knowledge management system, C2P, daily alerts, market access and other solutions, enabling them to mitigate risk and focus on growth opportunities. The company is headquartered in Cork with offices in Brussels, California and New York.
For further information contact Niamh Shanahan, tel: +353 21 4351990, email: n.shanahan@complianceandrisks.com