ACLASS to accredit testing laboratories under CPSC requirements.
Press Release Summary:
ANSI and ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/ACLASS confirmed that ACLASS meets safety requirements for accrediting testing laboratories under second phase of CPSIA. Issued by CPSC, requirements guide safe manufacture of children's products, specifically cribs and pacifiers. According to Public Law 110-314 prerequisites, samples of certain children's products must be submitted for testing by independent laboratory before they can be imported, warehoused, or sold in U.S.
Original Press Release:
ACLASS to Accredit Testing Laboratories Under New CPSC Requirements for Safety of Cribs and Pacifiers
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board / ACLASS confirmed today that ACLASS meets the safety requirements for accrediting testing laboratories under the second phase of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), these new requirements guide the safe manufacture of children's products, specifically for cribs and pacifiers.
According to prerequisites defined in Public Law 110-314, the CPSIA, manufacturers and private labelers must submit samples of certain children's products for testing by an independent laboratory before those products can be imported, warehoused or sold in the United States. The requirements apply to any product manufactured more than 90 days after the Commission has announced its conditions for conformance with a specific safety rule.
The first item addressed by the CPSIA, in September of 2008, covered lead paint. This second set of requirements in specifies testing for full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, and pacifiers.
The CPSC announced the new requirements in the October 22, 2008, publication of the Federal Register. The requirements will become enforceable on January 20, 2009, joining prior mandates under the CPSIA. Laboratories must be accredited by an approved third-party body in order to meet the CPSC's specifications for the testing of these products. ACLASS is a CPSC-recognized accreditation body authorized to accredit testing laboratories under the new requirements.
"A critical element of assuring that children's products are safe is accurate and reliable third-party testing," said ACLASS Vice President Keith Greenaway. "Our services can demonstrate a testing laboratory's level of competence, not only to CPSC and Congress, but also to manufacturers, importers, retailers, and the general public."
Further requirements of the CPSIA legislation state that the accreditation bodies must themselves be recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), a cooperation of more than 70 peer laboratory and inspection accreditation bodies around the world. ACLASS became a signatory to the ILAC Arrangement in 2006.
ACLASS' qualification under the CPSIA criteria is the latest enhancement to the ANSI-ANAB-ACLASS family of accreditation services. ANSI provides accreditation for Product Certification Programs, Personnel Certification Programs, and Standards Developers. ANAB accredits for management systems certification bodies, and the ACLASS brand offers accreditation services for testing and calibration laboratories, reference material producers, and inspection bodies.
About ANSI
ANSI is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.
The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). ANSI currently has offices in New York City and Washington, DC.
About ACLASS and ANAB
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board / ACLASS provides laboratory accreditation for testing and calibration laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025, reference material producers (RMPs) to ISO Guide 34, and inspection bodies to ISO/IEC 17020. Additionally, ACLASS provides training services and custom accreditation programs for industry.
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board / ANAB is the U.S. accreditation body for management systems. ANAB accredits certification bodies for ISO 9001 quality management systems (QMS), ISO 14001 environmental management systems (EMS), ISO 27001 information security management systems, ISO 22000 food safety management systems, ANSI/AIHA Z10 occupational health and safety management systems, and numerous industry-specific requirements. ANAB is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and a signatory of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLAs) for QMS and EMS. The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board is the only U.S. accreditation body with both ILAC and IAF recognition.
To learn more about ILAC-recognized ACLASS laboratory accreditation, call Roger Muse at 703-351-9139, ext. 202, or send an e-mail to roger.muse@aclasscorp.com.
