The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has granted a two-year stay of enforcement of the lead content provisions of section 101(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) for certain component parts and materials in bicycles, jogger strollers and bicycle trailers primarily intended for children 12 years of age and younger. This stay of enforcement applies only to the total lead content limits and not to the limits on lead in paint and surface coatings.

In a statement about the decision, CPSC Commissioner Nancy A. Nord stated that "...because lead adds to the strength of the metal used and has other useful attributes, enforcement of the law could adversely impact the safety of children's bicycles, leading to more injuries and death." Commissioner Thomas H. Moore added that the stay of enforcement is intended to give the bicycle industry additional time to perform development and testing work to ensure that substitutes for lead do not compromise the structural or mechanical integrity of bicycles.

Link to: Stay of Enforcement Decision and Commissioners' Statements

018-06-09