CPSC

CPSC

Mission and history of CPSC

The mission of the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission was created with the emission of protecting the public from risks of injuries or deaths related to the consumption or usage of consumer goods. CPSC was established in 1972 by the American Congress under the Consumer Product Safety Act. It started operating in 1973. In this Act, the congress issued direction for CPSC to take steps that would ensure the protection of the public "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." (www.cpsc.gov).

The Agency

CPSC has been allotted the position of an independent agency. It is not responsible for reporting to any other department or agency in the government, CPSC is governed by three commissioners. These commissioners are first nominated by the American President and then are later approved by the senate they are selected for tenure of seven years. The president has the authority to designate one of these three commissioners as the chairman.

The policy of the CPSC is set down by these three commissioners. The chairman acts as the chief administrator of the agency. There are a total of 5 offices that are responsible for directly reporting to the chairman. These are:

Equal employment and Minority Enterprise

Congressional Relations

Inspector General

General Counsel

Executive Director

This agency is headquartered in Bethesda. It has around 480 employees. They are responsible for reviewing the safety of over 15,000 products (www.cpsc.govc).

Responsibilities of the Agency

The primary and the most important task of the CPSC are to keep lives and the public safe from any harmful effects of the consumer products. It is reducing the possibility of risk and injuries that the public could possibly endure due to the consumption or usage of consumer goods. To achieve this, the CPSC takes the following steps:

CPSC develops standards that are set voluntary for he industries

It issues and enforces mandatory standards. It bans consumer products in case there are no feasible standards that will appropriately defend the public

It obtains the recall of products. Alternatively, it arranges for the repair of products

It informs and educated the consumers by using media and other sources such as the state governments, local governments and the private organization. It also responds to inquires made by consumers

Recalls

Recall of products is announced by the CPSC in case that particular product or products constitute a major risk to the consumers. The risk may emancipate because the product could be defective or either because it has violated the mandatory standard that have been issued by the agency. Every recall that the CPSC makes is applicable for the specific model and brand that the agency has identified. At times in certain cases, the recall may apply only to certain times. For example, a product may have its commodities recalled during a particular time period which may range from months to years.

The Americans stand out as being one of the largest consumers of products in the world. They have a tendency and habit of buying and trying new products. These could range from being toys, to electronics to furniture ...