HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.gao/gaobaawsg0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
DOCONIMET at sOEt
05112 - [B04854031
[The Consumer Product Stfety Commission man No Assurance That
Product Defects Are Being Reported and Corrected]. HRD-78-163;
B-139310. February 146, 1978. 26 pp. * appendices (1ll pp.).
Report to the Congress; by User 9. Staats, Comptroller General.
Issue Area: consumer and Vorker Protection: Identification of
Saxarv~ous Consumer Products (909).
Contact: mnsan Resources Dive
Budqet Nanction: Health: Prevention and control of Health
problems (553).
organization Concerned: Consumer Product Safety Comission.
conqressional Relevance: ouse Committee on Interstate and
Foreign Commerce; Senate Committee 0n Cone ce.
Authority: Consumer Product Safety Act. as amended (15 U.S.C.
2064(b)). ,16 C.F.B. 1115.
The Conauser Product Safety act requires manufactureor5
distributors. .aid retailers who have information that a consumer
product contains a defect or dcan not meet a safety standazJ and
could create a sukstantial prodect hazard to eport this fact to
the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Conmission can order
such productb to be recalled* repaired. replaced. or the
purchase price refuuded, and it can give public notice of the
hazard. Uhen a hazard is identifiedp the Commission asks the
firm for more information on the product and on plans to correct
the hazard. The Commission staff assists in prepar!ag plans and
Comsirjsoners approve thoxe found acceptable.
Findinqs/Conclasions: f rom may 1973 through June 1977, 495
substantial product hazards had been reported to or identified
by the Coamission. The Commissi-n estimated that, through June
1977, approximately 6.6 million defective products (18k) had
been corrected. However, the Commission has no program to take
sure that firma are made aware of their responsibilities to
report potential hazards and. except for the definition in the
act, has not further defined substantial product hazard.' As a
result, industry sometimes does not know when to report hazards,
and there have been inconsistencies in defining hazards uithin
the Commission. Also, the Commission *taff has not been timely
in evaluating and forwarding cases to the Commissioners, and the
commission has not adequately monitored corrective action.
Recommendations: The Commission should: develop a plan to inform
manufacturers# distributors, and retailers of their
reupossibilitioa to report substantid. prTduct hazards; better
define the ctitaria for identifying such hea.ds; revise its
procedures to provide a reasonable tire period to revieu and
forward cases to the Comissioners; and ore actively keep track
of firmst corrective actions to remove substantial hazards from
the market. (Author/ETE)](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaawsg0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)