Disclaimer

This site is intended for peer-to-peer educational purposes only and is neither legal advice nor an official government site. If you have questions about how to comply with the CPSIA please consult a lawyer.

Questions?

If you have a CPSIA question you'd like us to answer please send it to info [at] whatisthecpsia [dot] com and we'll do our best to include it on the site.

Do children’s books need lead testing?

Yes and no. The CPSC has recommended that books printed before 1985 be tested for lead because printing inks up till that date may have contained lead. Books printed after 1985 generally do not contain lead and have been exempted from 3rd party certified lead testing under certain conditions.
Regardless of printing date, novelty books, books [...]

Why do some people say CPSIA requires book burning?

While CPSIA does not require that books be destroyed specifically by burning, it leaves few viable options other than the destruction of books published before 1985 (all inks used in post-1985 publishing are known to be lead-free).  Because CPSIA-required testing destroys the book being tested, it is impossible for libraries and used book sellers to [...]