The Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products (SGCDpro) will kick off Deco ’12 on March 25 in Las Vegas with its fourth annual Ask the Experts (ATE) session. The session will be held in the Red Rock conference area of the Flamingo Hotel. This year’s experts will include Walt Sanders, SGCDpro Washington lobbyist; Carol Brophy, noted California Proposition 65 expert; Alex Stone, Ph.D., representative for the Toxics in Packaging Clearing House; Richard Jacobs, Ph.D., U.S. Food and Drug Administration retiree; Wayne Zitkus, Libbey retiree; and industry representatives from member test labs who will discuss proper test protocol.

The following officers and directors will be installed during the society’s annual business meeting in Las Vegas: president, Brian Deszell; vice president, Chad Yaw; treasurer, Christine Fleek; secretary (appointed by the board), Janice Weyrich; and board member, David Stanton.

In addition to the ATE session, Deco ’12 will feature exhibits on Sunday afternoon and technical sessions on Monday morning. The annual awards luncheon will be held Monday at noon. In addition, a golf outing will be held for those who are interested on Saturday, March 24. To register for Deco ’12, visit www.sgcd.org or call (740) 588-9882.

Required Testing for Children’s Products
As of January 1, 2012, manufacturers (including decorators) must have a testing plan for children’s products. In addition, most children’s products must be tested periodically by a third-party lab and certified by the manufacturer or decorator for compliance with the 100 parts per million (ppm) limit on lead content.
Prior to this, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act required all products to meet lead content limits; however, third-party testing was not a requirement. The test lab must be certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to undertake the test required for the specific type of product involved.
 

CPSC Launches Small Batch Manufacturer Registry
The CPSC has launched a registry for small batch manufacturers at www.saferproducts.gov. Manufacturers who earned $1 million or less in total gross revenues from sales of consumer products in 2011 and who produced no more than 7,500 units of at least one consumer product in 2011 can register for the 2012 calendar year.

Qualifying small batch manufacturers are not required to third-party test for compliance with certain children’s product safety rules during 2012 for products of which they produced no more than 7,500 units during the previous calendar year. Contact the CPSC with questions about this program, or visit www.saferproducts.gov.
 

CDC Advisory Group Proposes Lower Lead Limit
A federal advisory group to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has called for a lower lead limit to be established to determine lead poisoning in children. The group has proposed that the limit be lowered from 10 micrograms to 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. The change would likely increase the number of children between the ages of one and five suspected of suffering from lead poisoning from 250,000 to 450,000.
 

NLRB Actions Harm Businesses
Of the many recent actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), one in particular threatens to harm businesses of all sizes. In January, the NLRB announced that agreements between employers and employees mandating that grievances be settled individually in arbitration are not enforceable. The ruling could force businesses to use resources to fight and/or settle numerous class action lawsuits, further harming the delicate U.S. job market.
 

Deco ’13 Returns to Louisville
The Hyatt Regency Louisville will be the site of Deco ’13, to be held April 14-15. SGCDpro met at this location in 2008. Louisville is strategically located to allow many SGCDpro members to drive to the venue.

Sandra Spence serves as legislative liaison for the Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products (SGCDpro). As executive director of the SGCD from 1991 to 2001, she was instrumental in the development of voluntary guidelines still used in the industry today. For additional details, or for information on joining SGCDpro, call (740) 588-9882 or visit www.sgcd.org.

Any views or opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent those of Ceramic Industry, its staff, Editorial Advisory Board or BNP Media.