MONTGOMERYVILLE, PA (BRAIN)—The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association intensified its efforts this week to gain some leniency for the bike industry from a potentially devastating lead ban that goes into effect Feb. 10.
The BPSA will file a Petition for Temporary Exclusion this week with the Consumer Product Safety Commission for lead in alloys on aluminum, brass/copper and steel used on bicycles with 24-inch wheels or smaller, joggers and bicycle trailers, said John Nedeau, president of the BPSA. The basis for the petition is the European standards that allow higher lead content in alloys, he said.
The Consumer Product Safety Information Act contains a ban on children’s products with lead parts exceeding 600 parts per million. After Feb. 10, those products cannot be sold to consumers and any old product must be yanked off retail shelves. Some common bike parts like valves and spoke nipples exceed the lead limit.
Industry advocacy group Bikes Belong is supporting the BPSA's effort by meeting with congressional leaders in Washington D.C. to discuss the implications of the ban on the bicycle industry. Nedeau said the BPSA is still compiling the number and value of bikes that would be impacted by the lead rule, as well as the financial cost to the industry if these bikes were made illegal next month.
Nedeau said the BPSA is exhausting all available options to get a reprieve from the Commission prior to the looming deadline.
—Nicole Formosa
