I originally wrote this post under the impression that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 was targeting books because they contained some – if minute – quantities of lead. I was subsequently informed by some alert readers who are familiar with CPSIA that this is not the case! This is a time when I’m happy to be wrong – I’ve left the original text and reader comments as a record of the original post. 
This came as something of a revelation: that book products contain lead, albeit in very small amounts. I got a notice from Lightning Source (LSI) about a new U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding lead content in books. Or, more accurately, that a twelve month delay has been granted for companies before they have to meet the new standards:
On January 30, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a twelve month stay, through February 10, 2010, of the testing and certification requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) for lead content in ordinary books such as those manufactured by Lightning Source Inc.
I just thought, “Holy cow! I had no idea there was any lead content in books!” Now, granted, I don’t think that I’m in any imminent danger of serious lead poisoning or anything from reading. It’s just rather disgusting that lead seems to be used in so many things. Ugh!
But it just struck me that it’s just one more good reason to get an Amazon Kindle. Granted, the Kindle – like any electronic device – contains elements that aren’t exactly healthy for the environment during production or disposal, but it does eliminate all the many resources and harmful chemicals that go into making books.
Don’t get me wrong: I love “dead tree” books. But things being the way they are, with more and more resources being consumed across the board, and the vast majority of the books we read eventually winding up in garbage dumps (or, at best, paper recycling centers), it’s time we move into the electronic age. I literally haven’t bought or read a dead-tree book since buying my Kindle – so if you haven’t already check it out!
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#1 by Holly Jahangiri on February 6th, 2009 - 11:18 am
One could almost imagine that this inane law was championed by Amazon…
Read the law: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.Pdf
Then read http://www.rrd.com/wwwCPSIA/home.asp
There’s no lead in ordinary books. Please don’t spread misinformation.
#2 by Vivian Zabel on February 6th, 2009 - 1:26 pm
That’s a big problem with the CPSIA, targeting items that do not have lead — like books without toys or jewelry added.
Being thrilled that books may go the way of the dinosaur isn’t exactly helping the world. Children need books to hold, to read, to enjoy, as do most adults.
I for one could not afford a Kindle and couldn’t enjoy reading a book from one, at least my eyes couldn’t.
Yes, please don’t spread misinformation.
#3 by Michael R. Hicks on February 6th, 2009 - 2:54 pm
Holly, Vivian – Thanks for the additional information! I wasn’t trying to spread bad info, but the fact that books were even on a list (even if by default) was a shocker for me. That books are indeed lead-free is definitely reassuring, and I’ll amend my original post to include your information.
As for the Kindle, I have to confess to being an unapologetic Kindle proponent. I have always loved “real” books, too, but the resources to produce them and the waste they create are no longer trivial factors. And the Kindle has proven a much more pleasant reading experience – very easy on my eyes. For young children? No. For general reading? Absolutely.
#4 by Holly Jahangiri on February 7th, 2009 - 10:10 am
Thanks, Michael!
It is ONLY children’s books that are coming under fire from the CPSC (and the CPSIA) – because they are “products for children under 13,” not because they contain lead. Imagine giving your three-year-old a Kindle (which, ironically, probably does contain lead – but has exemptions for being an “electronic device” that requires a small amount of lead in order to work). If a book is damaged, okay – said three-year-old isn’t expected to keep a book in pristine condition. I put books in the crib with my babies, wanting them to grow up with books as familiar, comforting items. But imagine mom’s and dad’s shock and horror when the $300 eBook Reader gets repeatedly dropped or banged on the floor and stops working.
That a law purporting to PROTECT kids actually ends up depriving them of many beneficial things seems to escape the logical scrutiny of many of our lawmakers.
That a law purporting to keep kids’ products safe tends to harm businesses that went INTO business to make safer, healthier, more environmentally friendly products for kids also seems to escape the attention of the public. No one wants to vote against a law that says it’s PROTECTING children. Unfortunately, too many of the folks who voted this into law didn’t scrutinize the way it was written or the logical consequences of its implementation. And now, they can’t seem to unravel the problem.
But every time I see Amazon or Kindle mentioned in conjunction with the CPSIA (given that it was Amazon that clued in most book publishers to the fact that the law even applied to books at all – at the ELEVENTH HOUR – by threatening not to carry their products without certifications required by the CPSIA), I can’t help but think of the old adage, “Follow the money,” and ask myself, “Who benefits from this, anyway?”
#5 by Holly Jahangiri on February 7th, 2009 - 10:17 am
I should note that recent announcements from the CPSC have taken some of the pressure off, where books are concerned – a one-year “stay of enforcement” means the CPSC isn’t likely to send anyone to jail for failure to test and certify most children’s products (though they will still be held strictly liable for the lead and phthalates in them) means books are practically a non-issue. Legally, they’re not a “non-issue” and there is some question as to whether the CPSC can issue such a stay (or whether the states’ Attorneys General will enforce the law, regardless – which would be a nightmare, I think, for interstate commerce). But I’m comfortable selling my book, because I’m confident that it does not contain lead.
What about the stay-at-home mom, though, who makes cute, age-appropriate kids’ clothes? Or knits baby blankets? Or makes handmade toys from organic materials? What about the small manufacturer of telescopes or microscopes? What about…
We can’t just breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Well, good, it doesn’t really affect books, after all…” and go merrily on our way. Think “Horton Hears a Who” – the folks in Washington only listen when we all speak out together.
#6 by Michael R. Hicks on February 7th, 2009 - 12:12 pm
Well, the aspect of the Kindle aside (anybody who hands an expensive electronic gadget to a very young child deserves whatever they get – LOL!), this sounds like another typical act of legislative lunacy in the government. I’ve worked for the Fed for over twenty years, and I’m intimately familiar with how ridiculous things can be.
Again, I apologize for the content of my original post (as I noted in the amendment I made to it), but it was worth some egg in the face on my part to get your insights on this, Holly – I don’t think I ever would have come across this otherwise!
#7 by Vivian Zabel on February 7th, 2009 - 12:12 pm
The CPSIA was and is a poorly crafted law. They used a missile to try to kill a fly. Yes, flies carry disease and need to be killed, but a missile takes out everything else around the nasty fly, destroying many good, harmless things, too.
Even with the stay of enforcement, if everyone does decide to ignore enforcement for the year’s stay, the law still exists and will be put back into effect a year from now IF saner heads (are there any in DC?) don’t repeal this unfair law and draft another one in its place, one that really will make sense.
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