Minnesota, USA, Issues Guidelines for Products Containing Lead and Cadmium

SafeGuardSElectrical & Electronics, Hardgoods, Softlines, Toys and Juvenile Products03 May 2024

SG 64/24

Minnesota has issued a guideline for the restriction of lead and cadmium in various product categories as provided under Minn. Stat. § 325E.3892.

In May 2023, the governor of Minnesota signed HF 2310 (Chapter 60) into law to regulate, among other things, products containing lead and cadmium (SafeGuardS 66/23).

Under this law (Minn. Stat. § 325E.3892) the lead and cadmium content in the following 15 product categories is restricted to 90 ppm (0.009%) lead and 75 ppm (0.0075%) cadmium.

Chalk, crayons, paints and other art supplies
Clothing, footwear, headwear and accessories
Cosmetics and personal care products
Costumes, costume accessories and children’s and seasonal party supplies
Craft supplies and jewelry-making supplies
Cups, bowls and other food containers
Fidget spinners
Jewelry
Keys, key chains and key rings
Outdoor games
Play sets and play structures
Pots and pans
Puzzles, board games, card games and similar games
School supplies
Toys

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has recently made available a guideline to assist stakeholders with the aforementioned lead and cadmium restrictions. This guideline provides information on the following topics, highlighted in table 1.

Item	Topic	Details
1	General	Products covered by the law include: Any of the listed products including different forms they may take Any combination or set of products sold together which includes one of the listed products Accessories sold together with a listed product Accessories sold separately from a listed product if the accessory also fits in the category of listed product. For example, a doll accessory (such as doll clothes) sold separately from the toy it is meant to be used with is still in the toy category, so it would be covered The highest priority is placed on components or pieces of components which may be mouthed, sucked on or ingested by children, or which may become accessible through the process of mouthing, sucking or ingestion (e.g. materials underneath a coating).
2	Product components	Component can mean: A visible part or piece of a product such as a zipper, pendant, button, rivet or coating A part or piece which is not immediately visible (e.g. hidden by another material) A chemical in a formulation, mixture or alloy A component can be present unintentionally or as a contaminant.
3	Less-accessible components	Law covers components not typically accessible except by destruction or separation using tools or heavy objects, including circuitry, batteries and complex inner workings. While the MCPA considers not typically accessible components to be less of a priority for monitoring and replacement than mouthable or ingestible components, the life cycle of a product both during manufacturing and through the way it is managed and disposed of at the end of its life, remains a concern
4	Other interpretations	Law covers different forms of listed products including: Powered or unpowered Intended for any age or gender identification For indoor and/or outdoor use Made of any natural or synthetic material or combination thereof, if any part or component of those materials exceeds the limits on lead and/or cadmium Sunglasses or other eyewear without corrective lenses fall under clothing or costume accessories and are covered by the law, while eyewear with prescription corrective lenses are not in scope of the law.
5	Federal pre-emption	Law does not apply to covered products containing lead or cadmium when the statute’s prohibitions are pre-empted by federal law Only federal laws indicating that state limits cannot be more stringent than the federal limits are, however, to be considered. The mere existence of a federal limit does not pre-empt Minnesota's law
6	Compliance determination	For compliance determination complete acid digestion of product samples should be used instead of leaching tests, mirroring the initial total heavy metal content step under ASTM F963

Table 1

The MPCA also references additional resources for a detailed description of the products covered by the law, including the Global Product Classification system, relevant ASTM or other industry standards, and commonly used definitions in Black’s Law Dictionary or Merriam-Webster.

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