Page 172 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_C 7/5/06 2:57 PM Page 149

Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972

PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES
Producer price indexes are the calculated values of items
that are added to manufacturing work in progress. After
the items are added in, they become part of the total retail
price of the goods and/or services (the CPI).

DISSEMINATION OF CPI DATA
It is quite easy to obtain information about the CPI. An
annual index is published every January. Indexes are also
published for geographical areas for both the CPI-U and
CPI-W.
SEE ALSO Pricing

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schultze, Charles L., and Mackie, Christopher (Eds.) (2002). At
what price?: Conceptualizing and measuring cost-of-living and
price indexes. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Con-
sumer Price Index Home Page. http://www.bls.gov/cpi

G. W. Maxwell

CONSUMER PRODUCT
SAFETY ACT OF 1972
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Hal
Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1972 Stratton warns against recalled toys and other products that pose
to “assist consumers in evaluating the comparative safety of serious safety threats to children (Bethesda, MD, November 25,
consumer products; to develop uniform safety standards 2003). AP IMAGES
for consumer products and to minimize conflicting state
and local regulations; and to promote research and investi-
gation into the causes and prevention of product related
death, illnesses, and injuries.” The act also established the
• Developing voluntary standards with industry
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to “pro-
tect the public against unreasonable risks associated with • Issuing and enforcing mandatory standards and ban-
consumer products.” The CPSC has authority to set ning consumer products if no feasible standard
mandatory standards, ban products, order recalls of unsafe would adequately protect the public
products, and institute labeling requirements. • Obtaining the recall of products or arranging for
The CPSC is an independent regulatory agency their repair
charged with protecting consumers from unreasonable • Conducting research on potential product hazards
risk of injury associated with consumer products. The
most serious risks include amputation, electrocution, • Informing and educating consumers through the
burns, asphyxiation, and cancer. Examples of recent prod- media, state and local governments, and private
uct liability lawsuits in which defendant companies lost organizations, and by responding to consumer
include breast implants that leaked silicone gel and foot- inquiries
ball helmets that did not have enough padding. The com-
The CPSC has three key program areas:
mission has jurisdiction over about 15,000 types of
consumer products, such as automatic coffeemakers, toys, 1. The Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction,
furniture, clothing, and lawn mowers. The CPSC works which collects and analyzes consumer injury and
to reduce the risk of injury and death from consumer death data to determine trends in consumer product
products by: hazards.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 149