Product Safety Standards & Regulations in Massachusetts: An Overview

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Planning to sell your products to consumers in Massachusetts? In this article, we list safety requirements and regulations in Massachusetts covering bedding, furniture, children’s products, and other consumer products.

Important: This article only serves as an introduction to safety requirements, substance restrictions, labeling, certification, and other compliance requirements in Massachusetts. It is not a complete guide and is not kept up to date. Further, keep in mind that national product regulations (e.g. CPSIA) apply in all states.

Act to Protect Children, Families, and Firefighters From Harmful Flame Retardants

This is an act establishing rules to restrict the concentration level of chemical flame retardants contained by certain consumer products, in particular, residential furniture and children’s products.

Product Scope

The requirements of this act apply to beddings, carpeting, and window treatment as the following:

• Mattresses
• Mattress pads
• Mattress covers
• Pillows
• Blankets
• Comforters
• Duvet covers
• Sleeping bag
• Floor covering
• Curtain materials
• Blinds
• Shades

This act also covers consumer products that are intended to be used by children under the age of 12 years of age.

Requirements

This act requires that manufacturers or retailers should not import, manufacturer, sell, or distribute to the State of Massachusetts the following types of products containing over 0.1% of harmful flame retardants by weight:

• Children’s products
• Bedding material
• Carpetings
• Upholstered furniture
• Window treatment

Examples of the chemical retardants include:

• TDCPP
• TCEP
• Antimony trioxide
• HBCD
• PentaBDE
• OctaBDE

Visit the website of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to see the full list of the restricted chemical flame retardants and their Chemical Abstracts Service number.

Lab Testing

Manufacturers of covered products should test their products in accordance with the chemical flame retardant restriction requirements set forth in this act before selling their products in Massachusetts.

Act to Reduce Exposure to BPA

Bill S. 1423, also known as Act to Reduce Exposure to BPA, was proposed to prohibit the use of Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, and Bisphenol AF in thermal paper sold in Massachusetts.

Product Scope

The product scope proposed by this bill covers thermal paper used as cash register receipts used in the following venues:

• Restaurants
• Cafes
• Grocery stores
• Shopping malls

Requirements

Bill S.1423 proposes that, after July 1, 2022, no company may manufacture, sell, or distribute thermal papers containing Bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol S (BPS), and Bisphenol AF (BPAF) in Massachusetts.

This bill proposes that manufacturers of cash register receipts shall submit the following information to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in order to facilitate the Department’s record-keeping and evaluation of the use of chemicals in cash register receipts:

• Coating ingredients
• Chemical names
• Chemical abstract numbers

Lab Testing

Currently, Bill S. 1423 is pending approval by the legislature. Once it is passed as the law, manufacturers of thermal paper selling in Massachusetts should not add BPA, BPS nor BPAF into their product. Thus, they might need to test their products in order to assess the presence of bisphenol.

Massachusetts Mercury Management Act

The Massachusetts Mercury Management Act establishes rules concerning the use, prohibition, and recycling of products containing mercury in the State of Massachusetts.

Product Scope

The Massachusetts Mercury Management Act covers a broad range of mercury-added products, including:

• Medical devices
• Measure equipment
• Switches
• Lamps

Requirements

In this section, we briefly introduce the requirements of the Mercury Management Act.

Recycling program

This act requires manufacturers of products containing mercury to set up the actionable collecting or recycling facility to collect the out-of-service mercury-containing products and to recycle their mercury content in Massachusetts.

Prohibition on certain mercury-containing products containing

This act bans the sales and distribution of the following mercury-containing measure equipment and medical devices:

• Flowmeters
• Barometers (devices to measure air pressure)
• Hydrometers (devices to measure the density of the liquid)
• Hygrometers and psychrometers (devices to measure humidity)
• Manometers (devices to compare pressure)
• Pyrometers (devices to measure extremely high temperature)
• Sphygmomanometers (devices to measure blood pressure)
• Basal thermometers (devices to measure the ovulation of women)
• Esophageal dilators
• Bourgie tubes
• Gastrointestinal tubes

In addition, this act also prohibits the sales of mercury switches and relays.

Notification

For mercury-containing products that are not banned, the act requires manufacturers to notify the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC), regarding the following information:

a. The name and description of the components of the products that contain mercury

b. The amount of mercury contained in each component

Labeling

The act requires that manufacturers selling products that contain intentionally added mercury must label their products. The label should contain information to inform consumers that such products must be recycled at the end of their useful life or disposed of as hazardous waste.

Lab Testing

Manufacturers of mercury-containing products that are covered by the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act might need to conduct mercury tests on their products before selling in the State. Laboratories that offer mercury trace test services include SGS, TÜV SÜD, and Intertek.

105 CMR 620.000: Bedding, Upholstered Furniture, and Related Products

Chapter 105, Code of Massachusetts Regulations 620.001-620.005 outlines labeling, sterilization, licensing, and other general requirements for bedding, upholstered furniture, and related products sold in the State of Massachusetts.

Product Scope

The requirements of this section apply to bedding and upholstered furniture such as:

• Couches
• Cushions
• Pillows
• Recliners
• Quilted pads
• Mattresses
• Mattress pads
• Hammock pads
• Comforters
• Sleeping bags

Additionally, the requirements in this section also apply to children’s furniture and stuffed toys.

Requirements

Chapter 105, Section 620 of CMR (Code of Massachusetts Regulations) requires that manufacturers of upholstered furniture, bedding, or stuffed toys must apply for a manufacturer’s license from the Department of Public Health and obtain a serial number before they are allowed to sell their products in Massachusetts.

Wholesalers of upholstered furniture, bedding, or stuffed toys should apply for the wholesale dealer’s license from the Department of Public Health every year unless they hold a manufacturer’s license.

Labeling

In this section, we outline the regulations’ labeling requirements.

Description

Chapter 105, Section 620 of CMR requires that manufacturers of bedding, upholstered furniture, and stuffed toys should attach a label to their products. The label should include information such as the following:

a. The header shall read “All New Material” if the product is made of all new filling materials

b. The description of the filling materials in weight percentage by descending order (e.g. Cotton, Down, Feathers, Foam, etc.)

c. Serial number of the manufacturer (assigned by the Department of Public Health)

d. Date of delivery

e. Federal RN number

f. Country of Origin

On top of all labels shall be inscribed the following statement:

“DO NOT REMOVE THIS LABEL UNDER PENALTY OF LAW”

or

“DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG UNDER PENALTY OF LAW”

Material

The label should be made of either one of the materials or material of comparable quality, which shall not flake when abraded:

• Tyvek
• Valeron
• Vellum cloth

Size

The label size of the bedding and upholstered furniture shall be no less than 2*3 inches. The label on the stuffed toy may be smaller in size given that the information on the label is legible and sufficient.

e-Cigarette Regulations

The e-Cigarette Regulations of Massachusetts set out rules regarding the sales, distribution, packaging, and tax requirements for electronic cigarettes.

Product Scope

The requirements of the e-Cigarette Regulations of Massachusetts apply to electronic-powered cigarettes that contain or not containing nicotine. Such products include the following type of products and other similar products that rely on vaporization or aerosolization of the e-liquid for users to inhale:

• Electronic cigars
• Electronic pipes
• Electronic nicotine delivery systems

Requirements

The e-Cigarette Regulations of Massachusetts prohibits the sales or distribution of electronic cigarettes to anyone that is below the age of 21 years old.

The e-liquids and gels containing nicotine must be sold in child-resistant packages.

Lab Testing

Manufacturers of electronic cigarettes should test their product packaging in accordance with the child-resistant packaging requirements set forth in the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.

The following companies are listed on the CPSC official website which can offer Child-Resistant Package Testing services:

• SGS
• Intertek
• AegisCRT
• Bird Dog Marketing Group LLC
• Burford Research Consultants
• Cambridge Materials Testing Limited

Learn More

Act to Protect Children, Families, and Firefighters From Harmful Flame RetardantsLink