State might check cargo

Bill calls for inspections of imports

Bill calls for inspections of imports

COLUMBIA — A state legislator has an idea he thinks will help keep toxic toys and toothpaste laced with traces of poison off South Carolina store shelves.

Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston, said he has a bill ready to file that would create a Bureau of Consumer Safety to monitor the health and safety standards of products coming into the state from specific countries, including China.

"We're not looking for any additional duties at the state level; however, I don't think the consumers care whether it's the federal government or the state government who protects them," Limehouse said. "They just want to know that if they use the toothpaste they bought at Wal-Mart, it's not going to put them in an early grave.

"The time for sitting back and waiting for the federal government is gone."

Limehouse isn't the only one frustrated with the federal government's response to the potentially deadly chemicals found in China's exports during the past year, including pet food that was blamed for the deaths of thousands of dogs and cats.

Don Mays, senior director of product safety at Consumer Reports, said states have responded in various ways to the "product safety crisis." He said, though, the creation of a South Carolina Bureau of Consumer Safety would be an enforcement nightmare.

Although not all the details are ironed out, Limehouse envisions the bureau performing spot checks on cargo exported by a select list of countries as the products enter South Carolina by port, truck and rail. Any costs would be offset entirely, as outlined in the legislation, by inspection fees and fines.

Mays said state legislators should focus on lobbying Congress to increase efforts at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The commission is charged with protecting the public from products that pose certain risks to consumers. The commission has responded to the recent incidents by putting new surveillance measures in place at ports and elsewhere, among other initiatives.

"The Consumer Product Safety Commission is not up to doing its job," Mays added. "It is woefully underfunded and understaffed."

A bill under consideration in Congress would give the commission money to increase staff and more authority to set standards such as altering the acceptable lead content in toys.

Limehouse said he hopes there's no need for his legislation to come to fruition. He wants the federal government to step up, but in the meantime, he will be drumming up support for the bill.

"Hopefully, my legislation is going to raise eyebrows in Beijing and Washington, and they are going to realize we are not going to sit back and take what comes our way," he said.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.