The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a notice in the Federal Register that it will write regulations to limit cadmium content in children’s jewelry if the industry does not take steps to remove the metal from its products by Dec. 16, Bloomberg reported. The agency also granted a petition from four consumer groups requesting that cadmium be banned unless ASTM International acts in the next three months to determine a safe level for consumer products.
The European Chemicals Agency has published new guidance on compiling safety data sheets, Electronics Weekly reported. Among the suggestions in the new guidance is information on how to take into account the changes arising from the revised Annex II of the REACH regulations.
California has amended its health and safety code to require food safety handlers to be accredited by ANSI under the ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program, the standards institute announced. Beginning January 1, 2012, food handlers in California may obtain a food handler card only from ANSI-accredited training providers that meet the American National Standard, ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs.
ANSI has approved LEO 8000, Standard for Sustainable Electronic Gaming Machines as an American National Standard, the Leonardo Academy announced. The voluntary standard, which will enable the gaming industry to identify and communicate the sustainability parameters of their products and services, is the first ANS developed by Leonardo Academy, an ANSI-accredited standards developer.
Nestle Waters announced that its North Americas headquarters has achieved LEED Gold certification. The headquarters is the company’s tenth LEED-certified building and includes a white roof to reduce use of heating and air conditioning, low-flow water fixtures in bathrooms, and preferred parking for energy-efficient cars.
The Denver Zoo won The Green Award, presented by the Association of Zoos and Aquarium, as the nation’s most energy-efficient zoo, The Denver Examiner reported. The zoo converts waste into energy, includes a circulating water filtration system and was the only zoo in the country to receive an ISO 14001 certification mark for all of its operations.
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., parent company to Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants, announced that it has become the largest restaurant chain in the nation to be certified by the Green Restaurant Association. The company upgraded to high-efficiency spray valves, energy-efficient lighting, Green Seal-certified cleaning products and recyclable glass, paper, aluminum, and cardboard packaging.
Allied Feather & Down announced that it has received certifications stating that all of its products are Bluesign approved for textile manufacturers. The Bluesign standard is designed to guarantee that along the entire production chain, products only contain components and pass through processes that are harmless to people and the environment.
Honeywell Electronic Materials has announced that it will more than double its refining and casting capacity for high-purity copper and tin for use in semiconductors at its factory in Spokane, Wash. The company noted that tin is increasingly used instead of lead so that chip makers can comply with regulations like RoHS.