EFFECT UPON STATE LAW

SEC. 12. [1461] It is hereby declared that it is the express intent of Congress to supersede any and all laws of the States or political subdivisions thereof insofar as they may now or hereafter provide for the labeling of the net quantity of contents of the package of any consumer commodity covered by this Act which are less stringent than or require information different from the requirements of section 4 of this Act or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 13. [1451nt] This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1967: Provided, That the Secretary (with respect to any consumer commodity which is a food, drug, device, or cosmetic, as those terms are defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), and the Commission (with respect to any other consumer commodity) may by regulation postpone, for an additional twelve-month period, the effective date of this Act with respect to any class or type of consumer commodity on the basis of a finding that such a postponement would be in the public interest.

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POISON PREVENTION PACKAGING ACT

NOTE. See section 30 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (P.L. 92-573) (p. 110) which transferred the functions of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and transferred the functions of that Secretary, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Federal Trade Commission under the Flammable Fabrics Act to that Commission.

POISON PREVENTION PACKAGING ACT

(References in brackets [ ] are to title 15, United States Code)

[Public Law 91-601, Approved December 30, 1970]

AN ACT To provide for special packaging to protect children from serious personal injury or serious illness resulting from handling, using, or ingesting household substances, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

[SHORT TITLE]

SECTION 1. [1471nt] This Act may be cited as the "Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970".

[DEFINITIONS]

SEC. 2. [1471] For the purpose of this Act—

(1) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

(2) The term "household substance" means any substance which is customarily produced or distributed for sale for consumption or use, or customarily stored, by individuals in or about the household and which is—

(A) a hazardous substance as that term is defined in section 2(f) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(f));

(B) a food, drug, or cosmetic as those terms are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321); or

(C) a substance intended for use as fuel when stored in a portable container and used in the heating, cooking, or refrigeration system of a house.

(3) The term "package" means the immediate container or wrapping in which any household substance is contained for consumption, use, or storage by individuals in or about the household, and, for purposes of section 4(a)(2) of this Act, also means any outer container or wrapping used in the retail display of any such substance to consumers. Such term does not include

(A) any shipping container or wrapping used solely for the transportation of any household substance in bulk or in quantity to manufacturers, packers, or processors, or to wholesale or retail distributors thereof, or

(B) any shipping container or outer wrapping used by retailers to ship or deliver any household substance to consumers unless it is the only such container or wrapping.

(4) The term "special packaging" means packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under

five years of age to open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount of the substance contained therein within a reasonable time and not difficult for normal adults to use properly, but does not mean packaging which all such children cannot open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount within a reasonable time.

(5) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (A) upon any household substance or its package, or (B) accompanying such substance.

[SPECIAL PACKAGING STANDARDS]

SEC. 3. [1472] (a) The Secretary, 1 may establish in accordance with the provisions of this Act, by regulation, standards for the special packaging of any household substance if he finds that—

(1) the degree or nature of the hazard to children in the availability of such substance, by reason of its packaging, is such that special packaging is required to protect childen from serious personal injury or serious illness resulting from handling, using, or ingesting such substance; and

(2) the special packaging to be required by such standard is technically feasible, practicable, and appropriate for such substance.

(b) In establishing a standard under this section, the Secretary shall consider

(1) the reasonableness of such standard;

(2) available scientific, medical, and engineering data concerning special packaging and concerning childhood accidental ingestions, illness, and injury caused by household substances; (3) the manufacturing practices of industries affected by this Act; and

(4) the nature and use of the household substance.

(c) In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall publish his findings, his reasons therefor, and citation of the sections of statutes which authorize his action.

(d) Nothing in this Act shall authorize the Secretary to prescribe specific packaging designs, product content, package quantity, or, with the exception of authority granted in section 4(a)(2) of this Act, labeling. In the case of a household substance for which special packaging is required pursuant to a regulation under this section, the Secretary may in such regulation prohibit the packaging of such substance in packages which he determines are unnecessarily attractive to children.

[MARKETING OF NONCOMPLYING PACKAGES]

SEC. 4. [1473] (a) For the purpose of making any household substance which is subject to a standard established under section 3 readily available to elderly or handicapped persons unable to use such substance when packaged in compliance with such standard, the manufacturer or packer, as the case may be, may package any household substance, subject to such a standard, in packaging of a single size which does not comply with such standard if—

1 Comma retained in amendment by Pub. L. 97-414, §9(k), January 4, 1983 (96 Stat. 2065).