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USCPSC  U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (1972) (USCPSC) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect “against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products”.  The USCPSC mission is to protect consumers against unreasonable risk of injury by developing voluntary and mandatory standards, banning dangerous consumer products, issuing recalls of products already on the market, and researching potential hazards associated with consumer products. 

Products not under jurisdiction of the USCPSC include those specifically named by law as under the jurisdiction of other federal agencies; for example, automobiles are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), guns are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATFE), and drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The USCPSC has the authority to regulate the sale and manufacture of more than 15,000 different consumer products. 

USCPSC maintains a consumer hotline and website through which consumers may report concerns about unsafe products or injuries associated with products.  The agency also operates the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a probability sample of about 100 hospitals with 24-hour emergency rooms. NEISS collects data on consumer product related injuries treated in ERs and can be used to generate national estimates.

National legislation:

• Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Canadian Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2004
• United States Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• United Kingdom Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005

Standards under development

These standards are still under development:

• ISO 20282-1 – Ease of operation of everyday products — Part 1: Context of use and user characteristics
• ISO 20282-2 – Ease of operation of everyday products — Part 2: Test method

UL  Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

UL is a non governmental, voluntary, trusted source for product compliance.  Benefiting a range of customers - from manufacturers and retailers to consumers and regulating bodies.  UL goals are to create conformity and assessment of a broad portfolio of product categories and capabilities with standardized testing and certification marks to help identify and bring safer products to market.  UL has developed more than 800 Standards for Safety based on defined product categories.  These standards are essential to helping ensure public safety and confidence, reduce costs, improve quality and market products and services.  Millions of products and their components are tested to UL's rigorous safety standards, resulting in a safer environment.   A UL mark on a product tells you that samples of the product have been tested by product safety professionals.  The UL mark, "UL" inside a circle.  should be on every electrical product, fire extinguisher and fuel-burning appliance in your home.

UL Standards for Safety

To qualify your invention or products for UL review contact a UL qualified lab or representative.  UL standards may be accessed at www.ULStandards.com including notifications, updates, revisions and proposals, to UL Standards.  Standards Certification Customer Library 1-888-UL33503 (1-888-853-3503).  Many of UL's Standards are American National Standards.  Due to the requirement and the cost of standards testing, counterfeit marks are not uncommon.                           

CSA  Canadian Standards Association

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is composed of representatives from industry and is a safety standards testing organization of Canada . The CSA mark is required by law for many products sold within Canada, and tells consumers that the product meets or exceeds established standards for safety and performance.  CSA develops product safety and performance standards including those for electrical and electronic equipment, industrial equipment, compressed gas handling appliances, environmental protection, and construction materials.

EU  European Standards   CE (EU - similar to US based UL)

The CE mark (officially CE marking) is a mandatory conformity mark on many products placed on the single market in the European Economic Area (EEA). The formal "EC Mark" & latter "CE Marking" in the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993 are used. Officially, CE has no meaning as an abbreviation, but may have originally stood for Communauté Européenne or Conformité Européenne, French for European Conformity.  By affixing the CE marking, the manufacturer, its authorized representative, or person placing the product on the market or putting it into service asserts that the item meets all the essential requirements of all applicable EU directives and that the applicable conformity assessment procedures have been applied.  The CE marking is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in European Directives.

To permit the use of a CE mark on a product, proof that the item meets the relevant requirements must be documented. The responsible organization (manufacturer, representative, importer) has to issue a EC-Declaration of Conformity (EC-DoC) indicating his identity (location, etc.), the list of European Directives he declares compliance with, a list of standards the product complies, a number that identifies the so called Notified Body and a legally binding signature on behalf of the organization

The EC-DoC underlines the sole responsibility of the manufacturer.  Parts of the certification process for the CE marking could be performed by 3rd party certified testing lab or certification bodies;  Directives providing the requirements for the CE marking are created by the European Union (EU), but the markings are required throughout the European Economic Area (EEA), which also includes the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, and in Turkey, which is not a part of the EU or the EFTA. (Switzerland is the only nation that is part of the EFTA (or the EU), but not the EEA.  Swiss government requirements for Swiss Exporters of the CE Mark is not compulsory except for products for export to the European Union)

The similar "e mark", rather than the CE logo, is used on motor vehicles and components for motor vehicles [1] [2] [3]. (The "e mark" for motor vehicles is not to be confused with the 'e' mark for food labels[4]). The Automotive EMC directives use an e-Mark logo rather than the CE logo to indicate compliance. The logo is accompanied by other numbers which show which member state authority issued the product approval, which directive has been applied and which body did the testing.  For the sales of motor vehicles and their components, approvals according to the standards of the destination countries are essential.   CE experts assist in obtaining these approvals and provide their expertise concerning the homologation (= type approval) tests and all relevant administrative matters.  Reference the CE organization for EU and non EU - European country requirements.