The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which outlines new standards for lead content in products, may still spell trouble for Salem area thrift and consignment stores, as well as the people who rely on these stores to provide for their families.

The new law, which had been scheduled to go in effect in February, is intended to protect children from potential hazards by forbidding the manufacture or sale of any products intended for children that contain lead.

Earlier this month, the Portland Road St. Vincent De Paul offered bag-sales of all their children's clothes, trying to dispose of them before the law went into effect. Mary Allen, manager of St. Vincent De Paul, described the effort as a rush to dispose of children's items lest she end up with hundreds of pounds of "hazardous waste" on her hands.

"We simply do not have the man-hours to check the hundreds of products on the recall list against all our donations," said Allen.

The law appeared to be the death knell for thrift and consignment stores, as well as for producers of hand-crafted materials for children. As many discovered, the potential hazards were everywhere - toys, ink in older children's book, zippers on coats, buttons on sweaters, and even snaps in baby onesies.

Protest against the law reached nationwide levels, and not just from resellers and the charities they often support, but the people who rely on less expensive used merchandise to provide for their children. Even members of congress were outraged by the lack of clarity in the law. Legislators requested President Barack Obama remove the acting chair of the CPSC, Nancy Nord, immediately for incompetence.

As a result of the public outcry, the U.S. Safety Commission seemed to be changing the interpretation of the CPSIA by the day. A confusing one-year stay of the law as it applies to thrift and consignment stores was declared in early February. While stay means resellers don't need to test for lead, it still holds them responsible should they sell a product determined to contain lead.

The CPSIA legislation is also vague on the penalties for transgression of the new law. Any penalties incurred "depend upon the circumstances, including the nature of the product defect, the number of products, the severity of the risk of injury and the type of violation."

The commission website concludes by promising resellers that the "goal is to help avoid future violations and protect your customers, not to put you out of business."

The Portland Road St. Vincent DePaul will likely stop accepting and stocking any children's toys, no matter what the particulars of the fluctuating CPSIA end up being, or when they go into permanent effect, Allen said. However, the recently-revised CPSIA allows her to feel comfortable enough to continue to offer children's clothes.

Salem outreach-program Family Building Blocks partly supports their service to the community through their children's consignment store, Reruns for Kids.

The store will continue to offer used children's clothing, baby accessories, and handmade crafts to the community.

"We are diligent about checking the CPSC website for warnings on toys and furniture that we accept at Reruns," Burgess said.

However, Burgess will be revamping their donations guidelines for Family Building Blocks.

"Donors may see a more cautious approach to accepting donations. In the future, we will sort donations as they arrive and only accept those items that are safe and that we can use for our families," Burgess said.

Whether or not these precautions will still be sufficient when the Resellers Stay of the CPSIA expires next year is yet to be seen. The line between common sense and protecting children is difficult to draw, perhaps far more difficult for the US government than parents themselves.