2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 21a - Consumer Protection
Chapter 420d - State Child Protection Act
Section 21a-335 - (Formerly Sec. 19-558). Definitions.

For the purposes of this section and sections 21a-336 to 21a-349, inclusive, unless specifically otherwise provided:

(a) “Agency” means the Department of Consumer Protection;

(b) “Administrator” means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection or his legally authorized representative or agent;

(c) “Person” includes an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or association, or his or its legal representative or agent;

(d) “Commerce” means any and all commerce within the state of Connecticut and subject to the jurisdiction thereof; and includes the operation of any business or service establishment;

(e) “Hazardous substance” means: (1) (A) Any substance or mixture of substances which (i) is toxic, (ii) is corrosive, (iii) is an irritant, (iv) is a strong sensitizer, (v) is flammable or combustible, or (vi) generates pressure through decomposition, heat or other means, if such substance or mixture of substances may cause substantial personal injury or substantial illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion by children; (B) any substances which the administrator by regulation finds meet the requirements of subdivision (1) (A) of this subsection pursuant to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of section 21a-336; (C) any substance classified as a hazardous substance pursuant to federal regulations adopted under the authority of the federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 USC 1261 et seq.); (D) any radioactive substance, if, with respect to such substance as used in a particular class of article or as packaged, the administrator determines by regulation that the substance is sufficiently hazardous to require labeling in accordance with this section and sections 21a-336 to 21a-346, inclusive, in order to protect the public health; (E) any toy or other article intended for use by children which the administrator by regulation determines in accordance with subsection (a) or (b) of section 21a-336 presents an electrical, mechanical or thermal hazard; (2) “hazardous substance” shall not apply to economic poisons subject to the federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act or chapter 441 nor to foods, drugs and cosmetics subject to chapter 418, nor to substances intended for use as fuels when stored in containers and used in the heating, cooking or refrigeration system of a house, but such term shall apply to any article which is not itself an economic poison within the meaning of the federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act or said chapter 441 but which is a hazardous substance within the meaning of subdivision (1) of this subsection by reason of bearing or containing such an economic poison; (3) “hazardous substance” shall not include any source material, special nuclear material or by-product material as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and regulations issued pursuant thereto by the Atomic Energy Commission;

(f) “Toxic” shall apply to any substance, other than a radioactive substance, which has the capacity to produce personal injury or illness to man through ingestion, inhalation or absorption through any body surface;

(g) (1) “Highly toxic” means any substance which falls within any of the following categories: (A) Produces death within fourteen days in half or more than half of a group of ten or more laboratory white rats each weighing between two hundred and three hundred grams, at a single dose of fifty milligrams or less per kilogram of body weight, when orally administered; or (B) produces death within fourteen days in half or more than half of a group of ten or more laboratory white rats each weighing between two hundred and three hundred grams, when inhaled continuously for a period of one hour or less at an atmosphere concentration of two hundred parts per million by volume or less of gas or vapor or two milligrams per liter by volume or less of mist or dust, provided such concentration is likely to be encountered by man when the substance is used in any reasonably foreseeable manner; or (C) produces death within fourteen days in half or more than half of a group of ten or more rabbits tested in a dosage of two hundred milligrams or less per kilogram of body weight, when administered by continuous contact with the bare skin for twenty-four hours or less; (2) if the administrator finds that available data on human experience with any substance indicate results different from those obtained on animals in the above-named dosages or concentrations, the human data shall take precedence;

(h) “Corrosive” means any substance which in contact with living tissue will cause destruction of tissue by chemical action; but shall not refer to action on inanimate surfaces;

(i) “Irritant” means any substance not corrosive within the meaning of subsection (h) which on immediate, prolonged or repeated contact with normal living tissue will induce a local inflammatory reaction;

(j) “Strong sensitizer” means a substance which will cause on normal living tissue, through an allergic or photodynamic process, a hypersensitivity which becomes evident on reapplication of the same substances and which is designated as such by the administrator. Before designating any substance as a strong sensitizer, the administrator, upon consideration of the frequency of occurrence and severity of the reaction, shall find that the substance has a significant potential for causing hypersensitivity;

(k) “Extremely flammable” shall apply to any substance which has a flash point at or below twenty degrees Fahrenheit as determined by the Tagliabue Open Cup Tester, “flammable” shall apply to any substance which has a flash point of above twenty degrees to and including eighty degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by the Tagliabue Open Cup Tester and “combustible” shall apply to any substance which has a flash point above eighty degrees to and including one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by the Tagliabue Open Cup Tester, except that the flammability or combustibility of solids and of the contents of self-pressurized containers shall be determined by methods found by the administrator to be generally applicable to such materials or containers, respectively, and established by regulations issued by him, which regulations shall also define the terms “flammable” and “combustible” and “extremely flammable” in accord with such methods;

(l) “Radioactive substance” means a substance which emits ionizing radiation;

(m) “Label” means a display of written, printed or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any substance or, in the case of an article which is unpackaged or is not packaged in an immediate container intended or suitable for delivery to the ultimate consumer, a display of such matter directly upon the article involved or upon a tag or other suitable material affixed thereto, and a requirement made by or under authority of this section and sections 21a-336 to 21a-346, inclusive, that any word, statement or other information appear on the label shall not be considered to be complied with unless such word, statement or other information also appears (1) on the outside container or wrapper, if any there be, unless it is easily legible through the outside container or wrapper, and (2) on all accompanying literature where there are directions for use, written or otherwise;

(n) “Immediate container” does not include package liners;

(o) “Misbranded hazardous substance” means a hazardous substance, including a toy, or other article intended for use by children, which is a hazardous substance, or which bears or contains a hazardous substance in such manner as to be susceptible of access by a child to whom such toy or other article is entrusted, intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in the household or by children, which substance, except as otherwise provided by or pursuant to section 21a-336, fails to bear a label (1) which states conspicuously (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or seller; (B) the common or usual name or the chemical name, if there is no common or usual name, of the hazardous substance or of each component which contributes substantially to its hazard, unless the administrator by regulation permits or requires the use of a recognized generic name; (C) the signal word “danger” on substances which are extremely flammable, corrosive or highly toxic; (D) the signal word “warning” or “caution” on all other hazardous substances; (E) an affirmative statement of the principal hazard or hazards, such as “Flammable”, “Combustible”, “Vapor Harmful”, “Causes Burns”, “Absorbed Through Skin” or similar wording descriptive of the hazard; (F) precautionary measures describing the action to be followed or avoided, except when modified by regulation of the administrator pursuant to section 21a-336; (G) instruction, when necessary or appropriate, for first-aid treatment; (H) the word “poison” for any hazardous substance which is defined as “highly toxic” by subsection (g); (I) instructions for handling and storage of packages which require special care in handling or storage; and (J) the statement (i) “Keep out of the reach of children” or its practical equivalent or, (ii) if the article is intended for use by children and is not a banned hazardous substance, adequate directions for the protection of children from the hazard, and (2) on which any statements required under subdivision (1) of this subsection are located prominently and are in the English language in conspicuous and legible type in contrast by typography, layout or color with other printed matter on the label;

(p) “Banned hazardous substance” means (A) any toy, or other article intended for use by children, which is a hazardous substance, or which bears or contains a hazardous substance in such manner as to be susceptible of access by a child to whom such toy or other article is entrusted; (B) (i) for the period commencing July 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2011, any children's product with greater than three hundred parts per million total lead content by weight for any part of the product; and (ii) on and after July 1, 2011, any children's product with greater than one hundred parts per million total lead content by weight for any part of the product, or such stricter standard established in regulation adopted pursuant to section 21a-342; (C) on and after July 1, 2009, any children's product with lead-containing paint greater than ninety parts per million total lead content; (D) on and after July 1, 2009, any children's product with lead-containing paint greater than .009 milligrams of lead per centimeter squared; (E) any hazardous substance intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in a household, classified, pursuant to section 21a-336 or pursuant to federal regulations adopted under authority of the federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 USC 1261 et seq.), as a “banned hazardous substance” that, notwithstanding such cautionary labeling as is or may be required under this section and sections 21a-336 to 21a-346, inclusive, for that substance, the degree or nature of the hazard involved in the presence or use of such substance in households is such that the objective of the protection of the public health and safety can be adequately served only by keeping such substance, when so intended or packaged, out of the channels of commerce; provided the administrator, by regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54, shall exempt from subparagraph (A) of this subdivision articles, such as chemical sets, which by reason of their functional purpose require the inclusion of the hazardous substance involved or necessarily present in electrical, mechanical or thermal hazard and which bear labeling giving adequate directions and warnings for safe use and are intended for use by children who have attained sufficient maturity, and may reasonably be expected, to read and heed such directions and warnings; (F) any new wood-burning stove, coal-burning stove, solid fuel add-on units or combination of such stoves and units, which is offered for sale or installed in any building, dwelling or structure in this state on or after July 1, 1985, and which has not been tested in accordance with Underwriters Laboratories Standard Number 1482; (G) any new unvented fuel-burning room heater offered for sale or use in any building, dwelling or structure in this state on or after July 1, 1985, which has not been tested in accordance with Underwriters Laboratories Standard Number 647 for unvented kerosene heaters and American National Standards Institute Standard Number Z21.11.2 for unvented gas heaters;

(q) An article may be determined to present an electrical hazard if, in normal use or when subjected to reasonably foreseeable damage or abuse, its design or manufacture may cause personal injury or illness by electric shock;

(r) An article may be determined to present a mechanical hazard if, in normal use or when subjected to reasonably foreseeable damage or abuse, its design or manufacture presents an unreasonable risk of personal injury or illness (1) from fracture, fragmentation or disassembly of the article, (2) from propulsion of the article, or any part or accessory thereof, (3) from points or other protrusions, surfaces, edges, openings or closures, (4) from moving parts, (5) from lack or insufficiency of controls to reduce or stop motion, (6) as a result of self-adhering characteristics of the article, (7) because the article, or any part or accessory thereof, may be aspirated or ingested, (8) because of instability, or (9) because of any other aspect of the article's design or manufacture;

(s) An article may be determined to present a thermal hazard if, in normal use or when subjected to reasonably foreseeable damage or abuse, its design or manufacture presents an unreasonable risk of personal injury or illness because of heat as from heated parts, substances or surfaces;

(t) “Drying oil” means linseed oil, tung oil, perilla oil or other oils which are found to contain a substantial proportion of fatty acids with three double molecular bonds;

(u) “Drying oil product” means a wood treatment or wood finish product containing a drying oil;

(v) “Children's product” means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children under age twelve, including, but not limited to, clothing, accessories, jewelry, decorative object, candy, food, dietary supplements or other edible or chewable items, toys, furniture or other articles used by or intended to be used by children;

(w) “Consumer product” means any article used primarily for personal, family or household purposes;

(x) “Paint and other similar surface-coating materials” means a fluid, semi-fluid or other material, with or without a suspension of finely divided coloring matter, which changes to a solid film when a thin layer is applied to a metal, wood, stone, paper, leather, cloth, plastic or other surface. The term does not include printing inks or those materials that actually become a part of the substrate, such as the pigment in a plastic article or those materials that are actually bonded to the substrate, such as by electroplating or ceramic glazing;

(y) “Lead-containing paint” means paint or other similar surface coating materials containing any detectable amount of lead or lead compounds.

(1971, P.A. 121, S. 1; P.A. 76-121, S. 1; P.A. 84-542, S. 4; P.A. 94-73, S. 1; P.A. 95-79, S. 80, 189; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c), (d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 08-106, S. 1; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2, S. 63.)

History: P.A. 76-121 redefined “hazardous substance” to include substances classified as hazardous under federal regulations and redefined “banned hazardous substance” to replace classification on basis of finding with classification pursuant to Sec. 19-559 or federal regulations; Sec. 19-558 transferred to Sec. 21a-335 in 1983; P.A. 84-542 amended Subsec. (p) by including within the definition of a banned hazardous substance certain coal and wood-burning stoves or add on units, and certain new unvented fuel-burning room heaters; P.A. 94-73 added Subsecs. (t) and (u), defining “dry oil” and “drying oil product”; P.A. 95-79 redefined “person” to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Commissioner and Department of Consumer Protection with Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 08-106 made definitions applicable to Secs. 21a-347 to 21a-349, redefined “banned hazardous substance” in Subsec. (p) and added Subsecs. (v) to (y) defining “children's product”, “consumer product”, “paint and other similar surface-coating materials” and “lead-containing paint”; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2 made technical changes in Subsec. (p)(F) and (G).