enlarge 2009 Press Herald file

William John Woods of Ogunquit Wooden Toy says it was absurd to require the testing of what essentially are food products, such as the walnut oil he uses to finish the toys.

Mainers who make baby slings, children's hats and wooden toys are among those who are getting a reprieve from federal lead testing requirements that some small businesses feared could put them out of work.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act still goes into effect next Tuesday, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission last week issued a one-year delay on a requirement that products for children 12 and younger be tested for lead and phthalates, which are used to soften plastics.

Manufacturers of children's items – including crafters who make their items at home – would have been required to arrange for third-party lab testing of the components used for their products.

William John Woods said his toys are made completely of wood – down to the axles and wheels – and are finished with beeswax and the same kind of walnut oil used on salads. Woods, the owner of Ogunquit Wooden Toy, said it was absurd that the law should require the testing of what essentially are food products.

He said he had been hoping that common sense would prevail. "I don't know if it will prevail in the end, but it seems to have prevailed for a year anyway," he said.

The yearlong delay is meant to give the commission's staff more time to finalize the rules and provide more guidance about testing. It's possible that some materials, such as natural fibers and unpainted wood, could be exempted from lead testing.

Members of the Maine Merchants Association were relieved to learn of the one-year moratorium, said Curtis Picard, the executive director of the 1,000-member organization. Retailers would have been required to make sure their inventories complied with the testing rules.

Confusion about the rules remains, however.

Picard said the law was written in such a way that it could have applied to all sorts of items, not just those intended exclusively for children 12 and under. He said there were questions from members about iPods, shoes and the valve stems of bike tires.

"Those things are brass. Brass has lead in it, but nobody's going to be ingesting it," he said.

Jennifer Houghton, the owner of The Little Hat Co. in South Berwick, said she has been distressed for weeks because of the law. With testing for each component of a garment costing between $400 and $600, it would not have been feasible for her to continue making children's items, she said.

Houghton said she had been thinking about how to reinvent a business built around baby hats. She had her lead designer work on adult hats and put off buying fabrics for the year because of the anticipated requirements.

"It's given us some breathing room," she said of the delay.

The reprieve didn't come soon enough for Heidi MacIsaac. She had decided to close her store in Farmington, Blessed Baby Boutique, because of the rules. She learned of the stay of enforcement Saturday, the same day she shut down the store and the day after the commission voted for the moratorium.

Her store sold such items as organic cloth diapers, nursing pillows and the baby slings she made herself. She says she plans to continue selling items from home, online and in other shops now that the moratorium is in place.

MacIsaac and Houghton both hope that the new rules will require larger manufacturers of components like buttons and fabric to test for lead.

"Even if I bought a shirt at Wal-Mart – brought it home and dyed it or brought it home and added a patch to it – I'm now the manufacturer and have to test it," MacIsaac said.

Michael Belliveau, executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, an environmental advocacy group, agrees that the onus of testing should fall on the manufacturers of components rather than mom and pop operations.

Belliveau said the delay will help clarify the rules while keeping protections...