• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, March 7, 2008 11:45 AM

A bill approved yesterday by the Senate--as well as a similar bill already passed by the House--aims to plug holes in the government's consumer safety net that have been letting hazardous products aimed at children slip through. Under the bills, the Consumer Product Safety Commission would develop procedures for certifying and monitoring the work of independent labs that test for conformance with federal safety standards.

Turning over such a key consumer watchdog role to private laboratories is raising questions about how much protection consumers will get and how independent the labs really are. In some cases, the dangerous children's toys and cribs recalled last year had passed through several test-lab reviews before landing on store shelves. Many of the labs that will do the testing are large, reputable companies, of course, and keeping faulty products off the market is good for business.

But some critics worry the thoroughness of testing can be compromised because labs are dependent on retailers and manufacturers for business. John W. de Gravelles, an attorney who represents consumers injured by faulty products, cites what he calls a "cozy arrangement" between Wal-Mart and its primary testing lab, Consumer Testing Laboratories. "How rigorous the testing is, I'm sure, is less determined by CTL than it is Wal-Mart," he says.

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