[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27064]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 1, 1994]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

 

Petition Requesting Development of Safety Standard for Protective 
Batting Helmets

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has received a petition from the American 
Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery which requests the 
Commission to develop a safety standard for protective batting helmets 
intended for use by children under age 15 that would require these 
helmets be manufactured with a face guard. The Commission solicits 
written comments concerning the petition.1

    \1\The Commission approved publication of this notice by a vote 
of 2-0.
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DATES: Comments on the petition should be received in the Office of the 
Secretary by January 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the petition should be mailed to the Office of 
the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 
20207, telephone (301) 504-0800, or delivered to the Office of the 
Secretary, room 501, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. 
Comments should be captioned ``HP 95-1, Petition for Development of 
Safety Standard for Protective Batting Helmets.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rockelle Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; 
telephone (301) 504-0800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has docketed correspondence 
from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 
(``the Academy'') which requests that the Commission develop a safety 
standard for protective batting helmets intended for children under 15 
years of age as a petition for rulemaking under provisions of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.). The 
Commission is docketing the petition under the Federal Hazardous 
Substances Act because that statute addresses products intended for 
children that present a mechanical hazard and is thus the more 
appropriate statute. (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.)
    The petition asks that the requested standard require all 
protective batting helmets intended for the use of children under 15 
years of age be manufactured with a face guard that conforms to 
Standard F910 of the American Society for Testing and Materials 
(``ASTM''). The Academy asserts that use of batting helmets without 
face guards by children under the age of 15 creates an unreasonable 
risk of injury. The petition includes two articles from the journal 
``Pediatrics'' which state that batting-related injuries are a leading 
cause of sports-related eye injuries and that the Sports Eye Safety 
Committee of the National Society to Prevent Blindness has endorsed 
requiring face guards with batting helmets. The petition also includes 
a copy of the ASTM standard F910.
    Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or 
calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-0800. A copy of 
the petition is also available for inspection from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, in the Commission's Public Reading Room, room 
419, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland.

    Dated: October 27, 1994.
Sadye E. Dunn,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 94-27064 Filed 10-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P