[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40822-40823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-19882]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

Petition Requesting Development of Safety Standard for Protective 
Batting Helmets and Staff Report

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In 1994, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and 
Reconstructive Surgery petitioned the Commission to develop a safety 
standard for protective batting helmets used by children younger than 
15 years of age to require these helmets to be manufactured with a face 
guard. In 1996, the Commission staff published a report about injuries 
to children associated with baseball and the types of protective 
equipment currently available to prevent those injuries. The Commission 
solicits written comments on the petition and on that portion of the 
report concerning facial injuries and batting helmets with face 
guards.1
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    \1\ The Commission voted 2-1 to publish this notice, with 
Commissioner Mary Shiela Gall dissenting. Commissioner Gall's 
statement concerning her vote is available from the Office of the 
Secretary.

DATES: Comments on the petition and the report should be received in 
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the Office of the Secretary by September 20, 1996.

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 502, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. 
Comments should be captioned ``Petition and Report Concerning Batting 
Helmets with Face Guards.'' Five copies are requested of each 
submission in response to this notice.
    A copy of the petition, comments on the petition submitted before 
July 26, 1995, and the document entitled ``Youth Baseball Protective 
Equipment Project--Final Report'' are available for inspection at the 
Commission's Public Reading Room, room 419, 4330 East-West Highway, 
Bethesda, Maryland. To obtain a copy of the petition, comments on the 
petition, or ``Youth Baseball Protective Equipment Project--Special 
Report,'' call or write Rockelle Hammond, Office of the Secretary, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; telephone 
(301) 504-0800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the petition or 
the staff report, call or write Susan B. Kyle, Directorate for 
Epidemiology and Health Sciences, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
Washington, D.C. 20207; telephone (301) 504-0470, extension 1210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1994, the American Academy of Facial 
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery petitioned the Commission to develop 
a safety standard for protective batting helmets intended for children. 
The petition, designated HP 95-1, requests development of a standard 
requiring batting helmets intended for children younger than 15 years 
of age to be manufactured with a face guard which meets the 
requirements of the Safety Specification for Face Guards for Youth 
Baseball (ASTM F910), published by ASTM (formerly the American Society 
for Testing and Materials). The petition includes two articles from the 
journal ``Pediatrics.'' These articles 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 asserts that the use of batting helmets without face guards by 
children younger than 15 years of age creates an unreasonable risk of 
injury.
    In the Federal Register of November 1, 1994 (59 FR 54548), the 
Commission published a notice to solicit written comments on the 
petition. In response to that notice the Commission received four 
comments, all of which urge denial of the petition.
    Two comments observe that the risk of being injured from impact of 
the ball is inherent in the game of baseball. One of these comments 
states that helmets meeting the requirements of the standard requested 
by the petition would add to the frustrations of young players and 
detract from their enjoyment of the game.
    Two other comments state that the ASTM standard for face guards 
should not be incorporated into a mandatory standard. These comments 
state that the adequacy of protection afforded by this standard has not 
been adequately evaluated, and that compliance with the standard could 
reduce the player's field of vision and access to the airway of an 
injured player.
    In 1995, the Commission staff began a study of the circumstances 
surrounding facial injuries associated with baseball and softball. On 
July 14, 1995, the Commission voted to defer a decision on the petition 
until the results of that study became available.
    In May 1996, the Commission staff completed a report entitled 
``Youth Baseball Protective Equipment Project--Final Report'' (the 
Final Report). That document provides information about injuries to 
children associated with baseball, and about protective equipment 
available to prevent those injuries. The Final Report discusses, among 
other things, a survey of injuries associated with baseball, softball, 
and T-ball treated in hospital emergency rooms during the spring and 
summer of 1995. A copy of the complete Final Report is available 
without charge by writing or calling the Office of the Secretary, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; telephone 
(301) 504-0800.
    From the survey of injuries associated with baseball, the 
Commission staff estimates that about 37 per cent (59,400) of the total 
youth baseball-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms 
were facial injuries. About 74 per cent of these facial injuries 
resulted from being hit by a ball; 19 per cent resulted from being hit 
by a bat; and about 7 per cent resulted from colliding with another 
player.
    Batters sustained 11 per cent of all facial injuries. Almost 98 per 
cent of the injured batters were batting righthanded. For these right-
handed

[[Page 40823]]

batters, 56 per cent of the facial injuries were to the left side of 
the face (the side toward the pitcher); 28 per cent were to the right 
side of the face; in the remaining 16 per cent, the location of the 
injury on the face was unknown.
    For the youngest children, ages five through seven years old, 
facial injuries represented a high proportion of all injuries (59 to 84 
per cent). Facial injuries accounted for 50 per cent or more of all 
injuries for players younger than 10 years of age.
    For five-year-olds, facial injuries were divided almost evenly 
between organized play (53 per cent) and unorganized play (47 per 
cent). Facial injuries in organized play predominated in all other age 
groups, consisting of 72 to 96 per cent of all injuries.
    The Commission staff estimates that 2.1 to 3.5 million protective 
batting helmets are in use by players in all organized youth leagues 
during a single season. About 4 to 10 per cent of these helmets are 
likely to have face guards. The Commission staff also estimates that 
about 125,000 to 200,000 face guards were sold during the years 1994 
and 1995.
    The results of the 1995 survey of injuries to children associated 
with baseball and other information contained in the Final Report were 
not available when the Commission requested comments on the petition in 
1994. Therefore, the Commission now solicits comments on the petition 
and those portions of the Final Report concerning facial injuries and 
face guards.
    Additionally, the Commission solicits information on the following 
topics:
     The expected useful life of face guards;
     The number and types of any injuries associated with the 
use of face guards;
     The number of children who participated in organized and/
or unorganized play, by age;
     Any information about the effectiveness of face guards to 
prevent or reduce injuries; and
     Information about annual sales of face guards for the past 
ten years, and projected sales for the next five years.

    Dated: July 31, 1996.
Sadye E. Dunn,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 96-19882 Filed 8-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P