[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 132 (Monday, July 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39666-39667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16918]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No.CPSC-2010-0071]


Petition Requesting Revision of Bunk Bed Standard To Incorporate 
Requirements for Head and Neck Entrapment Testing in Spaces Created by 
Side Structures, Including Ladders

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission,'' 
``CPSC,'' or ``we'') received a petition requesting the Commission to 
initiate a rulemaking to revise the Commission's regulations regarding 
bunk beds, codified under both the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(``CPSA'') and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') at 16 
CFR 1213, 1500, and 1513 (the ``Bunk Bed Standard''), to incorporate 
requirements for head and neck entrapment testing in spaces created by 
side structures that are provided with a bunk bed, including ladders. 
The Commission invites written comments concerning this petition to 
initiate a rulemaking to revise the Bunk Bed Standard.

DATES: Comments on the petition must be received by September 10, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-
0071, by any of the following methods:
    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. To ensure timely processing of 
comments, the Commission is no longer accepting comments submitted by 
electronic mail (e-mail) except through http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submit written submissions in the following way:
    Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM 
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted 
without change, including any personal identifiers, contact 
information, or other personal information provided, to  http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information, 
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information 
electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rocky Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814; telephone (301) 504-6833, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The Commission received a petition from Carol Pollack-Nelson, PhD 
of Independent Safety Consulting (``Petitioner'') requesting that the 
Commission initiate a rulemaking to revise the regulations related to 
bunk beds, codified at 16 CFR parts 1213, 1500, and 1513 (``Bunk Bed 
Standard''), to incorporate requirements for head and neck entrapment 
testing in spaces created by side structures that are provided with a 
bunk bed, including ladders. The Commission regulates bunk beds under 
both the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') (16 CFR 1500 and 
1513), for bunk beds intended for use by children, and the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (``CPSA'') (16 CFR 1213), for bunk beds not 
specifically intended for children. The regulations under both statutes 
are virtually identical.
    Petitioner acknowledges that the risk of injury caused by head and 
neck entrapment in the end structures of bunk beds is quite low in 
compliant products because of the Bunk Bed Standard, but argues that 
same risk of injury continues to exist with regard to the space between 
a ladder and the side of the bed, which the standard does not address. 
The petition identifies 3 fatalities, and 4 other incidents of children 
whose head and/or neck were entrapped between the side of the bed and a 
bunk bed ladder. The hazard purportedly arises from the potential that 
a child's neck may become entrapped if the ``child's head is able to 
pass (partially) through the space created by a horizontal ladder rung 
and the top of the mattress, [and] the neck * * * drop[s] into the gap 
between the vertical ladder post and the side of the mattress * * *. 
Further contributing to the hazard pattern is the fact that the child's 
chin hooks over the vertical post of the ladder and is pinned at the 
back of the head by the mattress. The weight of the body outside the 
bed pulls the head and neck against the vertical ladder post. All of 
these factors together contribute to the neck entrapment and resulting 
strangulation.'' Petitioner states that assessing the entrapment hazard 
requires use of a neck probe that simulates the dimensions of the 
smallest user's neck. Using anthropometry data collected on children in 
the United States, the Petitioner argues that any space greater than 
1.9 in (4.8 cm) can pose a risk of neck entrapment in bunk bed side 
structures.
    Petitioner concludes that, while the hazard of head and neck 
entrapment on bunk beds and the methods of testing for a potential 
hazard are known to the industry, and data on injuries involving side 
structures have been on record with the CPSC for decades, the hazard of 
side structure entrapments on bunk beds has not been addressed in the 
Bunk Bed Standard. Petitioner argues that deaths have occurred and will 
continue to occur unless the Bunk Bed Standard is revised to include 
testing for head and neck entrapment in spaces created by side 
structures.
    Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or 
calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 
504-6833. The petition

[[Page 39667]]

is also available on the CPSC Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.

    Dated: July 6, 2010.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-16918 Filed 7-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P