[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 141 (Friday, July 23, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43107-43109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17591]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Parts 1508 and 1509

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2010-0075]


Revocation of Requirements for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-
Size Baby Cribs

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act 
of 2008 (``CPSIA'') requires the United States Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (``CPSC'' or ``Commission'') to promulgate consumer product 
safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. These 
standards are to be ``substantially the same as'' applicable

[[Page 43108]]

voluntary standards or more stringent than the voluntary standard if 
the Commission concludes that more stringent requirements would further 
reduce the risk of injury associated with the product. The Commission 
is proposing to revoke its existing regulations pertaining to full-size 
and non-full-size cribs because, elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 
Register, the Commission is proposing consumer product safety standards 
for cribs that will further reduce the risk of injury associated with 
these products under section 104 of the CPSIA. The consumer product 
safety standard for cribs would include the requirements that are 
currently found at 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509 for full-size and non-
full-size cribs. To eliminate duplication, the Commission is proposing 
to remove 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509 entirely.

DATES: Written comments must be received by October 6, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-0075, may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Submissions

    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.

Written Submissions

    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 502, 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 rulemaking. 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: Patricia Edwards, Project Manager, 
Directorate for Engineering Sciences, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 
504-7577; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. What regulations is the CPSC proposing to revoke?

    CPSC first published the full-size crib regulation, 16 CFR part 
1508, in 1973 (38 FR 32129 (Nov. 21, 1973)) and amended it in 1982. 
CPSC published the regulation for non-full-size cribs, 16 CFR part 
1509, in 1976 (41 FR 6240 (Feb. 12, 1976)) and amended it in 1982. Both 
standards currently contain requirements pertaining to dimensions, 
spacing of components, hardware, construction and finishing, assembly 
instructions, cutouts, identifying marks, warning statements, and 
compliance declarations. In addition, 16 CFR part 1509 contains a 
requirement regarding mattresses.

B. Why is CPSC proposing to revoke the regulations pertaining to cribs?

    The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 
110-314 (``CPSIA'') was enacted on August 14, 2008. Section 104(b) of 
the CPSIA requires the Commission to promulgate consumer product safety 
standards for durable infant or toddler products. These standards are 
to be ``substantially the same as'' applicable voluntary standards or 
more stringent than the voluntary standard if the Commission concludes 
that more stringent requirements would further reduce the risk of 
injury associated with the product. Elsewhere in this issue of the 
Federal Register, the Commission is proposing safety standards for 
full-size and non-full-size cribs under the authority of section 104 of 
the CPSIA. These new proposed standards, if finalized, will adopt the 
voluntary standards developed by ASTM International (formerly known as 
the American Society for Testing and Materials), which are more 
stringent in some respects than the current applicable standards, and 
include ASTM F 1169-10, ``Standard Consumer Safety Specification for 
Full-Size Baby Cribs,'' and ASTM F 406-10, ``Standard Consumer Safety 
Specification for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs/Play Yards.''
    The proposed standards which the CPSC is publishing elsewhere in 
this issue of the Federal Register incorporate all of the requirements 
currently found in 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509. Consequently, if the 
Commission issues a final rule to adopt the consumer product safety 
standards for full-size and non-full-size cribs pursuant to section 
104(b) of the CPSIA, the requirements found at 16 CFR parts 1508 and 
1509 would become redundant. The Commission, therefore, intends to 
revoke 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509 in their entirety.
    The Commission emphasizes that the proposed revocation of 16 CFR 
parts 1508 and 1509 would have no substantive effect on crib safety. 
The requirements currently found at 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509 would 
still apply to full-size and non-full-size cribs, but would be part of 
new consumer product safety standards to be codified at 16 CFR parts 
1219 and 1220.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule would not impose any information collection 
requirements. Accordingly, this rule is not subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

D. Environmental Considerations

    This proposed rule falls within the scope of the Commission's 
environmental review regulation at 16 CFR 1021.5(c)(1), which provides 
a categorical exclusion from any requirement for the agency to prepare 
an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for rules 
that revoke product safety standards.

E. Effective Date

    The Commission proposes that a final rule to revoke 16 CFR parts 
1508 and 1509 become effective upon the effective date of the new 
mandatory standards to be developed for full-size and non-full-size 
cribs.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Parts 1508 and 1509

    Consumer protection, Cribs and bassinets, Infants and children, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons stated above, and under the authority of section 3 
of the CPSIA and 5 U.S.C. 553, the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
proposes to remove 16 CFR parts 1508 and 1509 entirely.

PART 1508--[REMOVED]

    1. Under authority of section 3 of the CPSIA, part 1508 is removed 
entirely.

PART 1509--[REMOVED]

    2. Under authority of section 3 of the CPSIA, part 1509 is removed 
entirely.


[[Page 43109]]


    Dated: July 14, 2010.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-17591 Filed 7-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P