[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 20, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22030-22033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9422]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2009-0064]

16 CFR Part 1217


Third Party Testing for Certain Children's Products; Toddler 
Beds: Requirements for Accreditation of Third Party Conformity 
Assessment Bodies

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of requirements.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 
issuing a notice of requirements that provides the criteria and process 
for Commission acceptance of accreditation of third party conformity 
assessment bodies for testing pursuant to the CPSC regulation relating 
to toddler beds. The Commission is issuing this notice of requirements 
pursuant to section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(3)(B)(vi)).

DATES: Effective Date: The requirements for accreditation of third 
party conformity assessment bodies to assess conformity with 16 CFR 
part 1217 are effective April 20, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert ``Jay'' Howell, Assistant 
Executive Director for Hazard Identification and Reduction, U.S. 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, 
Maryland 20814; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    Section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA, as added by section 102(a)(2) 
of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public 
Law 110-314, directs the CPSC to publish a notice of requirements for 
accreditation of third party conformity assessment bodies to assess 
children's products for conformity with ``other children's product 
safety rules.'' Section 14(f)(1) of the CPSA defines ``children's 
product safety rule'' as ``a consumer product safety rule under [the 
CPSA] or similar rule, regulation, standard, or ban under any other Act 
enforced by the Commission, including a rule declaring a consumer 
product to be a banned hazardous product or substance.'' Under section 
14(a)(3)(A) of the CPSA, each manufacturer (including the importer) or 
private labeler of products subject to those regulations must have 
products that are manufactured more than 90 days after the Federal 
Register publication date of a notice of the requirements for 
accreditation, tested by a third party conformity assessment body 
accredited to do so, and must issue a certificate of compliance with 
the applicable regulations based on that testing. Section 14(a)(2) of 
the CPSA, as added by section 102(a)(2) of the CPSIA, requires that 
certification be based on testing of sufficient samples of the

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product, or samples that are identical in all material respects to the 
product. The Commission also emphasizes that, irrespective of 
certification, the product in question must comply with applicable CPSC 
requirements (see, e.g., section 14(h) of the CPSA, as added by section 
102(b) of the CPSIA).
    This notice provides the criteria and process for Commission 
acceptance of accreditation of third party conformity assessment bodies 
for testing pursuant to the safety standard for toddler beds, which 
appears elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The standard 
for toddler beds will be codified at 16 CFR part 1217. The standard 
contains the test methods that conformity assessment bodies will use to 
assess toddler beds. The Commission is recognizing limited 
circumstances in which it will accept certifications based on product 
testing conducted before the toddler bed standard becomes effective in 
six months. The details regarding those limited circumstances can be 
found in part IV of this document below.
    Although section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA directs the CPSC to 
publish a notice of requirements for accreditation of third party 
conformity assessment bodies to assess conformity with ``all other 
children's product safety rules,'' this notice of requirements is 
limited to the regulation identified immediately above.
    The CPSC also recognizes that section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA 
is captioned: ``All Other Children's Product Safety Rules,'' but the 
body of the statutory requirement refers only to ``other children's 
product safety rules.'' Nevertheless, section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the 
CPSA could be construed to require a notice of requirements for ``all'' 
other children's product safety rules, rather than as a notice of 
requirements for ``some'' or ``certain'' children's product safety 
rules. However, whether a particular rule represents a ``children's 
product safety rule'' may be subject to interpretation, and Commission 
staff is continuing to evaluate which rules, regulations, standards, or 
bans constitute ``children's product safety rules.'' The CPSC intends 
to issue additional notices of requirements for other rules that the 
Commission determines to be ``children's product safety rules.''
    This notice of requirements applies to all third party conformity 
assessment bodies as described in section 14(f)(2) of the CPSA. 
Generally speaking, such third party conformity assessment bodies are: 
(1) Third party conformity assessment bodies that are not owned, 
managed, or controlled by a manufacturer or private labeler of a 
children's product to be tested by the third party conformity 
assessment body for certification purposes; (2) ``firewalled'' 
conformity assessment bodies (those that are owned, managed, or 
controlled by a manufacturer or private labeler of a children's product 
to be tested by the third party conformity assessment body for 
certification purposes and that seek accreditation under the additional 
statutory criteria for ``firewalled'' conformity assessment bodies); 
and (3) third party conformity assessment bodies owned or controlled, 
in whole or in part, by a government.
    The Commission requires baseline accreditation of each category of 
third party conformity assessment body to the International 
Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical 
Commission (IEC) Standard 17025:2005, ``General Requirements for the 
Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.'' The accreditation 
must be by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the 
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation--Mutual Recognition 
Arrangement (ILAC-MRA), and the scope of the accreditation must include 
testing for any of the test methods identified earlier in part I of 
this document for which the third party conformity assessment body 
seeks to be accredited.
    (A description of the history and content of the ILAC-MRA approach 
and of the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 laboratory 
accreditation standard is provided in the CPSC staff briefing 
memorandum, ``Third Party Conformity Assessment Body Accreditation 
Requirements for Testing Compliance With 16 CFR Part 1501 (Small Parts 
Regulations),'' dated November 2008, and available on the CPSC's Web 
site at http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia09/brief/smallparts.pdf.)
    The Commission has established an electronic accreditation 
registration and listing system that can be accessed via its Web site 
at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/labaccred.html.
    As stated in part I of this document, the Commission, elsewhere in 
this issue of the Federal Register, is issuing a new standard for 
toddler beds that will be codified at 16 CFR part 1217. This notice of 
requirements is effective on April 20, 2011. The final rule announcing 
the Safety Standard for Toddler Beds is effective on October 20, 2011. 
The effect of these twin publications is that each manufacturer 
(including the importer) or private labeler of a product subject to 16 
CFR part 1217 must have any such product manufactured on or after 
October 20, 2011, tested by a third party conformity assessment body 
accredited to do so and must issue a certificate of compliance with 16 
CFR part 1217 based on that testing.
    This notice of requirements is exempt from the notice and comment 
rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 
553 (see section 14(a)(3)(G) of the CPSA, as added by section 102(a)(2) 
of the CPSIA (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(3)(G))).

II. Accreditation Requirements

A. Baseline Third Party Conformity Assessment Body Accreditation 
Requirements

    For a third party conformity assessment body to be accredited to 
test children's products for conformity with the test methods 
identified earlier in part I of this document, it must be accredited by 
an ILAC-MRA signatory accrediting body, and the accreditation must be 
registered with, and accepted by, the Commission. A listing of ILAC-MRA 
signatory accrediting bodies is available on the Internet at http://ilac.org/membersbycategory.html. The accreditation must be to ISO 
Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005, ``General Requirements for the Competence 
of Testing and Calibration Laboratories,'' and the scope of the 
accreditation must expressly include testing to the test method for 
toddler beds included in 16 CFR part 1217, Safety Standard for Toddler 
Beds. A true copy, in English, of the accreditation and scope documents 
demonstrating compliance with these requirements must be registered 
with the Commission electronically. The additional requirements for 
accreditation of firewalled and governmental conformity assessment 
bodies are described in parts II.B and II.C of this document below.
    The Commission will maintain on its Web site an up-to-date listing 
of third party conformity assessment bodies whose accreditations it has 
accepted and the scope of each accreditation. Once the Commission adds 
a third party conformity assessment body to that list, the third party 
conformity assessment body may commence testing of toddler beds to 
support certification by the manufacturer or private labeler of 
compliance with the test methods identified earlier in part I of this 
document.

B. Additional Accreditation Requirements for Firewalled Conformity 
Assessment Bodies

    In addition to the baseline accreditation requirements in part II.A 
of this document, firewalled conformity assessment bodies seeking 
accredited

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status must submit to the Commission copies, in English, of their 
training documents showing how employees are trained to notify the 
Commission immediately and confidentially of any attempt by the 
manufacturer, private labeler, or other interested party to hide or 
exert undue influence over the third party conformity assessment body's 
test results. This additional requirement applies to any third party 
conformity assessment body in which a manufacturer or private labeler 
of a children's product to be tested by the third party conformity 
assessment body owns an interest of 10 percent or more. While the 
Commission is not addressing common parentage of a third party 
conformity assessment body and a children's product manufacturer at 
this time, it will be vigilant to determine whether this issue needs to 
be addressed in the future.
    As required by section 14(f)(2)(D) of the CPSA, the Commission must 
formally accept, by order, the accreditation application of a third 
party conformity assessment body before the third party conformity 
assessment body can become an accredited firewalled conformity 
assessment body. The Commission's order must also find that accrediting 
the firewalled conformity assessment body would provide equal or 
greater consumer safety protection than the manufacturer's or private 
labeler's use of an independent conformity assessment body.

C. Additional Accreditation Requirements for Governmental Conformity 
Assessment Bodies

    In addition to the baseline accreditation requirements of part II.A 
of this document above, the CPSIA permits accreditation of a third 
party conformity assessment body owned or controlled, in whole or in 
part, by a government if:
     To the extent practicable, manufacturers or private 
labelers located in any nation are permitted to choose conformity 
assessment bodies that are not owned or controlled by the government of 
that nation;
     The third party conformity assessment body's testing 
results are not subject to undue influence by any other person, 
including another governmental entity;
     The third party conformity assessment body is not accorded 
more favorable treatment than other third party conformity assessment 
bodies in the same nation who have been accredited;
     The third party conformity assessment body's testing 
results are accorded no greater weight by other governmental 
authorities than those of other accredited third party conformity 
assessment bodies; and
     The third party conformity assessment body does not 
exercise undue influence over other governmental authorities on matters 
affecting its operations or on decisions by other governmental 
authorities controlling distribution of products based on outcomes of 
the third party conformity assessment body's conformity assessments.
    The Commission will accept the accreditation of a governmental 
third party conformity assessment body if it meets the baseline 
accreditation requirements of part II.A of this document and meets the 
additional conditions stated here. To obtain this assurance, CPSC staff 
will engage the governmental entities relevant to the accreditation 
request.

III. How does a third party conformity assessment body apply for 
acceptance of its accreditation?

    The Commission has established an electronic accreditation 
acceptance and registration system accessed via the Commission's Web 
site at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/labaccred.html. The applicant 
provides, in English, basic identifying information concerning its 
location, the type of accreditation it is seeking, and electronic 
copies of its ILAC-MRA accreditation certificate and scope statement, 
and firewalled third party conformity assessment body training 
document(s), if relevant.
    Commission staff will review the submission for accuracy and 
completeness. In the case of baseline third party conformity assessment 
bodies and government-owned or government-operated conformity 
assessment bodies, when that review and any necessary discussions with 
the applicant are completed satisfactorily, the third party conformity 
assessment body in question is added to the CPSC's list of accredited 
third party conformity assessment bodies at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/labaccred.html. In the case of a firewalled conformity assessment 
body seeking accredited status, when the staff's review is complete, 
the staff transmits its recommendation on accreditation to the 
Commission for consideration. (A third party conformity assessment body 
that ultimately may seek acceptance as a firewalled third party 
conformity assessment body may initially request acceptance as a third 
party conformity assessment body accredited for testing of children's 
products other than those of its owners.) If the Commission accepts a 
staff recommendation to accredit a firewalled conformity assessment 
body, the firewalled conformity assessment body then will be added to 
the CPSC's list of accepted third party conformity assessment bodies. 
In each case, the Commission will notify the third party conformity 
assessment body electronically of acceptance of its accreditation. All 
information to support an accreditation acceptance request must be 
provided in the English language.
    Once the Commission adds a third party conformity assessment body 
to the list, the third party conformity assessment body then may begin 
testing of children's products to support certification of compliance 
with the regulation identified earlier in part I of this document for 
which it has been accredited.

IV. Acceptance of Children's Product Certifications Based on Third 
Party Conformity Assessment Body Testing to the New Safety Standard for 
Toddler Beds Prior to Their Effective Date

    Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Commission is 
publishing a new safety standard for toddler beds, which will be 
codified at 16 CFR part 1217. The effect of this notice of requirements 
and the final rule is that each manufacturer (including the importer) 
or private labeler of a product subject to 16 CFR part 1217 must have 
any such product manufactured on or after October 20, 2011, tested by a 
third party conformity assessment body accredited to do so and must 
issue a certificate of compliance with 16 CFR part 1217 based on that 
testing.
    To ease the transition to the new standards and avoid a 
``bottlenecking'' of products at conformity assessment bodies at or 
near the effective date of 16 CFR part 1217, the Commission will accept 
certifications based on testing that occurred prior to the effective 
date of the new standard in certain prescribed circumstances. However, 
any such testing must comport with all CPSC requirements, including:
    1. The product \1\ was tested by a third party conformity 
assessment body that was ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by a signatory to the 
ILAC-MRA at the time of the test. For firewalled conformity assessment 
bodies, the firewalled conformity assessment body must be one that the 
Commission has accredited by order at or before the time the

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product was tested, even if the order did not include the test methods 
specified in this notice. If the third party conformity assessment body 
has not been accredited as a firewalled conformity assessment body by a 
Commission order, the Commission will not accept a certificate of 
compliance based on testing performed by the third party conformity 
assessment body before it is accredited, by Commission order, as a 
firewalled conformity assessment body;
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    \1\ The CPSIA requires that certification be based on testing of 
sufficient samples of the product or samples that are identical in 
all material respects to the product.
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    2. The third party conformity assessment body's application is 
accepted by the CPSC by October 20, 2011, as established by the 
Commission;
    3. The test results show compliance with 16 CFR part 1217;
    4. The product was tested on or after April 20, 2011 and before 
October 20, 2011; and
    5. The third party conformity assessment body's accreditation 
remains in effect through the effective date for mandatory third party 
testing and manufacturer/private labeler certification for the subject 
product's respective regulation.

    Dated: April 14, 2011.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2011-9422 Filed 4-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P