[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 478-479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33631]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

 [Docket No. CPSC-2011-0087]


Petition Requesting Exception From the Lead Content Limits; 
Reopening of the Comment Period

AGENCY: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'' or 
``CPSC'' or ``we'' or ``us'') has received a petition requesting an 
exception from the 100 ppm lead content limit under section 101(b) of 
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA''), as 
amended by Public Law 112-28. We are reopening the comment period for 
30 days.

DATES: Submit comments by February 6, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2011-
0087, 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 (email), 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, 
U.S. 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 petition 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: Kristina Hatlelid, Ph.D., M.P.H., 
Directorate for Health Sciences, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 101(a) of the CPSIA, consumer 
products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years old and 
younger that contain lead content in excess of 100 ppm manufactured 
after August 12, 2011, are considered to be banned hazardous substances 
under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'').
    Section 101(b)(1) of the CPSIA provides for a functional purpose 
exception from lead content limits under certain circumstances. The 
exception allows us, on our own initiative, or upon petition by an 
interested party, to exclude a specific product, class of product, 
material, or component part from the lead limits established for 
children's products under the CPSIA if, after notice and a hearing, we 
determine that: (i) The product, class of product, material, or 
component part requires the inclusion of lead because it is not 
practicable or not technologically feasible to manufacture such 
product, class of product, material, or component part, as the case may 
be, in accordance with section 101(a) of the CPSIA by removing the 
excessive lead or by making the lead inaccessible; (ii) the product, 
class of product, material, or component part is not likely to be 
placed in the mouth or ingested, taking into account normal and 
reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of such product, class of product, 
material, or component part by a child; and (iii) an exception for the 
product, class of product, material, or component part will have no 
measurable adverse effect on public health or safety, taking into 
account normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse. Under section 
101(b)(1)(B) of the CPSIA, there is no measurable adverse effect on 
public health or safety if the exception will result in no measurable 
increase in blood lead levels of a child. Given the highly technical 
nature of the information sought, including data on the lead content of 
the product and test methods used to obtain those data, we believe that 
the notice and solicitation

[[Page 479]]

for written comments would provide the most efficient process for 
obtaining the necessary information, as well as provide adequate 
opportunity for all interested parties to participate in the 
proceedings. However, we would have the option to hold a public hearing 
or public meeting, if appropriate, to determine whether a petition for 
a functional purpose exception should be granted.
    On September 29, 2011, Joseph L. Ertl, Inc., (``petitioner''), 
submitted a petition requesting an exception from the lead content 
limit of 100 ppm under section 101(b) of the CPSIA for its die-cast, 
ride-on pedal tractors, scaled for children ages 3-10 years old. The 
petitioner states that the components of its pedal tractors are made of 
aluminum metal die castings, which are the best alloy of choice for 
pedal tractor production, based on weight, cost, structural properties, 
surface finish and coatings, corrosion resistance, and bearing 
properties and wear resistance. The pedal tractor components are 
manufactured via the aluminum die-casting process. Although the 
petitioner states that it is able to meet the lead content requirements 
of 300 ppm for its pedal tractor components, it is unable to meet 
consistently the 100 ppm lead content limits, due to alloys used in the 
aluminum die-cast process. Accordingly, the petitioner requests an 
exception from the 100 ppm lead content limit to continue to 
manufacture its pedal tractors with components above the 100 ppm lead 
content limit.
    In the Federal Register of November 16, 2011 (76 FR 70975) we 
invited comments on the issues raised by the petition. Interested 
parties could view a copy of the petition under supporting and related 
materials identified by Docket No. CPSC-2011-0087, through http://www.regulations.gov or on the CPSC Web site at: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia12/brief/ertlpetition.pdf or obtain a copy of the 
petition by writing or calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD 20184; telephone (301) 504-
7923.
    Recently, however, we learned that part of the petition was omitted 
inadvertently from the public docket. Accordingly, to give interested 
parties a meaningful opportunity to comment, we have made the entire 
petition available for viewing through http://www.regulations.gov or on 
the CPSC Web site at: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia12/brief/ertlpetition.pdf. Interested parties may also obtain a copy of the 
petition by writing or calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD 20184; telephone (301) 504-
7923.
    Through this notice, we are reopening the comment period to give 
all interested parties additional time to comment on the petition. 
Thus, the comment period is reopened until February 6, 2012.

    Dated: December 28, 2011.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2011-33631 Filed 1-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P