[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52625-52626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21364]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52625]]



CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1201


Petition Requesting Rulemaking To Revise Test Procedures for 
Glazing Materials in Architectural Products

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Comment request.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'' or 
``we'') has received a petition (CP12-3) requesting that the Commission 
initiate rulemaking to replace the testing procedures for glazing 
materials in certain architectural products set forth in our 
regulations, with those testing procedures contained in ANSI Z97.1, 
``American National Standard for Safety Glazing Materials Used in 
Building--Safety Performance Specifications and Methods of Test.'' We 
invite written comments concerning the petition.

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments on the 
petition by October 29, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2012-
0049, 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 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 820, 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. A copy of the 
petition is available at http://www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. 
CPSC-2012-0049, Supporting and Related Materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rochelle Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 
East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-6833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has received a submission 
from William M. Hannay, Attorney at Law, Counsel for Safety Glazing 
Certification Council (``petitioner''), dated June 26, 2012, requesting 
that the Commission initiate a rulemaking to replace the current 
testing procedures for glazing materials codified at 16 CFR 1201.4, 
with those contained in ANSI Z97.1, ``American National Standard for 
Safety Glazing Materials Used in Building--Safety Performance 
Specifications and Methods of Test.'' The Commission is docketing this 
request as a petition under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). 15 
U.S.C. 2056 and 2058. The current standard for architectural glazing 
materials applies to glazing materials used or intended to be used in 
the architectural products subject to the standard, i.e., storm doors 
or combination doors, doors, bathtub doors and enclosures, shower doors 
and enclosures and sliding glass doors. The testing procedures set 
forth in Section 1201.4 require impact tests and accelerated 
environment durability tests which are intended to determine if glazing 
materials used in these architectural products meet safety requirements 
designed to reduce or eliminate unreasonable risks of death or serious 
injury to consumers when glazing material is broken by human contact. 
The testing procedures further describe the testing equipment and 
apparatus required to be used, and the test result interpretation 
methodology to be employed in determining if the glazing materials 
being tested meet the safety requirements of the standard.
    Petitioner asserts that consumers and the glazing industry would be 
better served by replacing the test procedures for glazing materials 
used in the above-referenced architectural products in 16 CFR 1201.4 
with ANSI Z97.1's purportedly more efficient and more modern 
procedures. Petitioner notes that the testing procedures set forth in 
Section 1201.4 were promulgated in 1977 and have not been updated or 
clarified since their original adoption by the Commission. Petitioner 
points out that the ANSI standard for glazing materials has been 
updated periodically (in 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2009) since the mandatory 
standard was promulgated, and that these updates include modifications 
in testing equipment and procedures that provide better protection for 
consumers.
    Petitioner asserts that the absence of updates to the mandatory 
standard during a period in which the ANSI standard was revised four 
times has resulted in different testing methods and qualifying 
procedures that has created confusion in the industry regarding which 
test methodology must be used in what circumstance. Petitioner claims 
that the existence of overlapping but divergent mandatory and voluntary 
standards has created confusion for manufacturers in determining which 
standard applies, and resulted in manufacturers being required to pay 
for dual qualification testing, because different specifying agencies 
reference one or both standards. Petitioner also includes the proposed 
language that would replace the current Section 1201.4, directing 
manufacturers and private labelers of glazing material to test and 
certify the compliance of their products to the current ANSI standard.
    By this notice, we seek comments concerning this petition. 
Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or 
calling the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Room 820, 4330

[[Page 52626]]

East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923. A copy 
of the petition is also available at http://www.regulations.gov, under 
Docket No. CPSC-2012-0049, Supporting and Related Materials.

    Dated: August 24, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-21364 Filed 8-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P