[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33755-33756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11900]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2014-0018]
Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the
Voluntary Standard for Sling Carriers
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Sling Carriers, incorporates
by reference ASTM F2907-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for
Sling Carriers. The Commission has received notice of a revision to
this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment on whether the
revision improves the safety of the consumer product covered by the
standard.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 17, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2014-0018, by
any of the following methods:
[[Page 33756]]
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. CPSC typically does not accept
comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described
below. CPSC encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal.
Mail/hand delivery/courier/confidential Written Submissions: Submit
comments by mail, hand delivery, or courier to: Division of the
Secretariat, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-7479. If you wish to
submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or
other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be
available to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand
delivery, or courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal
information provided, to: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit
through this website: Confidential business information, trade secret
information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do
not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such
information, please submit it according to the instructions for mail/
hand delivery/courier/confidential written submissions.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the
docket number, CPSC-2014-0018, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Foster, Project Manager,
Division of Human Factors, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2034; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires the Commission to adopt
mandatory standards for durable infant or toddler products. 15 U.S.C.
2056a(b)(1). Mandatory standards must be ``substantially the same as''
voluntary standards, or may be ``more stringent'' than voluntary
standards, if the Commission determines that more stringent
requirements would further reduce the risk of injury associated with
the products. Id. Mandatory standards may be based, in whole or in
part, on a voluntary standard.
Pursuant to section 104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, if a voluntary
standards organization revises a standard that has been adopted, in
whole or in part, as a consumer product safety standard under CPSIA
section 104, it must notify the Commission. The revised voluntary
standard then shall be considered to be a consumer product safety
standard issued by the Commission under section 9 of the Consumer
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the date
on which the organization notifies the Commission (or a later date
specified by the Commission in the Federal Register) unless, within 90
days after receiving that notice, the Commission responds to the
organization that it has determined that the proposed revision does not
improve the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard, and
therefore, the Commission is retaining its existing mandatory consumer
product safety standard. 15 U.S.C. 2056a(b)(4)(B).
Under this CPSIA authority, the Commission issued a mandatory
safety rule for sling carriers. The rulemaking created 16 CFR part
1228, which incorporated by reference ASTM F2907-15, Standard Consumer
Safety Specification for Sling Carriers. 82 FR 8671 (Jan. 30, 2017).
The mandatory standard included performance requirements and test
methods, as well as requirements for warning labels and instructional
literature, to address hazards to children associated with sling
carriers. On April 20, 2020, the CPSC published a revised standard for
sling carriers, which incorporated by reference ASTM F2907-19, with
modifications to the requirements for test methods, labeling, and
instructional literature which improved the safety of sling carriers.
85 FR 21766.
In April 2022, ASTM published a further revised version of the
incorporated voluntary standard. On May 23, 2022, ASTM notified the
Commission that it had approved the revised version of the voluntary
standard. This revised version includes revisions made to the standard
in 2021 (ASTM F2907-21) and 2022 (ASTM F2907-22).
CPSC staff is assessing the revised voluntary standard to
determine, consistent with section 104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, its
effect on the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard.
The Commission invites public comment on that question to inform
Staff's assessment and any subsequent Commission consideration of the
revisions in ASTM F2907-21 and ASTM F2907-22.
The existing voluntary standard and the revised voluntary standard
are available for review in several ways. ASTM has provided read-only
copies, at no cost, of the red-lined versions of ASTM F2907-21 and ASTM
F2907-22 that identify the changes made to the ASTM F2907-19 version,
and the revised standard, on ASTM's website at: https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm. Likewise, a read-only copy of the existing, incorporated
standard is available for viewing, at no cost, on the ASTM website at:
https://www.astm.org/products-services/reading-room.html. Interested
parties can also download copies of the standards by purchasing them
from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West
Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; phone: 610-832-9585; www.astm.org.
Alternatively, interested parties can schedule an appointment to
inspect copies of the standards at CPSC's Division of the Secretariat,
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone: 301-504-7479; email: [email protected].
Comments must be received by June 17, 2022. Because of the short
statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to
consider revised voluntary standards under section 104(b)(4) of the
CPSIA, CPSC will not consider comments received past this date.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-11900 Filed 6-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P