[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 149 (Thursday, August 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47729-47730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16693]



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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2019-0014]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the 
Voluntary Standard for Gates and Enclosures

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 Gates and Enclosures, 
incorporates by reference ASTM F1004-21, Standard Consumer Safety 
Specification for Expansion Gates and Expandable Enclosures. 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 products covered by the standard.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2019-0014, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. 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. CPSC typically does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described below.
    Mail/hand delivery/courier/confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. You may, however, submit comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479.
    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. 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].
    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-2019-0014, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlos Torres, Project Manager, 
Division of Mechanical and Combustion Engineering, U.S. Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; 
telephone: (301) 987-2504; 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 authority, in 2020 the Commission issued a mandatory 
safety rule for gates and enclosures. The rulemaking created 16 CFR 
part 1239, which incorporated by reference ASTM F1004-19, Standard 
Consumer Safety Specification for Expansion Gates and Expandable 
Enclosures. 85 FR 40100 (July 6, 2020). The mandatory standard included 
performance requirements and test methods, as well as requirements for 
warning labels and instructions, to address hazards to children. In 
2021, ASTM revised the voluntary standard for gates and enclosures. On 
September 28, 2021, the Commission issued a direct final rule to update 
the mandatory standard for gates and enclosures to incorporate by 
reference that revision known as ASTM F1004-21 (86 FR 53535).
    In July 2022, ASTM published a further revised version of the 
incorporated voluntary standard. On July 25, 2022, ASTM notified the 
Commission that it had approved and published the revised version of 
the voluntary standard. 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 consumer products 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 F1004-22.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve this 
notice.
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    The existing voluntary standard and the revised voluntary standard 
are available for review in several ways. ASTM has provided on its 
website (https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no cost, a read-only copy 
of ASTM F1004-22 and a red-lined version that identifies the changes 
made to ASTM F1004-21. 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/READINGLIBRARY/. 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; https://www.astm.org. 
Alternatively, interested parties can schedule an appointment to 
inspect copies of the standards at CPSC's Office of the Secretary, 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 August 18, 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,

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CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-16693 Filed 8-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P