[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54202-54203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18987]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2015-0029]
Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the
Voluntary Standard for Children's Chairs and Children's Stools
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 Children's Folding Chairs and
Children's Folding Stools, incorporates by reference ASTM F2613-21,
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Children's Chairs and
Stools. 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 September 16, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2015-0029, 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-2015-0029, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin K. Lee, Directorate for
Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2486; 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
[[Page 54203]]
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, the Commission issued a mandatory safety rule
for children's folding chairs and children's folding stools in 2017.
The rulemaking created 16 CFR part 1232, which incorporated by
reference, without modification, ASTM F2613-17a, Standard Consumer
Safety Specification for Children's Chairs and Stools. Although the
voluntary standard applies to children's chairs and children's stools,
the scope of the mandatory standard is limited to children's folding
chairs and children's folding stools. 82 FR 59505 (Dec. 15, 2017). The
mandatory standard includes performance requirements and test methods,
as well as requirements for warning labels and instructions, to address
hazards to children associated with children's folding chairs and
children's folding stools. After promulgation of the final rule, ASTM
revised the voluntary standard in 2019 and 2021, and the Commission
issued two direct final rules to update the mandatory standard for
children's folding chairs and children's folding stools to incorporate
by reference the latest version of ASTM F2613:
On April 1, 2020, the Commission published a direct final
rule to update part 1232 to reflect incorporation by reference of ASTM
F2613-19, with no modifications (85 FR 18111).
On May 17, 2021, the Commission published a direct final
rule to update part 1232 to reflect incorporation by reference of ASTM
F2613-21, with no modifications (86 FR 26654).
In August 2022, ASTM published a revised version of the
incorporated voluntary standard, ASTM F2613-22. On August 22, 2022,
ASTM notified the Commission that it had approved and published that
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 F2613-22.\1\
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\1\ The Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve this
notice.
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The incorporated voluntary standard and the revised voluntary
standard are available for review in several ways. ASTM has provided on
its website (at https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no cost, a read-only
copy of ASTM F2613-22 and a red-lined version that identifies the
changes made to ASTM F2613-21. Likewise, a read-only copy of the
existing, incorporated standard (ASTM F2613-21) 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:
mailto:[email protected].
Comments must be received by September 16, 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 after this date.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-18987 Filed 9-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P