[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 174 (Friday, September 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55413-55414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19468]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2009-0066]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the 
Voluntary Standard for Infant Walkers

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 Infant Walkers, incorporates 
by reference ASTM F977-12, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for 
Infant Walkers. 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 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2009-0066, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: 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: 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: www.regulations.gov, and insert the docket 
number, CPSC-2009-0066, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin J. Mordecai, Directorate for 
Laboratory Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2506; 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, the Commission issued a mandatory safety rule 
for infant walkers in 2010. The rulemaking created 16 CFR part 1216, 
which incorporated by reference ASTM F977-07, Standard Consumer Safety 
Specification for Infant Walkers, with modifications. 75 FR 35266 (Jun. 
21, 2010). The mandatory standard included performance requirements and 
test methods, as well as requirements for warning labels and 
instructions, to address hazards to children associated with infant 
walkers. Since promulgation of the final rule, ASTM revised the 
voluntary standard in May 2012. On June 24, 2013, the Commission 
revised the mandatory standard to incorporate by reference ASTM F977-
12, the current mandatory standard, without modification. 78 FR 37706 
(Jun. 24, 2013). In 2018, ASTM revised ASTM F977 but did not notify the 
Commission of that ASTM F977-18 revision.
    In July 2022, ASTM published a revised version of the incorporated 
voluntary standard, ASTM F977-22. ASTM subsequently published ASTM 
F977-22e1to make editorial corrections to the standard. On, August 29, 
2022, ASTM notified the Commission that it had approved the revised 
version of the voluntary standard. This revised version, ASTM F977-
22e1, builds on the revisions made to the standard in 2018 and 2022.
    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 F977-18, ASTM F977-22, and ASTM F977-22e1.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission voted 5-0 to approve this notice.
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    The incorporated voluntary standard and the revisions to the 
voluntary standard are available for review in several ways. ASTM has 
provided on its website (at www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no cost for 
read-only access, red-lined versions of ASTM F977-18, ASTM F977-22, and 
ASTM F977-22e1 that show the changes made by these revisions. Likewise, 
a read-only copy of the existing, incorporated standard (ASTM F977-12) 
is available for viewing, at no cost, on the ASTM website at: 
www.astm.org/READINGLIBRARY/. Interested parties can also download 
copies of the

[[Page 55414]]

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 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 September 23, 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. 2022-19468 Filed 9-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P