[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10304-10305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03262]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2012-0067]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the 
Voluntary Standard for Bedside Sleepers

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 Bedside Sleepers, 
incorporates by reference ASTM F2906-13, Standard Consumer Safety 
Specification for Bedside Sleepers. ASTM notified the Commission that 
it has revised this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment 
on whether the revision improves the safety of bedside sleepers.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2012-0067, 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-2012-0067, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celestine Kish, Directorate for 
Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2547; email: 
[email protected].

[[Page 10305]]


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, on January 15, 2014, the Commission issued a 
mandatory safety rule for children's bedside sleepers (79 FR 2589). The 
rulemaking created 16 CFR part 1222, which incorporates by reference, 
with modifications, ASTM F2906-13, Standard Consumer Safety 
Specification for Bedside Sleepers. The modifications under Sec.  
1222.2(b) require that bedside sleepers be tested to the mandatory 
Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles, codified at 16 CFR part 
1218.
    ASTM F2906 describes bedside sleepers as products intended to 
provide sleeping space for an infant up to approximately 5 months of 
age (or when child begins to push up on hands and knees). The standard 
states that these products are intended to be secured to the side of an 
adult bed for the purpose of having a baby sleep in close proximity to 
an adult. The minimum required side-height for beside sleepers 
generally is the same as bassinets, 7.5 inches. However, for the side 
of the sleeper that attaches to an adult bed, the minimum side-height 
is 4 inches. The mandatory standard also includes performance 
requirements and test methods, as well as requirements for warning 
labels and instructions, to address hazards to children associated with 
children's bedside sleepers.
    Since publishing the 2013 version of ASTM F2906, ASTM published 
revisions in 2022 and 2023. ASTM published ASTM F2906-22 on October 1, 
2022, to clarify side-height and attachment requirements for bedside 
sleepers. However, CPSC understands that ASTM discovered an error in 
the publication allowing for an unintended side-height exemption for 
the side of the product that attaches to an adult bed, for certain 
products, and therefore did not notify the Commission of this revision. 
On January 1, 2023, ASTM published a revised version of the 
incorporated voluntary standard, ASTM F2906-23, that removes the 
unintended exemption. On February 6, 2023, ASTM notified the Commission 
that it had approved and published ASTM F2906-23. 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, namely bedside sleepers. The 
Commission invites public comment on that question, to inform staff's 
assessment and any subsequent Commission consideration of the revisions 
in ASTM F2906-23.\1\
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    \1\ On February 10, 2023, the Commission voted 4-0 to publish 
this notification.
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    The incorporated voluntary standard and the two revised voluntary 
standards, ASTM F2906-22 and -23, 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 both the 2022 and 2023 
revisions to ASTM F2906, including red-lined versions that identify the 
changes made to ASTM F2906-13 and ASTM F2906-22. Likewise, a read-only 
copy of the existing, incorporated standard (ASTM F2906-13) 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.
    Comments must be received by March 3, 2023. 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. 2023-03262 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P