[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 19 (Monday, January 29, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5438-5439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01235]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1263

[Docket No. CPSC-2024-0004]


Petition Requesting Rulemaking To Amend the Requirement for a 
``Keep Out of Reach'' Icon on Button Cell or Coin Battery Packaging

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Request for comment on petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or 
CPSC) received a petition requesting an amendment to its rule on button 
cell or coin battery packaging to allow for a smaller ``Keep out of 
Reach'' icon on the principal display panel for packages of button cell 
or coin batteries (Petition). The Commission invites written comments 
concerning this Petition.

DATES: Submit comments by March 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2024-0004, 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. CPSC typically does not accept 
comments submitted by 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: Office of the 
Secretary, 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:

[[Page 5439]]

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-2024-0004, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alberta E. Mills, Secretary, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: 301-504-7479; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 21, 2023, as part of its 
implementation of Reese's Law (Pub. L. 117-171, 15 U.S.C. 2056e), the 
Commission published a Safety Standard for Button Cell or Coin 
Batteries and Consumer Products Containing Such Batteries, codified at 
16 CFR part 1263. 88 FR 65296 (battery package labeling); 88 FR 65274 
(consumer products).1 2 As proposed in the notice of 
proposed rulemaking (88 FR 8692 (Feb. 9, 2023)), the final rule for 
battery package labeling requires that packages of button cell or coin 
batteries contain on their principal display panel a warning label with 
text required to meet Reese's Law, and a ``Keep out of Reach'' icon at 
least 8 mm in diameter. However, if space prohibits the full warning 
with the ``Keep out of Reach'' icon in accordance with the text 
formatting requirements, the packaging is alternatively required to use 
the ``Keep out of Reach'' icon on the principal display panel and the 
warning text must be placed on the secondary display panel. In this 
instance, the icon must be at least 20 mm (0.79 in.) in diameter for 
visibility. 16 CFR 1263.4(b)(2)).
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    \1\ The requirements for battery package labeling were published 
separately from the requirements for consumer products that contain 
or use button cell or coin batteries because the Commission adopted 
battery compartment requirements for consumer products from ANSI/UL 
4200A, Standard for Safety for Products Incorporating Button 
Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries, approved on August 30, 2023 (UL 
4200A-2023), which does not address battery package labeling.
    \2\ On January 17, 2024, the Commission voted (3-1) to publish 
this notice.
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    On November 1, 2023, the Commission received a petition from 
Elliott Alexander (Petitioner), President of Micropower Battery 
Company. The Petition requests the Commission to modify the rule for 
battery package labeling to allow for a smaller ``Keep out of Reach'' 
icon when space prohibits the full warning on the principal display 
panel, suggesting a minimum icon size of 8 mm, and allowing a scaled 
icon depending on the size of the packaging up to a 20 mm icon. The 
Petition includes example images of existing battery packaging to 
demonstrate space limitations. The Petition alleges that existing 
packaging has been made child-resistant, but if a 20 mm icon is 
required on the front of the package, then manufacturers will 
collectively be required to spend millions of dollars on production of 
larger packages and different package configurations. The Petition also 
questions why an additional ``Keep out of Reach'' icon is necessary on 
the front packaging when batteries 16 mm and larger already include the 
same icon on each battery, which is visible through the packaging.
    The Petition requests an amendment to the final rule to allow 
``Keep out of Reach'' icons on the primary display panel to be between 
8 to 20 mm, depending on the packaging, and alternatively to allow the 
words ``Keep Away from Children'' on the front of battery packaging. In 
a December 28, 2023, letter to Commission staff (Follow-Up Letter), the 
Petitioner further explains why he believes battery packaging cannot be 
reconfigured to allow space for a 20 mm icon on the principal display 
panel, and provides a proposed sliding scale for ``Keep out of Reach'' 
icon sizes from 7 to 40 mm.
    The Petition and the Follow-Up Letter are available at: http://www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. CPSC-2024-0004, Supporting and 
Related Materials. Alternatively, interested parties may obtain a copy 
of the Petition and the Follow-Up Letter by writing or calling the 
Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-
West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: 301-504-7479; [email protected]. The Commission seeks comment on all aspects of the 
Petition and the Follow-Up Letter, including:
     Whether the Petition presents any issues or evidence that 
could not have been presented to the Commission during the comment 
period on the notice of proposed rulemaking, prior to adoption of the 
final rule establishing the requirement for a 20 mm ``Keep out of 
Reach'' icon. See Comment Summaries A and B, 88 FR at 65300 (noting 
comments stating similar concerns to those identified in the Petition); 
and
     Whether, if a 20 mm ``Keep out of Reach'' icon in sticker 
format is used on the outside of battery packaging, including over a 
packaged battery, to meet the requirements of the current rule, the 
permanency of such a sticker should be tested in accordance with the 
permanency test in UL 4200A or another standard, and whether such a 
sticker could be a cost-effective way to meet the product safety 
requirement for small packages.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-01235 Filed 1-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P