[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 73320-73321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20066]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1226

[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0014]


Revision to the Voluntary Standard for Soft Infant and Toddler 
Carriers

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or 
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Soft Infant and Toddler 
Carriers, incorporates by reference ASTM F2236-14, Standard Consumer 
Safety Specification for Soft Infant and Toddler Carriers. ASTM 
notified the Commission that it has revised this incorporated voluntary 
standard. CPSC seeks comment on whether the revision improves the 
safety of soft infant and toddler carriers.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-
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 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. 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: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit to 
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-2013-0014, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Foster, Project Manager, 
Division of Human Factors, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2034; 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 they may be ``more stringent'' than the 
applicable 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.
    Section 104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA specifies the process for when a 
voluntary standards organization revises a standard that the Commission 
incorporated by reference under section 104(b)(1). First, the voluntary 
standards organization must notify the Commission of the revision. Once 
the Commission receives this notification, the Commission may reject or 
accept the revised standard. To reject a revised standard, the 
Commission must notify the voluntary standards organization within 90 
days of receiving the notice that it has determined that the revised 
standard does not improve the safety of the consumer product and that 
it is retaining the existing standard. If the Commission does not take 
this action, the revised voluntary standard will be considered a 
consumer product safety standard issued under section 9 of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the 
Commission received notification of the revision (or a later date 
specified by the Commission in the Federal Register). 15 U.S.C. 
2056a(b)(4)(B).
    In 2014, the Commission adopted a mandatory rule for soft infant 
and toddler carriers under section 104(b)(1) of the CPSIA, which was 
codified in 16 CFR part 1226. The rule incorporated by reference ASTM 
F2236-14, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Soft Infant and 
Toddler Carriers, with no modifications. 79 FR 17422 (March 28, 2014). 
At the time the Commission published the final rule, ASTM F2236-14 was 
the current version of the voluntary standard. ASTM F2236-14 applies to 
soft infant and toddler carriers, which it describes as a product 
normally of sewn fabric construction, which is designed to contain a 
full-term infant to a toddler, generally in an upright position, in 
close proximity to the caregiver. The ASTM standard includes 
performance requirements, test methods, and requirements for warning 
labels and instructional literature, to address hazards to infants 
associated with soft infant and toddler carriers.
    After the Commission adopted the mandatory standard in 2014, ASTM 
approved two more revisions: ASTM F2236-16 and ASTM F2236-16a. However, 
ASTM did not notify CPSC of these revisions under CPSIA section 
104(b)(4)(B). Consequently, these revised standards did not become the 
mandatory standards by operation of law, and the Commission did not 
update the mandatory standard to incorporate by reference these revised 
ASTM standards.
    On August 26, 2024, ASTM notified CPSC that it had approved and 
published ASTM F2236-24. 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

[[Page 73321]]

assessment and any subsequent Commission consideration of the revisions 
in ASTM F2236-24.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission voted (5-0) to approve this notice on August 
30, 2024.
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    The currently incorporated voluntary standard (ASTM F2236-14) and 
the revised voluntary standard (ASTM F2236-24) are available for review 
in several ways. A read-only copy of the existing, incorporated 
standard (ASTM F2236-14) is available for viewing, at no cost, on the 
ASTM website at: https://www.astm.org/READINGLIBRARY/. A read-only copy 
of the revised standard (ASTM F2236-24), including red-lined versions 
that identify the changes from the 2014 version to the 2024 version, 
are available, at no cost, on ASTM's website at: https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm. 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 September 24, 2024. 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. 2024-20066 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P