[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 120 (Friday, June 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41046-41047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13351]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Chapter II
[Docket No. CPSC-2022-0017]
Notice of Availability of Updated ASTM Standard Under the
Portable Fuel Container Safety Act
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notification of availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In January 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
determined under the Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020 (PFCSA)
that ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 is a mandatory consumer product safety rule
that impedes the propagation of flames into pre-filled portable fuel
containers covered by the standard. ASTM has since notified the
Commission that it has revised this voluntary standard. CPSC seeks
comment on whether the revision meets the requirements of the PFCSA.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2022-0017, 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-2022-0017, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Ayers, U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone:
301-987-2030; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PFCSA \1\ requires the Commission to
promulgate a final rule to require flame mitigation devices in portable
fuel containers that impede the propagation of flame into the
container. 15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(1), (2). However, the Commission is not
required to promulgate a final rule for a class of portable fuel
containers within the scope of the PFCSA if the Commission determines
at any time that:
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\1\ Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020, codified at 15
U.S.C. 2056d, as stated in Public Law 116-260, div. FF, title IX,
Sec. 901, available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ260/pdf/PLAW-116publ260.pdf.
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There is a voluntary standard for flame mitigation devices
for those containers that impedes the propagation of flame into the
container;
The voluntary standard is or will be in effect not later
than 18 months after the date of enactment of the PFCSA; and
The voluntary standard is developed by ASTM International
or such other standard development organization that the Commission
determines to have met the intent of the PFCSA.
15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(3)(A). Any such Commission determinations regarding
applicable voluntary standards must be published in the Federal
Register, and the requirements of such a voluntary standard ``shall be
treated as a consumer product safety rule.'' 15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(3)(B)
and (b)(4).
Under this authority, on January 13, 2023, the Commission published
a document determining that three voluntary standards for portable fuel
containers meet the requirements of the PFCSA and will be treated as
consumer product safety rules: ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 (prefilled
containers), ASTM F3326-21 (containers sold empty), and section 18 of
UL 30:2022 (safety cans). 88 FR 2206.
Portable fuel containers sold pre-filled are within the scope of
ASTM F3429/F3429M, Standard Specification for Performance of Flame
Mitigation Devices Installed in Disposable and Pre-Filled Flammable
Liquid Containers. ASTM lists the standard as a dual standard in inch-
pound (F3429 designation) and metric (F3429M designation) units. ASTM
F3429/F3429M was first published in 2020. ASTM published a revised
version of ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 in May 2023, as ASTM F3429/F3429M-23.
On June 12, 2023, ASTM notified the Commission that it had approved and
published ASTM F3429/F3429M-23.
Under section (b)(5) of the PFCSA, if the requirements of a
voluntary standard that meet the requirements of section (b).
(3) are subsequently revised, the organization that revised the
standard shall notify the Commission after the final approval of the
revision. Any such revision to the voluntary standard shall become
enforceable as a consumer product safety rule not later than 180 days
after the Commission is notified of a revised voluntary standard that
meets the conditions of section (b)(3) (or such
[[Page 41047]]
later date as the Commission determines appropriate), in place of the
prior version, unless within 90 days after receiving the notice the
Commission determines that the revised voluntary standard does not meet
the requirements described in section (b)(3) of the PFCSA. 15 U.S.C.
2056d(b)(5).
CPSC staff is assessing the revised voluntary standard to
determine, consistent with section (b)(5) of the PFCSA, whether the
revisions in ASTM F3429/F3429M-23 meet the requirements of section
(b)(3)(A) of the PFCSA listed above. The Commission invites public
comment on that question, to inform staff's assessment and any
subsequent Commission consideration of the revisions in ASTM F3429/
F3429M-23.\2\
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\2\ The Commission voted 4-0 to publish this notification.
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ASTM F3429/F3429M-23 is 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 the 2023 revisions to ASTM F3429/F3429M,
including a red-lined version that identifies the changes made to ASTM
F3429/F3429M-20. Likewise, a read-only copy of the existing standard
(ASTM F3429/F3429M-20) 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 July 7, 2023. Because of the short
statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to
consider revised voluntary standards under section (b)(5) of the PFCSA,
CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-13351 Filed 6-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P