[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80159-80160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22062]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 1240
[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2023-0046]
Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers;
Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and Request for
Comment; Reopening of Comment Period
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: In October 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR)
to address risks of death and injury associated with infant
suffocations, falls, and other hazards associated with infant and
infant/toddler rockers (rockers). On August 22, 2024, CPSC published a
notice of availability and request for comment (NOA) to announce the
availability of, and to seek comment on, details about incident data
relevant to the NPR. The NOA also sought comment on a standard
tessellation language (STL) file for a firmness test fixture proposed
in the NPR, and an amended version of the voluntary standard for
rockers. The NOA invited the public to submit written comments during a
30-day comment period, beginning on the NOA publication date and ending
on September 23, 2024. In response to a request for a 90-day extension
of the NOA comment period, the Commission is reopening the comment
period. Comments are now due November 7, 2024.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published August 22,
2024, at 89 FR 67917, is reopened. Submit comments by November 7, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2023-0046, 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 through www.regulations.gov. CPSC
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
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; (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
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-2023-0046, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary S. Foster, Project Manager,
Division of Human Factors, Directorate for Engineering Sciences,
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD
20850; telephone (301) 987-2034; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Pursuant to section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 2056a), the Commission is required to promulgate
consumer product safety standards for
[[Page 80160]]
durable infant or toddler products. Under this statutory direction, the
Commission published an NPR, Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/
Toddler Rockers, to establish a safety standard for rockers to reduce
the risk of death and injury associated with these products. 88 FR
73551 (Oct. 26, 2023). The NPR proposes incorporating by reference the
2022 version of the rockers voluntary standard, ASTM F3084-22, Standard
Consumer Safety Specification for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers,
with modifications to make the standard more stringent, to further
reduce the risk of injury associated with rockers.
On August 22, 2024, the Commission published in the Federal
Register an additional request for comment and a release of the
underlying incident data, titled Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/
Toddler Rockers; Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and
Request for Comment (NOA). The NOA sought comment on three items: (1)
incorporation of the updated July 2024 version of the voluntary
standard for rockers--ASTM F3084-24; (2) incident reports underlying
the data discussed in the NPR; and (3) an STL file of the firmness test
fixture proposed in the NPR for gauging the firmness of a rocker seat.
B. Request for Comment Period Extension
On September 6, 2024, Lisa Trofe, Executive Director of the
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), on behalf of JPMA's
members and three companies that individually co-signed the request,
submitted a request for a 90-day extension of the NOA comment period
(JPMA request).1 2 The JPMA request asserts that the 30-day
comment period is insufficient for stakeholders to provide meaningful
feedback on the NOA and complete dataset because when first available
on August 22, 2024, the STL file and underlying data was only viewable
and not downloadable, and some documents did not become available for
review until August 28.
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\1\ JMPA's request has been placed on the docket for this
rulemaking, as well as attached as to Staff's September 17, 2024,
Briefing Memorandum: Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler
Rockers; Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and
Request for Comment; Extension of Comment Period, available at:
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Safety-Standard-for-Infant-and-Infant-Toddler-Rockers-Notice-of-Availability-and-Request-for-Comment.pdf?VersionId=VKfNRsEI29yqGgHoacfb0MEMlhum5J5L.
\2\ On September 19, 2024, the Commission voted (4-1) to publish
this notice.
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C. Assessment of the JPMA Request
CPSC's practice is to make available the underlying incident data
that it is legally authorized to publicize. Stakeholders are currently
able to review all underlying incident data that supports the NPR and
submit comments on that data; therefore, there is no need for
stakeholders to download the underlying incident data. The Commission
agrees, though, that stakeholders may benefit from additional time to
review the complete underlying incident dataset because some of the
data became reviewable on August 28, 2024, rather than August 22 as
intended. Further, CPSC agrees with JPMA that the STL file is difficult
to evaluate without downloading it, and that this file was not
downloadable until September 9, 2024.
An additional 90 days, totaling 4 months (30 days plus 90 days), is
unnecessary to assess the STL file and incident data, and provide
feedback. However, CPSC is reopening the comment period for an
extension of 45 days from the closing date of September 23, 2024. This
reopening provides commenters not only additional time to review
incident data, but also, in the assessment of CPSC's technical staff,
ample time to manufacture, test, and comment on the firmness test
fixture proposed in the NPR and described in the STL file.
D. Conclusion
The Commission has considered JPMA's request to reopen the comment
period and staff's assessment of the request. The comment period closed
on September 23, 2024. To provide additional time for stakeholders to
comment on the NOA, the Commission is reopening the comment period for
an additional 45-days until November 7, 2024.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-22062 Filed 10-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P