Petition Requesting Exception from Lead Content Limits; Notice Granting Exception, 20614-20615 [2012-8187]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2012 / Notices
Tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
1320.3(h)(4), or ‘‘facts or opinions
obtained or solicited at or in connection
with public hearings or meetings,’’ 5
CFR 1320.3(h)(8), are excluded from the
OMB approval process.
The Federal Register notice with a 60day comment period soliciting
comments on this collection of
information was published on February
15, 2012 (77 FR 8817). In the
Commission’s final rulemaking on
provisions common to registered
entities,3 the Commission seeks to
implement section 745 of the DoddFrank Act,4 which amends Section 5c
the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) 5 to
enhance compliance by registered
entities. This section permits a
registered entity to elect to list for
trading or accept for clearing any new
contract or other instrument, or elect to
approve and implement any new rule or
rule amendment by providing to the
Commission a written certification that
the new contract, instrument, rule, or
rule amendment complies with the
CEA. Such rules or rule amendments
become effective after ten (10) business
days, unless the Commission notifies
the registered entity that it is staying the
certification because there exist novel or
complex issues that require additional
time to analyze, an inadequate
explanation by the submitting registered
entity, or a potential inconsistency with
the CEA. Pursuant to section 745 and
the final amendments to part 40 of the
Commission’s regulations,6 the
Commission will provide a not less than
30-day comment period when it
determines that the rule or rule
amendment will be stayed. Pursuant to
the final rules, the Commission will
provide notice of the stay and the
request for comment on its Web site, as
well as specify the manner in which the
public may submit comments.7
The Commission initially estimated
that approximately 45 entities would be
affected by the rule certification
procedures.8 The initial estimate
determined that these 45 entities would
each have approximately 120 responses
per year for a total of 5,400 responses.9
The Commission has amended these
numbers in the final rule such that the
estimated number of respondents is
increased to 70 entities, the average
annual responses by each respondent is
decreased to 100. These numbers are
based upon comments received
3 75
FR 67282, Nov. 2, 2010.
Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
5 7 U.S.C. 7a.
6 75 FR 67282, 67296 (Nov. 2, 2010).
7 Id.
8 Id. at 67290.
9 Id.
4 Public
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16:20 Apr 04, 2012
Jkt 226001
regarding the proposed rules as well as
changes made by the Commission to
streamline the product certification
process for certain swap contracts. The
Commission anticipates that the
mandatory responses to the new
collection will take approximate 2 hours
per response.
The Commission cannot determine
with precision how many of the 7,000
responses it expects to receive will be
stayed and subject to the notice and
comment requirements of section 745
and the part 40 regulations. The
Commission anticipates that only a
small fraction of these responses would
be stayed and subject to a request for
comment via Web site notice, and that
each of the stayed rules or rule
amendments typically will receive not
more than 20 comments, a conservative
number based on Commission history
with industry filings.
Issued by the Commission this 30th day of
March 2012.
David Stawick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012–8131 Filed 4–4–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC–2011–0087]
Petition Requesting Exception from
Lead Content Limits; Notice Granting
Exception
U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Consumer Product Safety
Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘CPSC’’
or ‘‘we’’) has received a petition
requesting an exception from the 100
ppm lead content limit under section
101(b) of the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act of 2008 (‘‘CPSIA’’), as
amended by Public Law 112–28. We are
granting an exception to the 100 ppm
lead content limit for certain aluminum
alloy components of children’s die-cast,
ride-on pedal tractors, and similar
component parts made of aluminum
alloy on similar ride-on children’s
products for children ages 3 years and
older. Such products may include other
children’s ride-on tractors, children’s
ride-on cars, and other ride-on toys.
These aluminum alloy components
must meet a lead content limit of 300
ppm.
DATES: The effective date is April 5,
2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kristina Hatlelid, Ph.D., M.P.H.,
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Directorate for Health Sciences,
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD
20814; email: khatlelid@cpsc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under
section 101(a) of the CPSIA, consumer
products designed or intended primarily
for children 12 years old and younger
that contain lead content in excess of
100 ppm are considered to be banned
hazardous substances under the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act (‘‘FHSA’’).
Section 101(b)(1) of the CPSIA
provides for a functional purpose
exception from the lead content limits,
under certain circumstances. The
exception allows CPSC, on its own
initiative, or upon petition by an
interested party, to exclude a specific
product, class of product, material, or
component part from the lead limits
established for children’s products
under the CPSIA if, after notice and a
hearing, we determine that: (i) The
product, class of product, material, or
component part requires the inclusion
of lead because it is not practicable or
not technologically feasible to
manufacture such product, class of
product, material, or component part, as
the case may be, in accordance with
section 101(a) of the CPSIA, by
removing the excessive lead or by
making the lead inaccessible; (ii) the
product, class of product, material, or
component part is not likely to be
placed in the mouth or ingested, taking
into account normal and reasonably
foreseeable use and abuse of such
product, class of product, material, or
component part by a child; and (iii) an
exception for the product, class of
product, material, or component part
will have no measurable adverse effect
on public health or safety, taking into
account normal and reasonably
foreseeable use and abuse. Under
section 101(b)(1)(B) of the CPSIA, there
is no measurable adverse effect on
public health or safety if the exception
will result in no measurable increase in
blood lead levels of a child.
On September 29, 2011, Joseph L.
Ertl, Inc., Scale Models and Dyersville
Die Cast (‘‘petitioner’’), submitted a
petition requesting an exception from
the lead content limit of 100 ppm under
section 101(b) of the CPSIA for its diecast, ride-on pedal tractors, scaled for
children ages 3–10 years. Given the
highly technical nature of the
information sought, including data on
the lead content of the product and test
methods used to obtain those data, we
believe that notice and solicitation for
written comments is the most efficient
process for obtaining the necessary
information, and provides adequate
E:\FR\FM\05APN1.SGM
05APN1
Tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2012 / Notices
opportunity for all interested parties to
participate in the proceedings.
Accordingly, we invited comments on
the issues raised by the petition. In the
Federal Register of November 16, 2011
(76 FR 70975), we invited comments on
the issues raised by the petition with
comments due on December 16, 2011.
On January 5, 2012 (77 FR 478), we
reopened the comment period for 30
days, with comments due on February
6, 2012. We received one comment in
support of the petition. The commenter
stated that pedal tractors with
aluminum alloy components cannot
practicably be manufactured in
accordance with the 100 ppm lead
content requirement. The commenter
also stated that the aluminum alloy
components are not likely to be placed
in the mouth or ingested and will not
have a measurable adverse effect on
public health or safety.
The petitioner stated that the
components of its pedal tractors are
made of aluminum metal die castings,
which are the best alloy of choice for
pedal tractor production, based on
weight, cost, structural properties,
surface finish and coatings, corrosion
resistance, bearing properties, and wear
resistance. The pedal tractor
components are manufactured via the
aluminum die-casting process. Although
the petitioner stated that it is able to
meet the lead content requirements of
300 ppm for its pedal tractor
components, it is unable to meet
consistently the 100 ppm lead content
limits, due to alloys used in the
aluminum die-cast process.
Accordingly, the petitioner requested an
exception from the 100 ppm lead
content limit.
For the reasons described in CPSC
staff’s briefing package, available at
https://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia12/
brief/ertl.pdf, we agree with the
petitioner and the commenter that an
exception to the 100 ppm lead content
limit for certain children’s ride-on pedal
tractor component parts is appropriate.
The petitioner indicated that two
aluminum alloys with relatively low
lead concentration can be purchased
and used to manufacture the pedal
tractor products. One of these aluminum
alloys (A380.1) may contain more than
300 ppm lead, although the petitioner
indicated that this alloy can be
obtained, with careful purchasing, with
a lead content of no more than 300 ppm.
The petitioner indicated that the second
aluminum alloy (A413.1) that can be
used to manufacture the products is
available with less than 200 ppm lead.
While the petitioner indicated that it is
possible to manufacture their products
with the specific alloy with lead content
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Jkt 226001
less than 200 ppm, the A380.1 alloy, or
a similar alloy, with lead content no
more than 300 ppm, is a practicable
material for manufacturing the
component parts of the pedal tractors
because the A380.1 aluminum alloy is
one of the most commonly used
aluminum alloys in manufacturing and
is more readily obtainable from sources
than the A413.1 aluminum alloy. In
addition, the A413.1 alloy costs $0.99 to
$1.65 per unit more than the A380.1
alloy (about 1 percent of the cost of the
product), resulting in additional
material costs of the product. Obtaining
aluminum alloys at 100 ppm or other
substitute alloys was considered not
practicable for the petitioner. The use of
another metal alloy, such as steel, or
using plastic molded component parts
was not practicable because it would
result in completely retooling the
manufacturing process and result in
products that appeared different from
the current product, which uses die-cast
component parts.
In addition, the products included in
the petition are similar to two types of
products that have specific statutory
provisions regarding lead content
requirements. The CPSIA, as amended
by Public Law 112–28, established new
provisions for specific exceptions from
the 100 ppm lead content requirement.
Section 101(b)(5) of the CPSIA provides
that the lead content limit does not
apply to off-highway vehicles. Section
101(b)(6) of the CPSIA also provides
that for metal component parts of
bicycles and related products, the lead
limit is 300 ppm, not 100 ppm, as
otherwise applicable to children’s
products.
The petitioner’s children’s ride-on
pedal tractors made with aluminum
alloys are therefore granted an exception
from the 100 ppm lead content limit,
and allowed to have a lead limit of 300
ppm instead, because it is not
practicable to impose the lower lead
limit on such aluminum alloys. These
aluminum components include: body
castings (right and left sides), rear wheel
hubs, wide front axle yokes, wide frontend adaptor brackets, and other
component parts that are similar to
these parts and are not likely be placed
in the mouth or ingested or extensively
contacted by children because of their
function and location on the product.
The exposure to lead in such parts at the
300 ppm limit is expected to be so low
that it would have no measurable
adverse effect on public health or safety
as defined at 15 U.S.C. 1278a(b)(1)(B),
taking into account normal and
reasonably foreseeable use and abuse.
For the same reasons, children’s
products that are similar, such as other
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
20615
children’s ride-on tractors, children’s
ride-on cars, and other ride-on toys
intended for children ages 3 years and
older that contain similar aluminum
alloy component parts, including body
castings (right and left sides), rear wheel
hubs, wide front axle yokes, wide frontend adaptor brackets, and other
component parts that are similar to
these parts and are not likely to be
placed in the mouth or ingested, or
extensively contacted by children
because of their function and location
on the product must meet a lead content
limit of 300 ppm for the aluminum alloy
component parts. The exposure to lead
in these similar component parts is
expected to be so low that it would have
no measurable adverse effect on public
health or safety as defined at 15 U.S.C.
1278a(b)(1)(B), taking into account
normal and reasonably foreseeable use
and abuse.
Dated: April 2, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012–8187 Filed 4–4–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
DAU Industry Day: ‘‘Affordability,
Efficiency, and the Industrial Base’’
Defense Acquisition University
(DAU), DoD.
ACTION: Event notice.
AGENCY:
Mrs. Katrina McFarland,
President of Defense Acquisition
University, will host a forum with
industry to discuss affordability,
efficiency, and the industrial base. After
a variety of presenters, the session will
conclude with Mr. Frank Kendall,
Acting Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition, Technology and Logistics,
leading a panel to discuss how we will
achieve affordable, efficient programs in
this time of fiscal austerity, while
maintaining a healthy industrial base.
Following the plenary session, each
company will have the opportunity to
sign up for an individual, nonattribution, 20-minute session with a
DAU faculty member. DAU plans to
incorporate feedback into changes to the
Business Acumen curriculum. The
name of the event is DAU Industry Day:
‘‘Affordability, Efficiency, and the
Industrial Base’’.
DATES: Tuesday, May 1, 2012, from 8:30
a.m.–2 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Howell Auditorium,
Building 226, Defense Acquisition
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\05APN1.SGM
05APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20614-20615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8187]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2011-0087]
Petition Requesting Exception from Lead Content Limits; Notice
Granting Exception
AGENCY: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'' or
``CPSC'' or ``we'') has received a petition requesting an exception
from the 100 ppm lead content limit under section 101(b) of the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA''), as amended
by Public Law 112-28. We are granting an exception to the 100 ppm lead
content limit for certain aluminum alloy components of children's die-
cast, ride-on pedal tractors, and similar component parts made of
aluminum alloy on similar ride-on children's products for children ages
3 years and older. Such products may include other children's ride-on
tractors, children's ride-on cars, and other ride-on toys. These
aluminum alloy components must meet a lead content limit of 300 ppm.
DATES: The effective date is April 5, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Hatlelid, Ph.D., M.P.H.,
Directorate for Health Sciences, Consumer Product Safety Commission,
4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; email: khatlelid@cpsc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 101(a) of the CPSIA, consumer
products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years old and
younger that contain lead content in excess of 100 ppm are considered
to be banned hazardous substances under the Federal Hazardous
Substances Act (``FHSA'').
Section 101(b)(1) of the CPSIA provides for a functional purpose
exception from the lead content limits, under certain circumstances.
The exception allows CPSC, on its own initiative, or upon petition by
an interested party, to exclude a specific product, class of product,
material, or component part from the lead limits established for
children's products under the CPSIA if, after notice and a hearing, we
determine that: (i) The product, class of product, material, or
component part requires the inclusion of lead because it is not
practicable or not technologically feasible to manufacture such
product, class of product, material, or component part, as the case may
be, in accordance with section 101(a) of the CPSIA, by removing the
excessive lead or by making the lead inaccessible; (ii) the product,
class of product, material, or component part is not likely to be
placed in the mouth or ingested, taking into account normal and
reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of such product, class of product,
material, or component part by a child; and (iii) an exception for the
product, class of product, material, or component part will have no
measurable adverse effect on public health or safety, taking into
account normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse. Under section
101(b)(1)(B) of the CPSIA, there is no measurable adverse effect on
public health or safety if the exception will result in no measurable
increase in blood lead levels of a child.
On September 29, 2011, Joseph L. Ertl, Inc., Scale Models and
Dyersville Die Cast (``petitioner''), submitted a petition requesting
an exception from the lead content limit of 100 ppm under section
101(b) of the CPSIA for its die-cast, ride-on pedal tractors, scaled
for children ages 3-10 years. Given the highly technical nature of the
information sought, including data on the lead content of the product
and test methods used to obtain those data, we believe that notice and
solicitation for written comments is the most efficient process for
obtaining the necessary information, and provides adequate
[[Page 20615]]
opportunity for all interested parties to participate in the
proceedings. Accordingly, we invited comments on the issues raised by
the petition. In the Federal Register of November 16, 2011 (76 FR
70975), we invited comments on the issues raised by the petition with
comments due on December 16, 2011. On January 5, 2012 (77 FR 478), we
reopened the comment period for 30 days, with comments due on February
6, 2012. We received one comment in support of the petition. The
commenter stated that pedal tractors with aluminum alloy components
cannot practicably be manufactured in accordance with the 100 ppm lead
content requirement. The commenter also stated that the aluminum alloy
components are not likely to be placed in the mouth or ingested and
will not have a measurable adverse effect on public health or safety.
The petitioner stated that the components of its pedal tractors are
made of aluminum metal die castings, which are the best alloy of choice
for pedal tractor production, based on weight, cost, structural
properties, surface finish and coatings, corrosion resistance, bearing
properties, and wear resistance. The pedal tractor components are
manufactured via the aluminum die-casting process. Although the
petitioner stated that it is able to meet the lead content requirements
of 300 ppm for its pedal tractor components, it is unable to meet
consistently the 100 ppm lead content limits, due to alloys used in the
aluminum die-cast process. Accordingly, the petitioner requested an
exception from the 100 ppm lead content limit.
For the reasons described in CPSC staff's briefing package,
available at https://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia12/brief/ertl.pdf, we
agree with the petitioner and the commenter that an exception to the
100 ppm lead content limit for certain children's ride-on pedal tractor
component parts is appropriate. The petitioner indicated that two
aluminum alloys with relatively low lead concentration can be purchased
and used to manufacture the pedal tractor products. One of these
aluminum alloys (A380.1) may contain more than 300 ppm lead, although
the petitioner indicated that this alloy can be obtained, with careful
purchasing, with a lead content of no more than 300 ppm. The petitioner
indicated that the second aluminum alloy (A413.1) that can be used to
manufacture the products is available with less than 200 ppm lead.
While the petitioner indicated that it is possible to manufacture their
products with the specific alloy with lead content less than 200 ppm,
the A380.1 alloy, or a similar alloy, with lead content no more than
300 ppm, is a practicable material for manufacturing the component
parts of the pedal tractors because the A380.1 aluminum alloy is one of
the most commonly used aluminum alloys in manufacturing and is more
readily obtainable from sources than the A413.1 aluminum alloy. In
addition, the A413.1 alloy costs $0.99 to $1.65 per unit more than the
A380.1 alloy (about 1 percent of the cost of the product), resulting in
additional material costs of the product. Obtaining aluminum alloys at
100 ppm or other substitute alloys was considered not practicable for
the petitioner. The use of another metal alloy, such as steel, or using
plastic molded component parts was not practicable because it would
result in completely retooling the manufacturing process and result in
products that appeared different from the current product, which uses
die-cast component parts.
In addition, the products included in the petition are similar to
two types of products that have specific statutory provisions regarding
lead content requirements. The CPSIA, as amended by Public Law 112-28,
established new provisions for specific exceptions from the 100 ppm
lead content requirement. Section 101(b)(5) of the CPSIA provides that
the lead content limit does not apply to off-highway vehicles. Section
101(b)(6) of the CPSIA also provides that for metal component parts of
bicycles and related products, the lead limit is 300 ppm, not 100 ppm,
as otherwise applicable to children's products.
The petitioner's children's ride-on pedal tractors made with
aluminum alloys are therefore granted an exception from the 100 ppm
lead content limit, and allowed to have a lead limit of 300 ppm
instead, because it is not practicable to impose the lower lead limit
on such aluminum alloys. These aluminum components include: body
castings (right and left sides), rear wheel hubs, wide front axle
yokes, wide front-end adaptor brackets, and other component parts that
are similar to these parts and are not likely be placed in the mouth or
ingested or extensively contacted by children because of their function
and location on the product. The exposure to lead in such parts at the
300 ppm limit is expected to be so low that it would have no measurable
adverse effect on public health or safety as defined at 15 U.S.C.
1278a(b)(1)(B), taking into account normal and reasonably foreseeable
use and abuse.
For the same reasons, children's products that are similar, such as
other children's ride-on tractors, children's ride-on cars, and other
ride-on toys intended for children ages 3 years and older that contain
similar aluminum alloy component parts, including body castings (right
and left sides), rear wheel hubs, wide front axle yokes, wide front-end
adaptor brackets, and other component parts that are similar to these
parts and are not likely to be placed in the mouth or ingested, or
extensively contacted by children because of their function and
location on the product must meet a lead content limit of 300 ppm for
the aluminum alloy component parts. The exposure to lead in these
similar component parts is expected to be so low that it would have no
measurable adverse effect on public health or safety as defined at 15
U.S.C. 1278a(b)(1)(B), taking into account normal and reasonably
foreseeable use and abuse.
Dated: April 2, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-8187 Filed 4-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
