Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the Voluntary Standard for Infant and Cradle Swings, 21497-21498 [2024-06606]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 61 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21497-21498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06606]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0025]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the 
Voluntary Standard for Infant and Cradle Swings

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or 
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Infant Swings, incorporates 
by reference ASTM F2088-20, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for 
Infant and Cradle Swings. ASTM notified the Commission that it has 
revised this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment on 
whether the revision improves the safety of infant and cradle swings.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-0025, 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 available to the public, you may 
submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, 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-2013-0025, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlos Torres, Directorate for 
Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2504; 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).

[[Page 21498]]

    In 2012, the Commission adopted a mandatory rule for infant swings 
under section 104(b)(1) of the CPSIA, which was codified in 16 CFR part 
1223. The rule incorporated by reference ASTM F2088-12a, Standard 
Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Swings, with modifications to 
the labeling and test method requirements.\1\ 77 FR 66703 (Nov. 7, 
2012). At the time the Commission published the final rule, ASTM F2088-
12a was the current version of the voluntary standard. ASTM 
subsequently revised the voluntary standard six times. ASTM F2088-22 is 
the current mandatory standard incorporated by reference in 16 CFR part 
1223. ASTM F2088 applies to infant and cradle swings, which it 
describes as products with powered mechanisms that provide swinging or 
gliding seats for children who cannot climb out of the products. The 
ASTM standard includes performance requirements, test methods, and 
requirements for warning labels and instructional literature to address 
hazards to infants associated with infant and cradle swings.
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    \1\ The modifications included changes to the required warning 
label content and a revised test method to address an omission in 
the voluntary standard for toy mobiles attached to swings.
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    In April 2013, ASTM notified CPSC that it had issued a revised 
standard for infant swings, ASTM F2088-13. In accordance with the 
procedures set out in section 104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, the revised 
standard became the new mandatory standard for infant swings. The 
Commission published a direct final rule to update 16 CFR part 1223, 
incorporating by reference ASTM F2088-13, without modification. 78 FR 
37706 (June 24, 2013).
    After the Commission issued the revised mandatory standard in 2013, 
ASTM approved two more revisions: ASTM F2088-15 and ASTM F2088-19. 
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 October 5, 2020, ASTM notified CPSC that it 
had revised the voluntary standard for infant swings, issuing ASTM 
F2088-20. In accordance with the procedures set out in section 
104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, the revised standard became the new 
mandatory standard for infant swings. The Commission published a direct 
final rule to update 16 CFR part 1223, incorporating by reference ASTM 
F2088-20, without modification. 86 FR 4961 (Jan. 19, 2021).
    On October 2, 2021, ASTM notified CPSC that it had revised the 
voluntary standard for infant swings, issuing ASTM F2088-21. In 
accordance with the procedures set out in section 104(b)(4)(B) of the 
CPSIA, the revised standard became the new mandatory standard for 
infant swings. The Commission published a direct final rule to update 
16 CFR part 1223, incorporating by reference ASTM F2088-21, without 
modification. 86 FR 59609 (Oct. 28, 2021).
    On July 5, 2022, ASTM notified CPSC that it had revised the 
voluntary standard for infant swings, issuing ASTM F2088-22. In 
accordance with the procedures set out in section 104(b)(4)(B) of the 
CPSIA, the revised standard became the new mandatory standard for 
infant swings. The Commission published a direct final rule to update 
16 CFR part 1223, incorporating by reference ASTM F2088-22, without 
modification. 87 FR 57390 (Sep. 20, 2022).
    On March 18, 2024, ASTM notified CPSC that it had approved and 
published ASTM F2088-24. 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 assessment and any subsequent Commission consideration 
of the revisions in ASTM F2088-24.\2\
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    \2\ The Commission voted 4-0 to approve this notice.
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    The currently incorporated voluntary standard (ASTM F2088-22) and 
the revised voluntary standard (ASTM F2088-24) are available for review 
in several ways. A read-only copy of the existing, incorporated 
standard (ASTM F2088-22) 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 F2088-2024), including red-lined versions 
that identify the changes from the 2022 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 April 11, 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. 2024-06606 Filed 3-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P