[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 132 (Monday, July 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39666-39667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16918]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No.CPSC-2010-0071]
Petition Requesting Revision of Bunk Bed Standard To Incorporate
Requirements for Head and Neck Entrapment Testing in Spaces Created by
Side Structures, Including Ladders
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission,''
``CPSC,'' or ``we'') received a petition requesting the Commission to
initiate a rulemaking to revise the Commission's regulations regarding
bunk beds, codified under both the Consumer Product Safety Act
(``CPSA'') and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') at 16
CFR 1213, 1500, and 1513 (the ``Bunk Bed Standard''), to incorporate
requirements for head and neck entrapment testing in spaces created by
side structures that are provided with a bunk bed, including ladders.
The Commission invites written comments concerning this petition to
initiate a rulemaking to revise the Bunk Bed Standard.
DATES: Comments on the petition must be received by September 10, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-
0071, by any of the following methods:
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. To ensure timely processing of
comments, the Commission is no longer accepting comments submitted by
electronic mail (e-mail) except through http://www.regulations.gov.
Submit written submissions in the following way:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted
without change, including any personal identifiers, contact
information, or other personal information provided, to http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information,
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information
electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rocky Hammond, Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814; telephone (301) 504-6833, e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Commission received a petition from Carol Pollack-Nelson, PhD
of Independent Safety Consulting (``Petitioner'') requesting that the
Commission initiate a rulemaking to revise the regulations related to
bunk beds, codified at 16 CFR parts 1213, 1500, and 1513 (``Bunk Bed
Standard''), to incorporate requirements for head and neck entrapment
testing in spaces created by side structures that are provided with a
bunk bed, including ladders. The Commission regulates bunk beds under
both the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') (16 CFR 1500 and
1513), for bunk beds intended for use by children, and the Consumer
Product Safety Act (``CPSA'') (16 CFR 1213), for bunk beds not
specifically intended for children. The regulations under both statutes
are virtually identical.
Petitioner acknowledges that the risk of injury caused by head and
neck entrapment in the end structures of bunk beds is quite low in
compliant products because of the Bunk Bed Standard, but argues that
same risk of injury continues to exist with regard to the space between
a ladder and the side of the bed, which the standard does not address.
The petition identifies 3 fatalities, and 4 other incidents of children
whose head and/or neck were entrapped between the side of the bed and a
bunk bed ladder. The hazard purportedly arises from the potential that
a child's neck may become entrapped if the ``child's head is able to
pass (partially) through the space created by a horizontal ladder rung
and the top of the mattress, [and] the neck * * * drop[s] into the gap
between the vertical ladder post and the side of the mattress * * *.
Further contributing to the hazard pattern is the fact that the child's
chin hooks over the vertical post of the ladder and is pinned at the
back of the head by the mattress. The weight of the body outside the
bed pulls the head and neck against the vertical ladder post. All of
these factors together contribute to the neck entrapment and resulting
strangulation.'' Petitioner states that assessing the entrapment hazard
requires use of a neck probe that simulates the dimensions of the
smallest user's neck. Using anthropometry data collected on children in
the United States, the Petitioner argues that any space greater than
1.9 in (4.8 cm) can pose a risk of neck entrapment in bunk bed side
structures.
Petitioner concludes that, while the hazard of head and neck
entrapment on bunk beds and the methods of testing for a potential
hazard are known to the industry, and data on injuries involving side
structures have been on record with the CPSC for decades, the hazard of
side structure entrapments on bunk beds has not been addressed in the
Bunk Bed Standard. Petitioner argues that deaths have occurred and will
continue to occur unless the Bunk Bed Standard is revised to include
testing for head and neck entrapment in spaces created by side
structures.
Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or
calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301)
504-6833. The petition
[[Page 39667]]
is also available on the CPSC Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.
Dated: July 6, 2010.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-16918 Filed 7-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P