[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62044-62046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25876]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[ Docket No. CPSC-2011-0070]
Alternative Testing Requirements for Small Batch Manufacturers
AGENCY: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: Section 14(i)(4)(A)(i) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15
U.S.C. 2063(i)(4)(A)(i), provides that the Commission, in implementing
third party testing requirements, under certain circumstances, may
allow small batch manufacturers to use alternative testing requirements
in lieu of testing prescribed in an applicable consumer product safety
rule, ban, standard, or regulation. If, however, the Commission
determines that no alternative testing requirement is available or
economically practicable, it shall exempt eligible small batch
manufacturers from third party testing requirements. Through this
notice, the Commission is announcing that it will conduct a public
hearing to receive views from all interested parties about whether such
alternative testing requirements are available or economically
practicable or, in the absence of economically practicable
alternatives, whether an exemption from third party testing is
appropriate.
DATES: The public hearing will begin at 10 a.m. EST on October 26,
2011.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held in the Hearing Room, 4th
Floor of the Bethesda Towers Building, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814.
Online Registration and Webcast: Members of the public who wish to
attend the public hearing are requested to preregister online at:
http://www/cpsc.gov. You may preregister until 5 p.m. EST on October
25, 2011. This public hearing also will be available live via webcast
on October 26, 2011, at: http://www/cpsc.gov/webcast. Registration is
not necessary to view the webcast. A transcript will be made of the
proceedings of the public hearing.
Oral Presentations and Written Comments: To make oral
presentations, participants must preregister online. Presenters must
also submit a request to make an oral presentation, and the written
text of such presentation, captioned ``Alternative Testing Requirements
for Small Batch Manufacturers Public Hearing,'' by electronic mail (e-
mail) to: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov, or mailed or delivered to the Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814, no later than 5 p.m. EST on October 21, 2011.
Commenters should limit their presentations to 15 minutes, exclusive of
questioning by the Commissioners or CPSC staff. We may limit the time
further for any presentation and impose other restrictions to avoid
excessive duplication of presentations.
Participants who are unable to make an oral presentation may submit
written comments regarding the issues outlined under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION captioned, ``Alternative Testing Requirements for Small
Batch Manufacturers Public Hearing'' by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
cpsc-os@cpsc.gov, or mailed or delivered to the Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814, no later than 5 p.m. EST on October 21, 2011. Any
information submitted in writing or presented orally to the CPSC at the
public hearing will become part of the public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning requests and procedures for
oral presentations of comments, contact: Rockelle Hammond, Consumer
Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-
6833; e-mail: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. For all other matters, contact: Robert
Howell, Deputy Executive Director, Safety Operations, Consumer Product
Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-7621; e-
mail: rhowell@rhowell@cpsc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 14(a)(2)(A) of the Consumer Product
Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(2)(A), provides that every manufacturer
of a children's product that is subject to a children's product safety
rule shall submit sufficient samples of the children's product, or
samples that are identical in all material respects to the product, to
a CPSC-approved third party conformity assessment body to be tested for
compliance with such children's product safety rule. Further, section
14(i)(2) requires continued testing of children's products, directing
the Commission to, by regulation, establish protocols and standards--
(i) For ensuring that a children's product tested for compliance
with an applicable children's product safety rule is subject to testing
periodically and when there has been a material change in the product
design or manufacturing process, including the sourcing of component
parts;
(ii) For the testing of representative samples to ensure continued
compliance;
(iii) For verifying that a children's product tested by a
conformity assessment body complies with applicable children's product
safety rules; and
(iv) For safeguarding against the undue influence on a third party
conformity assessment body by a manufacturer or private labeler.
The Commission has been working to adopt a testing and certification
rule that sets forth the continued testing requirements mandated by
section 14(i). In this context, we have explored possible alternatives
for small batch manufacturers to reduce the burden and cost of third
party testing on such
[[Page 62045]]
entities. However, as originally adopted, section 14 imposed third
party testing on all manufacturers of children's products that are
subject to a children's product safety rule, irrespective of the size
of the business or the number of units produced, thereby limiting the
Commission's ability to provide such relief. As recently amended by
H.R. 2715, however, section 14(i)(4) provides special rules for small
batch manufacturers through which the Commission is required, in
implementing third party testing requirements, to take into
consideration any economic, administrative, or other limits on the
ability of small batch manufacturers to comply with such requirements.
In addition, small batch manufacturers of covered products, under
certain circumstances, may use alternative testing requirements, if
such alternatives are available. Under section 14(i)(4)(E)(i), a
``covered product'' means a consumer product manufactured by a small
batch manufacturer where no more than 7,500 units of the same product
were manufactured in the previous calendar year. Section
14(i)(4)(E)(ii) defines the term ``small batch manufacturer'' to mean a
manufacturer that had no more than $1,000,000 in total gross revenue
from sales of all consumer products in the previous calendar year.
In light of this new authority, the Commission seeks to hear from
interested stakeholders about whether such alternatives are available
and what such alternatives would entail. For example, alternatives for
a particular rule may include different screening techniques, sampling
procedures, or a first party testing regime. Staff has also been
exploring the idea of co-op approaches to testing expense. However, if
the Commission determines that no such alternative testing requirement
is available or economically practicable for a particular rule, ban,
regulation, or standard, section 14(i)(4)(ii) permits the Commission to
exempt small batch manufacturers from third party testing requirements.
Thus, in addition to seeking information about alternative testing
requirements, the Commission also wants to hear from interested parties
about whether they seek exemption from third party testing requirements
because alternatives are not available or are not economically
practicable. The Commission will explore at the hearing whether
exemptions are appropriate with regard to any and all children's
product safety rules for which small batch manufacturers may need
relief. We note, however, that in some cases, even if alternatives are
available and economically practicable, we may not allow the use of
such an alternative (or, if it is determined that no alternative is
available, the Commission may not permit an exemption) where the
Commission determines that full compliance with the third party testing
requirements is reasonably necessary to protect public health or
safety. Moreover, sections 14(i)(4)(C)(i) and (ii) prohibit the
Commission from providing alternative testing requirements or
exemptions for any of the third party testing requirements contained in
clauses (i) through (v) of section 14(a)(3)(B) (lead paint, full-size
or non-full-size cribs, pacifiers, small parts, children's metal
jewelry, baby bouncers, walkers, and jumpers) or durable infant or
toddler products, as defined in section 104(f) of the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 15 U.S.C. 2056(a)(f).
In seeking information about possible alternative testing
requirements, we stress that any such alternative must satisfy the
underlying objectives prescribed in the children's product safety rule
for which the alternative is sought, and must provide reasonable
methods to ensure compliance. Every rule, ban, standard, or regulation
issued by the Commission is the result of careful analysis, review, and
research through which alternatives are evaluated and certain standard
criteria are met. In that process, Commission staff has considered
possible alternative testing requirements to minimize the burden of
testing since passage of the CPSIA. With regard to chemical testing,
for example, staff has approved the use--in appropriate circumstances--
of XRF screening techniques for lead. In addition, staff has been
following closely the development of screening techniques for
phthalates. Where appropriate, and when the screening methods are
reliable and reproducible, staff would be open to allowing the use of
screening techniques to mitigate testing costs for chemical content
testing of children's products and toys or the heavy metals content of
the paints and surface coatings used on toys.
Screening techniques, however, are not appropriate alternative
testing requirements for all children's product safety rules. For
example, staff is not aware of any screening technique that would
detect the flammability of a child's carpet and rug. In addition, many
of the performance standards and tests in our rules have particularized
test methods for which an alternative simply does not appear to be
practicable. The bicycle standard, for example, contains rigorous
performance standards to reduce unreasonable risks of injury, including
exacting and well-documented test procedures that are analyzed to
ensure the reproducibility of the results and minimize interlaboratory
variability.
Therefore, as a threshold matter, any alternative testing
requirement submitted to the Commission for consideration, in addition
to satisfying the fundamental purpose of the rule for which an
alternative is presented, must demonstrate acceptable performance in
the areas of:
Accuracy;
Precision;
Repeatability;
Reproducibility;
Range;
Sensitivity (to test setup and/or test environment);
Relevance (usefulness in predicting consumer product
performance); and
Correlation between the proposed alternative and existing
regulatory testing requirements.
Using these criteria, stakeholders should submit specific and well-
documented information on the availability and economic practicability
of alternative testing requirements for the following children's
product safety rules:
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16 CFR Part No. (or Test Method or
Standard) Description
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1420................................... All-Terrain Vehicles.
1203................................... Bicycle Helmets.
1512................................... Bicycles.
1513................................... Bunk Beds.
1500.86(a)(5).......................... Clacker Balls.
1500.86(a)(7) and (8).................. Dive Sticks and Other Similar
Articles.
1505................................... Electrically Operated Toys or
Articles.
1615................................... Flammability of Children's
Sleepwear, Sizes 0 through 6X.
1616................................... Flammability of Children's
Sleepwear, Sizes 7 through 14.
[[Page 62046]]
1610................................... Flammability of Clothing
Textiles.
1632................................... Flammability of Mattresses and
Mattress Pads.
1633................................... Flammability (Open-Flame) of
Mattress Sets.
1611................................... Flammability of Vinyl Plastic
Film.
1215................................... Infant Bath Seats.
Sec. 101 of CPSIA (Test Method CPSC-CH- Lead Content in Children's
E1001-08 or CPSC-CH-E1001-08.1). Metal Products.
Sec. 101 of CPSIA (Test Method CPSC-CH- Lead Content in Children's Non-
E1002-08 and/or CPSC-CH-E1002-08.1). Metal Products.
Sec. 108 of CPSIA (Test Method CPSC-CH- Phthalate Content of Children's
C1001-09.3 ). Toys and Child Care Articles.
1510................................... Rattles.
1630................................... Surface Flammability of Carpets
and Rugs.
1631................................... Surface Flammability of Small
Carpets and Rugs.
1217................................... Toddler Beds.
(ASTM F963)............................ Toys.
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Stakeholders seeking an exemption from one of the above-listed
rules should submit information to the Commission demonstrating that an
alternative testing requirement is not available or economically
practicable. In addition, because the Commission cannot grant an
exemption where it determines that full compliance with the third party
testing provisions of the CPSIA ``is reasonably necessary to protect
the public health and safety,'' the Commission is accepting comments on
this issue. The Commission intends this hearing to fulfill all of the
notice and hearing requirements of HR 2715 with regard to the amendment
of Section 14(i)(2)(B)(ii)(4) of the CPSA, ``Special Rules for Small
Batch Manufacturers.''
Any information submitted in writing or presented orally to the
CPSC at the public hearing will become part of the public record.
Access to the docket to read background documents, including a
transcript of the public meeting, or comments received, will be made
available at: http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. CPSC-2011-
0070.
Dated: October 3, 2011.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2011-25876 Filed 10-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P