CPSC to Hold Public Roundtable on Safety Standards for Cribs, Etc.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a notice announcing the public roundtable it will hold on cribs1 and other sleeping environments for infants at its headquarters in Bethesda, MD on April 22, 2009.
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CPSC states this roundtable is part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA2) requirement that the CPSC consult with representatives of consumer groups, juvenile product manufacturers, independent child product engineers and experts in its study and development of safety standards for certain durable infant and toddler products.3
CPSC to Seek Input on Voluntary/Mandatory Crib Standards, Share Data, Etc.
During the roundtable, CPSC will consult with interested stakeholders and solicit input regarding the adequacy of the current voluntary and mandatory standards for cribs and other infant sleep environments. CPSC also intends to review recent incident data and provide copies of comments received from its November 2008 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Cribs. (See ITT's Online Archives or 12/01/08 news, 08120120, for BP summary of this November 2008 ANPR.)
Upcoming Rulemakings Will Make Crib and Other Standards Mandatory or More Stringent
The CPSIA requires CPSC to start a series rulemakings beginning August 14, 2009 for durable infant and toddler products, including for cribs, etc., that either: (i) make the existing voluntary safety standards mandatory; or (ii) provide for a stricter mandatory safety standard if CPSC determines it necessary to further reduce the risk of injury.
(Rulemakings are required for: cribs;toddler beds; high chairs, booster chairs, hook-on chairs; bath seats; gates and other enclosures for confining a child; play yards; stationary activity centers; infant carriers; strollers; walkers; swings; bassinets and cradles.)
Pursuant to the CPSIA, once the CPSC has issued these safety standards, it will be illegal to manufacture, sell or import a product that violates the new safety standard. Violations could result in either civil or criminal penalties.
1CPSC has previously explained that the CPSIA extended the scope of the mandatory crib standard to apply not just to cribs, portable cribs and play pens offered for sale or otherwise distributed in commerce, but also to cribs offered for use in hotels, child care facilities, family child care homes and other places where cribs are offered for use or lease. In addition, the CPSIA includes a definition of cribs which includes new and used cribs, full-sized or non full-sized cribs, and portable cribs and crib-pens.
2Enacted as Public Law 110-314 on August 14, 2008.
3"Durable infant or toddler product" means a durable product intended for use, or that may reasonably be expected to be used, by children under the age of five.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 09/30/08 news, 08093005, for BP summary of CPSIA requirements for safety standards for durable infant and toddler products.)
CPSC contact - Patricia Hackett (301) 504-7577
CPSC notice (FR Pub 03/30/09) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-7034.pdf
CPSC online registration for the meeting available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/infantsleep.aspx
CPSC Web site on the CPSIA available at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html