CPSC Seeks Comments on Petition to Amend Bunk Bed Standard
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on a petition it received1 requesting that the agency initiate a rulemaking to revise CPSC's standards regarding bunk beds.
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Comments are due by September 10, 2010.
CPSC Asked to Address Head & Neck Entrapment of Side Structures
The petition requests that the bunk bed regulations be amended 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 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 Standard2, 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 current 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.
Petitioner Wants Side Structures to Have Neck Probe Testing
The petitioner states that assessing the entrapment hazard requires use of a neck probe during product testing. According to the petitioner, any space greater than 1.9 inches can pose a risk of neck entrapment in bunk bed side structures.
1from Carol Pollack Nelson of Independent Safety Consulting
2CPSC regulates bunk beds under both the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (16 CFR 1500 and 1513), for bunk beds intended for use by children, and the Consumer Product Safety Act (16 CFR 1213), for bunk beds not specifically intended for children. CPSC states that the regulations under both statutes are virtually identical.
CPSC contact -- Rocky Hammond (301) 504-6833 or rhammond@cpsc.gov
(FR Pub 07/12/10, D/N CPSC-2010-0071)