CPSC Sets New Safety Standard for Adult Portable Bed Rails
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a final rule July 21 setting a new safety standard for adult portable bed rails. The new standard, which adopts the voluntary industry standard ASTM F3186-17 as mandatory, with some modifications, takes effect Aug. 21, and includes provisions to prevent stockpiling prior to the effective date.
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The final rule defines adult portable bed rails as “products that are installed or used alongside a bed by consumers and are intended to reduce the risk of falling from the bed, assist the consumer in repositioning in the bed, or assist the consumer in transitioning into or out of the bed.” They are generally installed by consumers, and not designed as part of a bed by the bed manufacturer.
Beyond the requirements of ASTM F3186-17, the proposed rule includes additional definitions for product “assembly," “installation" and "entrapment zone," as well as recommendations that manufacturers take into account a range of mattress thicknesses. It also modifies the test method for entrapment hazards and includes additional warning statement requirements, among other things.
Stockpiling provisions in the proposal bar the import or manufacture of adult portable bed rails between the issuance of the final rule and its effective date at a rate of more than 105% of the rate that a company imported or manufactured during the 13 months prior to the publication of the final rule.