[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 211 (Thursday, November 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75280-75281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24189]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2017-0010]


Notice of Availability of Updated ASTM Standard

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or 
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard Mandating ASTM F963 for Toys, 
incorporates by reference ASTM F963-17, Standard Consumer Safety 
Specifications for Toy Safety. The Commission has received notice of a 
revision to this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment on 
whether the revision improves the safety of the consumer products 
covered by the standard.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2017-0010, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit through this 
website: confidential business information, trade secret information, 
or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public. CPSC typically does not accept comments 
submitted by email, except as described below.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. You may, however, submit comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided, to https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to 
submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or 
other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier, or you may email them to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#93f0e3e0f0befce0d3f0e3e0f0bdf4fce5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86e5f6f5e5abe9f5c6e5f6f5e5a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2017-0010, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin J. Mordecai, U.S. Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; 
telephone: 301-987-2506; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5537383a27313036343c15362526367b323a23"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8defe0e2ffe9e8eeece4cdeefdfeeea3eae2fb">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 106(a) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), mandated that ASTM F963-
07[egr]1, Standard Consumer Safety Specifications for Toy Safety, shall 
be considered a mandatory consumer product safety standard issued by 
the CPSC.\1\ 15 U.S.C. 2056b(a). After compliance with ASTMF963 became 
mandatory in 2009, there were revisions to the voluntary standard in 
2008, 2011, 2016, and 2017. Currently, ASTM F963-17, with certain 
exceptions, is considered a consumer product safety standard issued by 
the Commission under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(CPSA). 16 CFR part 1250.
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    \1\ Section 106(a) of the CPSIA does not require CPSC to 
incorporate section 4.2 and Annex 4 of ASTM F963-07[egr]1, or any 
provision that restated or incorporated an existing mandatory 
standard or ban promulgated by the Commission or by statute.
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    On October 23, 2023, ASTM notified CPSC of ASTM's approval and 
publication of revisions to ASTM F963 in a revised standard, numbered 
ASTM F963-23, approved on August 1, 2023. Under section 106(g) of the 
CPSIA, if ASTM proposes revisions to ASTM F963, ASTM must notify the 
Commission. 15 U.S.C. 2056b(g). The revised standard shall be 
considered a consumer product safety standard issued by the CPSC under 
section 9 of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the 
date on which ASTM notifies the Commission of the revision, unless, 
within 90 days after receiving that notice, the Commission notifies 
ASTM that it has determined that the proposed revision does not improve 
the safety of toys. 15 U.S.C. 2056b(g).
    CPSC is assessing the revised voluntary standard to determine 
whether the revisions in ASTM F963-23 meet the requirements of CPSIA 
section 106(g). The Commission invites public comment on that question, 
to inform staff's assessment and any subsequent Commission 
consideration of the revisions in ASTM F963-23.\2\
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    \2\ The Commission voted 4-0 to publish this notification.
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    ASTM F963-23 is available for review in several ways. ASTM has 
provided on its website (at https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no cost, 
a read-only copy of the 2023 revisions to ASTM F963 including a red-
lined version that identifies the changes made to ASTM F963-17. A read-
only copy of the existing mandatory standard (ASTM F963-17) is 
available for viewing, at no cost, on the ASTM website at: https://www.astm.org/READINGLIBRARY/. Interested parties can download copies of 
the standards by purchasing them from ASTM International, 100 Barr 
Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; phone: 
610-832-9585; https://www.astm.org. Alternatively, interested parties 
can schedule an appointment to inspect copies of the standards at 
CPSC's Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: 301-
504-7479.
    Comments must be received by November 16, 2023. Because of the 
short statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to 
consider revised voluntary standards under section 106(g) of the CPSIA, 
CPSC

[[Page 75281]]

will not consider comments received after this date.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-24189 Filed 11-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P


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