[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79901-79902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22433]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2024-0030]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Public Playground 
Handbook Update

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 (Commission or 
CPSC) is announcing the availability of draft updates to its ``Public 
Playground Safety Handbook.''

DATES: Comments must be received by December 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2024-
0030, 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. 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#3b584b48581654487b584b4858155c544d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="40233033236d2f3300233033236e272f36">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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. Do not submit to 
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. If you wish to submit such 
information, please submit it according to the instructions for mail/
hand delivery/courier/confidential written submissions.
    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-2024-0030, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Taxier, Children's Program 
Manager, Division of Mechanical and Combustion Engineering, U.S. 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 
20850-3213; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a4e5e4b52434f586a495a5949044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6c2d2c7decfc3d4e6c5d6d5c588c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a>; telephone: (301) 987-2211.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 
published the first Handbook for Public Playground Safety (the 
Handbook) in 1981. This original document was a two-volume set 
containing technical guidance intended to reduce deaths and injuries to 
children associated with playground equipment. In 1991, the Handbook 
was revised to a single volume, which contained recommendations based 
on a COMSIS Corporation report to the CPSC.\1\ Also in 1991, the first 
ASTM International (ASTM) standard for playground safety, F1292: 
Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surface Systems Under 
and Around Playground Equipment, was published. In 1993, ASTM F1487: 
Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground 
Equipment for Public Use was published. CPSC published minor revisions 
to the Handbook in 1994. In 1997, the Handbook was updated based on 
ASTM F1487, a playground safety roundtable meeting held in October of 
1996, and comments received in response to a May 1997 CPSC request.
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    \1\ The 1990 COMSIS report, Development of Human Factors 
Criteria for Playground Equipment Safety, is available in six parts 
on the CPSC website. Part 1 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-Equipment-Safety-Part-1. Part 2 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-Equipment-Safety-Part-2. Part 3 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-Equipment-Safety-Part-3. Part 4 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/development-human-factors-criteria-playground-equipment-safety-part-4. Part 5 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-Equipment-Safety-Part-5. Part 6 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/development-human-factors-criteria-playground-equipment-safety-part-6.
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    Due to the lack of a Commission quorum at the time, 2008 revisions 
to the Handbook were released as a draft staff document. Later in 2008, 
members of ASTM's voluntary standards committee on playground equipment 
and the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) 
identified areas where the voluntary standards and the Handbook did not 
align. In 2010, CPSC published a revised the Handbook that resolved 
many of these issues.
    Since 2010, ASTM has published new and revised public playground 
standards,\2\ and new materials and equipment have been installed in 
playgrounds. Additionally, members of ASTM, the National Program for 
Playground Safety (NPPS), IPEMA, and members of the general public have 
requested clarifications and recommended an update to the Handbook. 
Based on the current editions of the relevant ASTM standards, feedback 
from the public, and comments from ASTM and NPPS, CPSC is publishing a 
revised draft Handbook with a focus on improvements to safety.
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    \2\ See section 1.4.1 of the draft Handbook for a list of 
relevant standards.
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    The staff memorandum accompanying the draft Handbook, available at 
https://cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/BallotVote-Public-Playground-Handbook-Update-2.pdf?, summarizes major revisions included in the draft. These 
changes include updated signage and labeling guidance; updated guidance 
on common hazards for supervisor awareness; references to new impact 
attenuation testing for suspended elements in ASTM F1487; an updated 
warning label on potential

[[Page 79902]]

strangulation hazards; expanded guidance on merry-go-rounds and other 
spinning equipment, consistent with requirements in ASTM F1487; and 
several other minor revisions and corrections.
    The draft Handbook is intended to provide guidance to childcare 
personnel, school officials, parks and recreation personnel, equipment 
purchasers and installers, playground designers, and any other members 
of the general public (e.g., parents and school groups) concerned with 
playground safety and interested in evaluating their respective 
playgrounds. The draft Handbook also includes references to voluntary 
standards that contain technical requirements that are primarily 
intended for use by equipment designers and manufacturers, architects, 
and any others requiring more technical information. The draft Handbook 
is a guidance document; it is not a rule and does not establish legally 
enforceable responsibilities.
    The draft Handbook is available on the Commission's website at: 
https://cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/BallotVote-Public-Playground-Handbook-Update-2.pdf? and from the Commission's Office of the Secretary at the 
location listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
    The Commission invites comment on the document, ``Public Playground 
Safety Handbook.'' Comments should be submitted by December 2, 2024. 
Information on how to submit comments can be found in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-22433 Filed 9-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P


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