31688 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 107 / Friday, June 4, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

(i) A conspicuous card containing the 

information described in paragraphs 

(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, and a 

line for the signature of the depositor; 

and 

(ii) Accompanying materials 

requesting the depositor to sign the 

card, and return the signed card to the 

institution. 

(c) Depositors obtained on or before 

October 13, 2006. Any depository 

institution lacking federal deposit 

insurance may receive any deposit after 

October 13, 2006, for the account of a 

depositor who was a depositor on or 

before that date only if: 

(1) The depositor has signed a written 

acknowledgement described in 

paragraph (a) of this section; or 

(2) The institution has transmitted to 

the depositor: 

(i) A conspicuous card containing the 

information described in paragraphs 

(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, and a 

line for the signature of the depositor; 

and 

(ii) Accompanying materials 

requesting that the depositor sign the 

card, and return the signed card to the 

institution. 

NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (C): The 

institution must have made the 

transmission described in paragraph 

(c)(2) of this section via mail not later 

than three months after October 13, 

2006. The institution must have made a 

second identical transmission via mail 

not less than 30 days, and not more than 

three months, after the first transmission 

to the depositor in accordance with 

paragraph (c)(2) of this section, if the 

institution has not, by the date of such 

mailing, received from the depositor a 

card referred to in paragraph (c)(1) of 

this section which has been signed by 

the depositor. 

(d) Format and type size. The 

disclosures required by this section 

must be clear and conspicuous and 

presented in a simple and easy to 

understand format, type size, and 

manner. 

§ 320.6 Exception for certain depository 

institutions. 

The requirements of this part do not 

apply to any depository institution 

lacking federal deposit insurance and 

located within the United States that 

does not receive initial deposits of less 

than an amount equal to the standard 

maximum deposit insurance amount 

from individuals who are citizens or 

residents of the United States, other 

than money received in connection with 

any draft or similar instrument issued to 

transmit money. 

§ 320.7 Enforcement. 

Compliance with the requirements of 

this part shall be enforced under the 

Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 

U.S.C. 41 et seq. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark 

Secretary 

[FR Doc. 2010–13085 Filed 6–3–10: 10:48 am] 

[Billing Code: 6750–0–1–S] 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC–2009–0064] 

16 CFR Part 1215 

Third Party Testing for Certain 

Children’s Products; Infant Bath Seats: 

Requirements for Accreditation of 

Third Party Conformity 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Requirements. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 

issuing a notice of requirements that 

provides the criteria and process for 

Commission acceptance of accreditation 

of third party conformity assessment 

bodies for testing pursuant to specific 

CPSC regulations relating to infant bath 

seats. The Commission is issuing this 

notice of requirements pursuant to 

section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the Consumer 

Product Safety Act (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 

2063(a)(3)(B)(vi)). 

DATES: Effective Date: The requirements 

for accreditation of third party 

conformity assessment bodies to assess 

conformity with 16 CFR part 1215 are 

effective upon publication of this notice 

in the Federal Register. 

Comments in response to this notice 

of requirements should be submitted by 

July 6, 2010. Comments on this notice 

should be captioned ‘‘Notice of 

Requirements for Accreditation of Third 

Party Conformity Assessment Bodies to 

Assess Conformity with Part 1215 of 

Title 16, Code of Federal Regulations.’’ 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. CPSC–2009– 

0064 by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit 

electronic comments in the following 

way: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

To ensure timely processing of 

comments, the Commission is no longer 

accepting comments submitted by 

electronic mail (e-mail) except through 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Written Submissions: Submit written 

submissions in the following ways: 

Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for 

paper, disk, or CD–ROM submissions) 

preferably in five copies, to: Office of 

the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 

telephone (301) 504–7923. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this notice. All 

comments received may be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information, trade secret information, or 

other sensitive or protected information 

(such as a Social Security Number) 

electronically; if furnished at all, such 

information should be submitted in 

writing. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert ‘‘Jay’’ Howell, Assistant Executive 

Director for Hazard Identification and 

Reduction, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; email rhowell@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

Section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA, as 

added by section 102(a)(2) of the 

Consumer Product Safety Improvement 

Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public Law 110– 

314, directs the CPSC to publish a 

notice of requirements for accreditation 

of third party conformity assessment 

bodies to assess children’s products for 

conformity with ‘‘other children’s 

product safety rules.’’ Section 14(f)(1) of 

the CPSA defines ‘‘children’s product 

safety rule’’ as ‘‘a consumer product 

safety rule under [the CPSA] or similar 

rule, regulation, standard, or ban under 

any other Act enforced by the 

Commission, including a rule declaring 

a consumer product to be a banned 

hazardous product or substance.’’ Under 

section 14(a)(3)(A) of the CPSA, each 

manufacturer (including the importer) 

or private labeler of products subject to 

those regulations must have products 

that are manufactured more than 90 

days after the Federal Register 

publication date of a notice of the 

requirements for accreditation, tested by 

a third party conformity assessment 

body accredited to do so, and must issue 

a certificate of compliance with the 

applicable regulations based on that 

testing. Section 14(a)(2) of the CPSA, as 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 107 / Friday, June 4, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 31689 

added by section 102(a)(2) of the CPSIA, 

requires that certification be based on 

testing of sufficient samples of the 

product, or samples that are identical in 

all material respects to the product. The 

Commission also emphasizes that, 

irrespective of certification, the product 

in question must comply with 

applicable CPSC requirements (see, e.g., 

section 14(h) of the CPSA, as added by 

section 102(b) of the CPSIA). 

This notice provides the criteria and 

process for Commission acceptance of 

accreditation of third party conformity 

assessment bodies for testing pursuant 

to safety standard for infant bath seats 

which appears elsewhere in this issue of 

the Federal Register. The standard for 

infant bath seats will be codified at 16 

CFR part 1215. The standard contains 

the testing methods that conformity 

assessment bodies will use to assess 

infant bath seats. The Commission is 

recognizing limited circumstances in 

which it will accept certifications based 

on product testing conducted before the 

infant bath seat standard becomes 

effective in six months. The details 

regarding those limited circumstances 

can be found in part IV of this document 

below. 

Although section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the 

CPSA directs the CPSC to publish a 

notice of requirements for accreditation 

of third party conformity assessment 

bodies to assess conformity with ‘‘all 

other children’s product safety rules,’’ 

this notice of requirements is limited to 

the test methods identified immediately 

above. 

The CPSC also recognizes that section 

14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA is captioned 

as ‘‘All Other Children’s Product Safety 

Rules,’’ but the body of the statutory 

requirement refers only to ‘‘other 

children’s product safety rules.’’ 

Nevertheless, section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of 

the CPSA could be construed as 

requiring a notice of requirements for 

‘‘all’’ other children’s product safety 

rules, rather than a notice of 

requirements for ‘‘some’’ or ‘‘certain’’ 

children’s product safety rules. 

However, whether a particular rule 

represents a ‘‘children’s product safety 

rule’’ may be subject to interpretation, 

and the Commission staff is continuing 

to evaluate which rules, regulations, 

standards, or bans are ‘‘children’s 

product safety rules.’’ The CPSC intends 

to issue additional notices of 

requirements for other rules which the 

Commission determines to be 

‘‘children’s product safety rules.’’ 

This notice of requirements applies to 

all third party conformity assessment 

bodies as described in section 14(f)(2) of 

the CPSA. Generally speaking, such 

third party conformity assessment 

bodies are: (1) Third party conformity 

assessment bodies that are not owned, 

managed, or controlled by a 

manufacturer or private labeler of a 

children’s product to be tested by the 

third party conformity assessment body 

for certification purposes; (2) 

‘‘firewalled’’ conformity assessment 

bodies (those that are owned, managed, 

or controlled by a manufacturer or 

private labeler of a children’s product to 

be tested by the third party conformity 

assessment body for certification 

purposes and that seek accreditation 

under the additional statutory criteria 

for ‘‘firewalled’’ conformity assessment 

bodies); and (3) third party conformity 

assessment bodies owned or controlled, 

in whole or in part, by a government. 

The Commission requires baseline 

accreditation of each category of third 

party conformity assessment body to the 

International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO)/International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 

Standard 17025:2005, ‘‘General 

Requirements for the Competence of 

Testing and Calibration Laboratories.’’ 

The accreditation must be by an 

accreditation body that is a signatory to 

the International Laboratory 

Accreditation Cooperation-Mutual 

Recognition Arrangement (ILAC–MRA), 

and the scope of the accreditation must 

include testing for any of the test 

methods identified earlier in part I of 

this document for which the third party 

conformity assessment body seeks to be 

accredited. 

(A description of the history and 

content of the ILAC–MRA approach and 

of the requirements of the ISO/IEC 

17025:2005 laboratory accreditation 

standard is provided in the CPSC staff 

briefing memorandum ‘‘Third Party 

Conformity Assessment Body 

Accreditation Requirements for Testing 

Compliance With 16 CFR Part 1501 

(Small Parts Regulations),’’ dated 

November 2008 and available on the 

CPSC’s Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/ 

library/foia/foia09/brief/smallparts.pdf.) 

The Commission has established an 

electronic accreditation registration and 

listing system that can be accessed via 

its Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/ 

about/cpsia/labaccred.html. 

The Commission stayed the 

enforcement of certain provisions of 

section 14(a) of the CPSA in a notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 9, 2009 (74 FR 6396); the stay 

applied to testing and certification of 

various products, including infant bath 

seats. On December 28, 2009, the 

Commission published a notice in the 

Federal Register (74 FR 68588) revising 

the terms of the stay. One section of the 

December 28, 2009, notice addressed 

‘‘Consumer Products or Children’s 

Products Where the Commission Is 

Continuing the Stay of Enforcement 

Until Further Notice,’’ due to factors 

such as pending rulemaking 

proceedings affecting the product or the 

absence of a notice of requirements. The 

infant bath seats testing and certification 

requirements were included in that 

section of the December 28, 2009, 

notice. As the factors preventing the 

stay from being lifted in the December 

28, 2009, notice with regard to testing 

and certifications of infant bath seats 

were the absence of approved standards 

and a notice of requirements, 

publication of this notice along with 

today’s Safety Standard for Infant Bath 

Seats; Final Rule, have the effect of 

lifting the stay with regard to these 

CPSC regulations. 

This notice of requirements is 

effective on June 4, 2010. The final rule 

announcing the Safety Standard for 

Infant Bath Seats is effective December 

1, 2010. The effect of these twin 

publications is that each manufacturer 

(including the importer) or private 

labeler of a product subject to 16 CFR 

part 1215 must have any such product 

manufactured on or after December 2, 

2010, tested by a third party conformity 

assessment body accredited to do so and 

must issue a certificate of compliance 

with 16 CFR part 1215 based on that 

testing. 

This notice of requirements is exempt 

from the notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 

553 (see section 14(a)(3)(G) of the CPSA, 

as added by section 102(a)(2) of the 

CPSIA (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(3)(G))). 

II. Accreditation Requirements 

A. Baseline Third Party Conformity 

Assessment Body Accreditation 

Requirements 

For a third party conformity 

assessment body to be accredited to test 

children’s products for conformity with 

the test methods identified earlier in 

part I of this document, it must be 

accredited by an ILAC–MRA signatory 

accrediting body, and the accreditation 

must be registered with, and accepted 

by, the Commission. A listing of ILAC– 

MRA signatory accrediting bodies is 

available on the Internet at http:// 

ilac.org/membersbycategory.html. The 

accreditation must be to ISO Standard 

ISO/IEC 17025:2005, ‘‘General 

Requirements for the Competence of 

Testing and Calibration Laboratories,’’ 

and the scope of the accreditation must 

expressly include testing to the test 

method for infant bath seats included in 

16 CFR part 1215, Safety Standard for 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
31690 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 107 / Friday, June 4, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

Infant Bath Seats. A true copy, in 

English, of the accreditation and scope 

documents demonstrating compliance 

with these requirements must be 

registered with the Commission 

electronically. The additional 

requirements for accreditation of 

firewalled and governmental conformity 

assessment bodies are described in parts 

II.B and II.C of this document below. 

The Commission will maintain on its 

Web site an up-to-date listing of third 

party conformity assessment bodies 

whose accreditations it has accepted 

and the scope of each accreditation. 

Once the Commission adds a third party 

conformity assessment body to that list, 

the third party conformity assessment 

body may commence testing of infant 

bath seats to support certification by the 

manufacturer or private labeler of 

compliance with the test methods 

identified earlier in part I of this 

document. 

B. Additional Accreditation 

Requirements for Firewalled Conformity 

Assessment Bodies 

In addition to the baseline 

accreditation requirements in part II.A 

of this document above, firewalled 

conformity assessment bodies seeking 

accredited status must submit to the 

Commission copies, in English, of their 

training documents showing how 

employees are trained to notify the 

Commission immediately and 

confidentially of any attempt by the 

manufacturer, private labeler, or other 

interested party to hide or exert undue 

influence over the third party 

conformity assessment body’s test 

results. This additional requirement 

applies to any third party conformity 

assessment body in which a 

manufacturer or private labeler of a 

children’s product to be tested by the 

third party conformity assessment body 

owns an interest of ten percent or more. 

While the Commission is not addressing 

common parentage of a third party 

conformity assessment body and a 

children’s product manufacturer at this 

time, it will be vigilant to see if this 

issue needs to be addressed in the 

future. 

As required by section 14(f)(2)(D) of 

the CPSA, the Commission must 

formally accept, by order, the 

accreditation application of a third party 

conformity assessment body before the 

third party conformity assessment body 

can become an accredited firewalled 

conformity assessment body. 

C. Additional Accreditation 

Requirements for Governmental 

Conformity Assessment Bodies 

In addition to the baseline 

accreditation requirements of part II.A 

of this document above, the CPSIA 

permits accreditation of a third party 

conformity assessment body owned or 

controlled, in whole or in part, by a 

government if: 

• To the extent practicable, 

manufacturers or private labelers 

located in any nation are permitted to 

choose conformity assessment bodies 

that are not owned or controlled by the 

government of that nation; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s testing results are not 

subject to undue influence by any other 

person, including another governmental 

entity; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body is not accorded more 

favorable treatment than other third 

party conformity assessment bodies in 

the same nation who have been 

accredited; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s testing results are 

accorded no greater weight by other 

governmental authorities than those of 

other accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies; and 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body does not exercise 

undue influence over other 

governmental authorities on matters 

affecting its operations or on decisions 

by other governmental authorities 

controlling distribution of products 

based on outcomes of the third party 

conformity assessment body’s 

conformity assessments. 

The Commission will accept the 

accreditation of a governmental third 

party conformity assessment body if it 

meets the baseline accreditation 

requirements of part II.A of this 

document above and meets the 

additional conditions stated here. To 

obtain this assurance, CPSC staff will 

engage the governmental entities 

relevant to the accreditation request. 

III. How Does a Third Party Conformity 

Assessment Body Apply for Acceptance 

of Its Accreditation? 

The Commission has established an 

electronic accreditation acceptance and 

registration system accessed via the 

Commission’s Internet site at http:// 

www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ 

labaccred.html. The applicant provides, 

in English, basic identifying information 

concerning its location, the type of 

accreditation it is seeking, and 

electronic copies of its ILAC–MRA 

accreditation certificate and scope 

statement, and firewalled third party 

conformity assessment body training 

document(s), if relevant. 

Commission staff will review the 

submission for accuracy and 

completeness. In the case of baseline 

third party conformity assessment 

bodies and government-owned or 

government-operated conformity 

assessment bodies, when that review 

and any necessary discussions with the 

applicant are satisfactorily completed, 

the third party conformity assessment 

body in question is added to the CPSC’s 

list of accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies at http:// 

www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ 

labaccred.html. In the case of a 

firewalled conformity assessment body 

seeking accredited status, when the 

staff’s review is complete, the staff 

transmits its recommendation on 

accreditation to the Commission for 

consideration. (A third party conformity 

assessment body that may ultimately 

seek acceptance as a firewalled third 

party conformity assessment body also 

can initially request acceptance as a 

third party conformity assessment body 

accredited for testing of children’s 

products other than those of its owners.) 

If the Commission accepts a staff 

recommendation to accredit a firewalled 

conformity assessment body, the 

firewalled conformity assessment body 

will then be added to the CPSC’s list of 

accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies. In each case, the 

Commission will notify the third party 

conformity assessment body 

electronically of acceptance of its 

accreditation. All information to 

support an accreditation acceptance 

request must be provided in the English 

language. 

Once the Commission adds a third 

party conformity assessment body to the 

list, the third party conformity 

assessment body may then begin testing 

of children’s products to support 

certification of compliance with the 

regulations identified earlier in part I of 

this document for which it has been 

accredited. 

IV. Acceptance of Children’s Product 

Certifications Based on Third Party 

Conformity Assessment Body Testing to 

the New Safety Standard for Infant 

Bath Seats Prior to Their Effective Date 

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register, the Commission is publishing 

a new safety standard for infant bath 

seats, which will be codified at 16 CFR 

part 1215. The effect of this notice of 

requirements and the final rule is that 

each manufacturer (including the 

importer) or private labeler of a product 

subject to 16 CFR part 1215 must have 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 107 / Friday, June 4, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 31691 

any such product manufactured on or 

after December 1, 2010 tested by a third 

party conformity assessment body 

accredited to do so and must issue a 

certificate of compliance with 16 CFR 

part 1215 based on that testing. 

To ease the transition to the new 

standard and avoid a ‘‘bottlenecking’’ of 

products at conformity assessment 

bodies at or near the effective date of 16 

CFR 1215, the Commission will accept 

certifications based on testing that 

occurred prior to the effective date of 

the new standard in certain prescribed 

circumstances. However, any such 

testing must comport with all CPSC 

requirements, including: 

• At the time of product testing, the 

product was tested by a third party 

conformity assessment body that was 

ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by an ILAC– 

MRA member, and had been accepted 

by the Commission, at the time of the 

test. 

• The accreditation scope in effect for 

the third party conformity assessment 

body at the time of testing expressly 

included testing to the test method(s) 

included in 16 CFR part 1215; and 

• The test results show compliance 

with the test methods in the new 

regulation (16 CFR part 1215). 

Dated: May 25, 2010. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13080 Filed 6–3–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 1215 

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC–2009–0064] 

Safety Standard for Infant Bath Seats: 

Final Rule 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Section 104(b) of the 

Consumer Product Safety Improvement 

Act of 2008 (‘‘CPSIA’’) requires the 

United States Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (‘‘Commission,’’ ‘‘CPSC,’’ 

‘‘we’’) to promulgate consumer product 

safety standards for durable infant or 

toddler products. These standards are to 

be ‘‘substantially the same as’’ applicable 

voluntary standards or more stringent 

than the voluntary standard if the 

Commission concludes that more 

stringent requirements would further 

reduce the risk of injury associated with 

the product. We are issuing a safety 

standard for infant bath seats in 

response to the direction under section 

104(b) of the CPSIA. 

DATES: The rule will become effective 

on December 6, 2010 and apply to 

products manufactured or imported on 

or after that date. The incorporation by 

reference of the publication listed in 

this rule is approved by the Director of 

the Federal Register as of December 6, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carolyn Manley, Office of Compliance 

and Field Operations, Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, 4330 East 

West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 

telephone (301) 504–7607; 

cmanley@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background and Statutory Authority 

Section 104(b) of the Consumer 

Product Safety Improvement Act of 

2008 (‘‘CPSIA,’’ Public Law 110–314) 

requires the Commission to promulgate 

consumer product safety standards for 

durable infant or toddler products. 

Section 104 includes infant bath seats 

among these products. See CPSIA, 

section 104(f). The standards developed 

under section 104 of the CPSIA are to 

be ‘‘substantially the same as’’ applicable 

voluntary standards or more stringent 

than the voluntary standard if the 

Commission concludes that more 

stringent requirements would further 

reduce the risk of injury associated with 

the product. Section 104(b)(2) of the 

CPSIA directs the Commission to begin 

rulemaking for two standards by August 

14, 2009. Under this provision, the 

Commission published a notice of 

proposed rulemaking (‘‘NPR’’) in the 

Federal Register of September 3, 2009 

(74 FR 45719) proposing a safety 

standard for bath seats. The proposed 

standard was substantially the same as 

a voluntary standard developed by 

ASTM International (formerly known as 

the American Society for Testing and 

Materials), ASTM F 1967–08a, 

‘‘Standard Consumer Safety 

Specification for Infant Bath Seats,’’ 

with some modifications to strengthen 

the standard in order to reduce the risk 

of injury associated with bath seats. The 

Commission is now issuing a final 

standard for infant bath seats that is 

almost the same as the proposed 

standard it published in September 

2009. 

B. The Product 

Infant bath seats are used in a tub or 

sink to support a seated infant while he 

or she is being bathed. They are 

marketed for use with infants between 

the age of approximately 5 months (the 

time at which infants can sit up 

unassisted) to the age of approximately 

10 months (the time at which infants 

begin pulling themselves up to a 

standing position). Currently, there are 

two manufacturers and one importer of 

bath seats active in the United States 

(one fewer than at the time the 

Commission published its proposed 

rule). All are members of the Juvenile 

Products Manufacturers Association 

(‘‘JPMA’’), which is the major United 

States trade association representing 

juvenile product manufacturers and 

importers. All produce a variety of 

children’s products in addition to bath 

seats. 

The exact number of bath seats 

currently sold or in use is not known. 

Data from a 2005 survey by the 

American Baby Group (2006 Baby 

Products Tracking Study), in 

conjunction with Centers for Disease 

Control (‘‘CDC’’) birth data, indicated 

annual sales of bath seats of about 1.5 

million and about 1.8 million bath seats 

in use. In 2000, JPMA estimated annual 

sales of bath seats at about one million 

and estimated up to 2 million bath seats 

in use for infants under one year of age. 

C. ASTM Voluntary Standard 

ASTM F 1967, ‘‘Standard Consumer 

Safety Specification for Infant Bath 

Seats,’’ was first published in 1999. 

Between 2003 and 2007, the ASTM 

standard was subsequently revised 

several times to exclude tub-like 

products and to include requirements 

that the Commission had proposed in a 

notice of proposed rulemaking it issued 

in 2003, 68 FR 74878 (December 29, 

2003). 

In response to changes in the ASTM 

standard, the design of bath seats 

changed significantly. The new designs 

use an arm that clamps onto the side of 

the bath tub rather than relying on 

suction cups for stability. In its 

proposed rule, the Commission 

referenced ASTM F 1967–08a, which 

was published in December 2008, and 

contains the same labeling, stability and 

leg opening requirements as the 2007 

version. In April 2010, ASTM published 

a new version of ASTM F 1967. The 

differences between the 2008 and 2010 

standards are insubstantial (one word in 

section 8.1.1). The 2010 version adopted 

none of the changes the Commission 

proposed. Thus, the final standard 

continues to reference ASTM F 1967– 

08a. 

JPMA provides certification programs 

for juvenile products, including bath 

seats. Manufacturers submit their 

products to an independent testing 

laboratory to test the product for 

conformance to the ASTM standard. 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES