U.S. – CPSC Proposes 16 CFR 1236 Safety Standard for Infant Inclined Sleep Products

Vol. 964 | 25 Apr 2017

As part of the rulemaking process required by the Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is proposing the new federal regulation: 16 CFR 1236 Safety Standard for Infant Inclined Sleep Products. The rule proposes to adopt the existing ASTM standard F3118-17 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Inclined Sleep Products, with one modification to the definition of the term “accessory inclined sleep product.” The CPSC staff initially considered inclined sleep products to fall within the scope of the bassinets and cradles standard, but as work progressed on that standard, it became evident that one standard could not effectively address all the products. Accordingly, the commission directed the staff to address the inclined sleep products in a separate rulemaking effort. Thus, the inclined sleep products safety standard is outgrowth of the bassinets and cradles standard, addressing the products with an incline greater than 10 degrees from the horizontal.

Inclined sleep products being an offshoot of the bassinets and cradles category were addressed in a separate ASTM standard, ASTM F3118, published in May 2015, since the bassinets and cradles standard did not adequately address these products. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) also proposes to modify the definition of “durable infant or nursery products” under the consumer registration rule to include the infant inclined sleep products so they won’t be misclassified as bassinets.

An Infant Inclined Sleep Product as defined by the ASTM F3118 standard is “a freestanding product, intended to provide a sleeping accommodations for an infant up to approximately 5 months of age, that is generally supported by a stationary or rocker base with one or more inclined sleep surface positions for the seat back that are greater than 10° and do not exceed 30° from the horizontal.”

The proposed modification to the accessory inclined sleep product definition in 16 CFR 1236, removes the phrase “rigid frame” as specified in the ASTM F3118-17 standard to also address accessory inclined sleep products without rigid frames.

Key requirements addressed by the ASTM F3118-17 standard include:

• Stability and unintentional folding requirements of the product when in use
• Integrity of the restraint systems, when provided
• Minimum side height requirement along with the head, foot and side containment requirements to adequately contain the occupant
• Maximum seat back length requirement to restrict an older children being placed in the product

The CPSC has proposed that the rule become effective 12 months after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted until June 21, 2017.

The proposed Rule can be viewed at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-04-07/pdf/2017-06875.pdf

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, +1-630-209-9265)