U.S. – CPSC Issues Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Infant Sleep Products

Vol. 1125 | 16 Dec 2019

As part of the rulemaking process required by the Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), in 2017 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), proposed a new federal regulation: 16 CFR 1236 Safety Standard for Infant Inclined Sleep Products. Following some incidents and information gathered subsequently, the CPSC has issued a supplemental NPR proposing to adopt the current ASTM standard F3118–17a Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Inclined Sleep Products, with modifications.

The supplemental NPR revises the scope to include all infant sleep products, including frame-type, hammock, compact, and accessories not covered by other ASTM standards such as:

• 16 CFR part 1218 Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles;
• 16 CFR part 1219 Safety Standard for Full-Size Baby Cribs;
• 16 CFR part 1220 Safety Standard for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs;
• 16 CFR part 1221 Safety Standard for Play Yards; and
• 16 CFR part 1222 Safety Standard for Bedside Sleepers.

It further revises the definition of infant sleep products as “a freestanding product, intended to provide a sleeping accommodation for an infant up to approximately 5 months of age, that is generally supported by a stationary or rocker base.”

Other key aspects of the supplemental NPR are:

• It clarifies that inclined products go against the safe sleep guidelines and hence modifies the product category to ‘infant sleep products’ from the previously proposed ‘infant inclined sleep products’ by removing any references to ‘inclined’ products.
• It restricts the seat angle to 10 degrees and lesser.
• It requires the products to comply with the 16 CFR 1218 mandatory safety standard for bassinets and cradles.
• Except for the seat back angle measurement requirement, the supplemental NPR does not require compliance to the general requirements, performance requirements, test specifications or marking and labeling sections of the ASTM F3118-17a standard.

The CPSC has proposed that the rule become effective 12 months after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register for products manufactured or imported on or after that date. The supplemental NPR also proposes adding the mandatory safety standard for infant sleep products to the consumer registration rule and the CPSC notice of requirements.

Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted until January 27, 2020.

The proposed rule can be viewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-11-12/pdf/2019-23724.pdf  

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