Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Cradles and Bassinets
Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act ("CPSIA") directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") to issue safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. On March 10, 2010, the CPSC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPR") proposing a rule for bassinets and cradles.
According to the NPR, a bassinet/cradle is a small bed designed exclusively to provide sleeping accommodations for infants supported by free standing legs, a wheeled base, a rocking base, or which can swing relative to a stationary base. Bassinet/cradle accessories for non-full size cribs or play yards fit the scope of this product category, as do co-sleeper bassinets that can be converted to a four-sided bassinet that does not attach to an adult bed. The scope of the standard also includes hammocks.
The proposed amendments to ASTM F2104-07a include:
- Revisions of making and labeling requirements, which includes improved warning, larger fonts, prominent presentation of warning, and more emphatic language of the warning.
- Cribs/bassinets will require:
- a maximum allowable rock/swing angle of 20˚;
- a maximum allowable rest angle for all rocking/ swinging products of 5˚; and
- a maximum allowable 5˚ mattress angle for all rocking and non-rocking bassinets.
- This requirement effectively bans infant hammocks currently on the market, which have swing angles greater than 20˚ and rest angles greater than 5˚.
- Restraints are no longer needed when lying on flat surfaces as this could contribute to a possible strangulation hazard.
- Additional test procedures will address entrapment hazards from bounded areas of fabric and rigid sides.
Any proposed standard that is adopted would be considered a consumer product safety rule to which products subject to the rule must be certified. Because bassinets and cradles are children's products, a third-party conformity assessment body accredited by the Commission must test them. The Commission would thus issue a notice of requirement to explain how laboratories can become accredited as a third-party conformity assessment body to test the new safety standards.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss either the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Bassinets and Cradles, or the current ASTM F2104-07a requirements, contact Carla De La Barra Helstrom, Douglas R. Dennis, or any other attorney in Frost Brown Todd's Products Liability Practice Group.
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