Stratton pursues international agenda; signs agreement with government of China

CPSC Monitor, April, 2004

Basing his recommendation on the upgrading of the voluntary standard, Ware recommended that the Commission terminate the rulemaking process. CPSC is prohibited from regulating when there is an adequate voluntary standard in effect.

Other commenters, however, took an opposite view. They included Rachel Weintraub, Assistant General Counsel of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Alan Korn, Director of Public Policy of Safe Kids, Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of Kids in Danger, and officials of Consumers Union.

These groups reiterated their past support for a total ban on the product. Failing that, however, they supported the mandatory rule with additional requirements. With most of CPSC staff's concerns addressed by the voluntary standard, Commissioners will have a difficult time making the case that the product needs to be regulated by a federal rule.

CPSC Staff Recommends Deferral of Bunk Bed Corner Post Petition

The Danny Foundation petitioned CPSC in September 2002 to regulate bunk bed corner posts and finials. The petition urges the Commission to issue a mandatory standard banning finials or corner posts on bunk beds. (10)

A recently released CPSC staff briefing memorandum states that the staff is aware of 47 hanging incidents involving bunk beds, with 39 fatalities and 8 injuries from January 1990 through December 2002. Children involved were from 11 months old to 16 years old. Four of those deaths were noted to be associated with bunk bed corner posts extensions or finials. In most cases, the incidents involved a child's clothing, accessory or bedding catching on the bunk bed or a child becoming strangled in an item attached to the bunk bed.

The current CPSC regulation addresses hanging by entrapment, but neither it nor the ASTM voluntary standard addresses the height of the corner post extensions and finials or other "catch points."

The ASTM standard subcommittee for bunk beds is working to develop a standard for bunk bed corner post extensions and other catch points. Draft warning label language to address hanging hazards was expected to be completed by December 2003; however a ballot on that issue is expected this month.

CPSC staff told Commissioners that it recommends a deferral of the vote on the Danny Foundation petition. During the deferral time, staff would seek more information about incidents and work with the voluntary standard committee on developing means to address the alleged hazards. Some observers wonder if the agency's protracted effort to replace the existing voluntary standard with a mandatory one was a step backwards for safety, given the difficulty of amending the federal rule, and the ease of amending the voluntary one.

Agency Will Convene Meeting on Portable Generators

Between 1990 and 2002, CPSC received reports of 179 carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning deaths associated with portable electric generators.

Adults older than 25 made up the largest portion of those deaths. (11)

CPSC will conduct a forum on May 20, at its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, on the hazards of portable generators.