Bunk Beds; Request for Additional Comment

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Parts 1213, 1500, and 1513

Bunk Beds; Request for Additional Comment

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 37052]]

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC'' or

``Commission'') previously proposed a rule that would mandate bunk bed

performance requirements to reduce the hazard of children being

entrapped in the beds' structures or becoming wedged between a bed and

a wall. 64 FR 10245 (March 3, 1999).

After the original proposal, discussions at meetings of a voluntary

standards group (ASTM) indicated that requirements in addition to those

proposed are needed to adequately address fatalities due to entrapment

of children's necks in the end structures of bunk beds. Such

requirements are proposed in this notice, and would be in addition to

the requirements previously proposed. The Commission solicits written

and oral comments from interested persons. Comments must be limited to

issues raised by the additional requirements in this notice.

DATES: Written comments in response to this proposal must be received

by the Commission by September 22, 1999. If requests for oral

presentations of comments are received, the presentations will begin at

10 a.m., July 29, 1999, in Room 420 in the Commission's offices at 4330

East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814.

Requests to present oral comments must be received by July 15,

1999. Persons requesting an oral presentation must file a written text

of their presentations no later than July 22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, and requests to make oral presentations of

comments, should be mailed, preferably in five copies, to the Office of

the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C.

20207-0001, or delivered to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer

Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda,

Maryland; telephone (301) 504-0800. Comments also may be filed by

telefacsimile to (301) 504-0127 or by email to [email protected].

Written comments should be captioned ``NPR for Bunk Beds.'' Requests to

make oral presentations and texts of presentations should be captioned

``Oral Comment; NPR for Bunk Beds.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the substance of the

proposed rule: John Preston, Project Manager, Directorate for

Engineering Sciences, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington,

D.C. 20207-0001; telephone (301) 504-0494, ext. 1315; email

[email protected].

Concerning requests and procedures for oral presentations of

comments: Rockelle Hammond, Docket Control and Communications

Specialist, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207;

telephone: (301) 504-0800 ext. 1232. Information about this rulemaking

proceeding may also be found on the Commission's web site:

www.cpsc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

Without proper guardrails and safe dimensions for openings in the

bed's structure, a bunk bed may allow a child to be entrapped, and thus

strangle or suffocate. This can occur when the child becomes wedged

between the wall and the bed, when the child slips his or her torso

through an opening that is too small for its head to pass through, or

when the child places its head in an opening, then moves to a narrower

area of the opening where the head cannot pull out, and then falls or

loses his/her footing.

There is a voluntary standard for bunk beds, ASTM F1427-96, that

contains provisions to protect children from entrapment. The ASTM

standard requires:

That there be guardrails on both sides of the upper bunk,

except for up to 15 inches at each end of the bed;

That openings in the structure surrounding the upper bunk

be small enough to prevent passage of a tapered block having a base

measuring 3.5 inches by 6.2 inches (representing a child's torso) (See

Fig. 1); and

That openings in the end structures within 9 inches above

the sleeping surface of the lower bunk mattress be either small enough

to prevent passage of the 3.5 by 6.2 inch block or large enough to

permit passage of a 9-inch diameter sphere (the space needed to

withdraw a child's head).

Because of continued reports of deaths and other incidents

associated with bunk beds, and because of indications there may not be

adequate compliance with the voluntary ASTM standard, the CPSC

published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (``ANPR'') to begin

a rulemaking proceeding that could result in performance or other

standards to address the risk of entrapment associated with bunk beds.

63 FR 3280 (January 22, 1998). After considering the comments received

in response to the ANPR, the Commission voted 2-1 to publish a notice

of proposed rulemaking (``NPR'') to propose a new 16 CFR part 1213

under the Consumer Product Safety Act (``CPSA'') and a new 16 CFR part

1513 under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA''). 64 FR 10245

(March 3, 1999).

The entrapment requirements in these proposed rules are identical

to those in the ASTM standard, with the following exceptions.

1. Definition of a bunk bed: A bed in which the underside of any

foundation is over 30 inches from the floor. In the ASTM standard, a

bunk bed is defined as a bed in which the underside of the foundation

is over 35 inches from the floor.

2. Guardrails: The Commission proposed that one guardrail shall be

continuous between each of the bed's end structures. The other

guardrail may terminate before reaching the bed's end structures,

providing there is no more than 15 inches between either end of the

guardrail and the nearest bed end structure. The current ASTM standard

permits both guardrails to end 15 inches from the nearest bed end

structure.

3. Lower bunk end structures: The Commission proposed that there

shall be no openings in the end structures between the underside of the

foundation of the upper bunk and the upper side of the foundation of

the lower bunk that will permit the free passage of the wedge block

shown in Fig. 1 of the NPR (representing a child's torso) unless the

openings are also large enough to permit the free passage of a 9-inch

diameter sphere (to ensure the head can also pass through). In the ASTM

standard, these passage requirements apply only to that portion of the

end structure that is between the level of the lower bunk foundation

support system and 9.0 inches (230 mm) above the sleeping surface of

the maximum thickness mattress and foundation combined as recommended

by the manufacturer.

In the fatal incidents of entrapment in the end structures of bunk

beds where sufficient information was available, three occurred on beds

that met the entrapment requirements in the ASTM standard. Of these,

two involved entrapment in the upper bunk. In those two incidents, an

18-month-old infant and a child who was almost 5 years old slipped

through the space between the end of the guardrail and the bed end

structure and became wedged between the bed and a wall. These deaths

are addressed in the original proposal by the requirement that one

guardrail extend continuously between the bed's end structures. In the

third incident, a 22-month-old child became entrapped by the head in an

opening between the underside of the upper bunk foundation support and

a curved structural member in the bunk-bed end structure. The

Commission intended to address this death in the previous proposal by

requiring that the torso probe in Fig. 1 be applied to all areas of the

end

[[Page 37053]]

structure between the underside of the foundation of the upper bunk and

the upper side of the foundation of the lower bunk. If the torso probe

freely passes through an opening, the opening must also be large enough

to permit the free passage of a 9-inch sphere, to allow head

withdrawal.

After the original proposal, ASTM discussed whether to change the

requirement in the ASTM standard addressing entrapment in lower bunk

end structures to make it the same as that in the Commission's proposed

rule. When ASTM members and CPSC staff discussed the details of the

entrapment death of a 22-month-old child in a lower bunk end structure,

mentioned above, it appeared that the opening in the structure of the

metal bunk bed that was involved in the fatality could still present an

entrapment hazard, even if it were modified to comply with the proposed

requirement. The relevant portions of the bunk's end structure are

shown in Figure A below.

BILLING CODE 6355-01-P

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.004

It is likely that this child placed his head through the wide

portion of the opening then moved sideways until his neck was in the

narrow portion of the opening. (A 22-month-old child's head is too

large to go through the narrow portion of the opening.) After placing

his neck into the narrow opening, his feet apparently slipped off the

mattress of the lower bunk, suspending him by his head, and he

strangled. Thus, the incident was a head-first neck entrapment, rather

than a torso-first neck entrapment that would be addressed by the probe

in Fig. 1 of the proposed standard.

For this bed to conform to the originally proposed requirement, the

vertical dimension of the wider portion of the opening would have to be

greater than 9 inches and the vertical dimension of the narrower

portion would have to be less than 3\1/2\ inches (see Figure B).

However, since a 22-month-old child's neck is significantly less than

3\1/2\ inches in diameter, the child could still become entrapped in

the head-first manner described above.

[[Page 37054]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.005

There are two ways to modify the bed to prevent this type of

entrapment. First, a vertical bar could be added to separate the wide

and narrow portions of the opening (see Figure C). Second, the vertical

dimension of the narrow portion of the opening could be reduced to less

than 1\7/8\ inches, which is considered sufficient to prevent entry of

the neck of a 5th percentile 2 year-old, accounting for tissue

compression (see Figure D).

BILLING CODE 6335-01-P

[[Page 37055]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.006

[[Page 37056]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.007

BILLING CODE 6355-01-C

B. The New Requirement

In order to protect against head-first entrapment in a bed's end

structure, the Commission's staff developed a test procedure using the

template shown in Fig. 2 to proposed Parts 1213 and 1513. This template

and procedure are similar to those that were developed to address neck

entrapment hazards in playground equipment structures and that are

specified in ASTM F 1487-98, ``Standard Specification for Playground

Equipment for Public Use.'' Any portion of an opening in the bed's end

structure below the foundation of the upper bunk that is required to be

probed by the wedge-block probe shown in Figure 1 to proposed parts

1213 and 1513, and that will allow free passage of a 9-inch diameter

sphere, must satisfy the new neck entrapment provisions proposed in

this notice.

The template of Figure 2 embodies the following principles. First,

a child will not be able to insert his or her neck sideways into an

opening of less than 1.88 inches. (This dimension represents the neck

breadth of 2.5 inches for a 5th percentile 2-year-old child, minus an

allowance of 0.62 inches for tissue compression.)

Second, there is a minimal likelihood of entrapment when the

boundaries of an opening converge on the neck at an included angle of

greater than 75 degrees. See CPSC memorandum from Shelley Waters Deppa

to John Preston, ``Voluntary Standards for Gates and Enclosures,''

January 15, 1985. This angle was chosen to exclude the angles involved

in neck entrapment accidents with baby gates and expandable enclosures.

In addition, in some boundary configurations, a child who slips

while his/her head is in the opening will be removed from the opening

by the force of gravity. In the proposed procedure, an opening that

indicates a neck entrapment potential when tested with the template of

Figure 2 is nevertheless allowed if its lower boundary slopes downward

at 45 degrees or more for the whole distance from the narrowest part of

the opening the neck can reach to the part of the opening that will

freely pass a 9-inch diameter sphere.

The template is used to protect against head-first entrapment as

follows. First, all portions of the boundary of the opening are probed

with the ``A'' section of the test template of Fig. 2. The template is

inserted into the opening, with the plane of the template in the plane

of the opening and with the ``top'' of the template perpendicular to

the centerline of the portion of the boundary being probed. The

template is then moved along the centerline of the portion of the

boundary being probed until it is stopped by contact with the

boundaries of the opening (see Fig. 3).

If there is simultaneous contact between the boundary of the

opening and both sides of the ``A'' section of the template, the

boundary is converging on a potential neck entrapment point at an angle

of less than 75 degrees, and further investigation is required.

(Contact with one or both upper corners of the template is not

considered to be contact with a ``side''.)

To check further for the potential for neck entrapment, place the

neck portion of the ``B'' section of the template into the opening,

with the template's plane perpendicular to both the plane of the

opening and the centerline of the opening (see Fig. 4). If the neck

portion can completely enter the opening (pass 0.75 inch or more beyond

the points where contact with the sides of the ``A'' section of the

template occurred), the

[[Page 37057]]

opening may present a neck entrapment hazard. Such an opening is not

allowed unless the lower boundary of the opening slopes downward at 45

degrees or more for the whole distance from the narrowest part of the

opening the neck can reach to the larger (greater than 9-inch) part of

the opening.

C. Preliminary Regulatory Analysis

The CPSA and FHSA require the Commission to publish a preliminary

regulatory analysis of the proposed rule and its reasonable

alternatives. This includes a discussion of the likely benefits and

costs of the proposed rule and its reasonable alternatives. The

Commission's preliminary regulatory analysis was published in the

January 29, 1999, proposal. The additional requirement proposed in this

notice does not significantly affect the results of that analysis. This

new requirement would result in negligible additional costs to

manufacturers, and its benefits would be small due to the small number

of incidents.

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (``RFA'') requires the

Commission to address and give particular attention to the economic

effects of the proposed rule on small entities. The original proposal's

preliminary regulatory flexibility analysis concluded that the rule

proposed at that time would not have a significant adverse effect on a

substantial number of small entities. Because the additional

requirement being proposed in this notice will not significantly

increase the cost to manufacturers, the Commission certifies that the

rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

E. Preliminary Environmental Assessment

The proposed rule is not expected to have a significant effect on

the materials used in the production and packaging of bunk beds, or in

the number of units discarded after the rule becomes effective.

Therefore, no significant environmental effects would result from the

proposed mandatory rule for bunk beds.

F. Opportunities for Comment

Written comments limited to the issues raised by the additional

requirement proposed in this notice may be submitted until September

22, 1999. There also will be an opportunity for interested parties to

present oral comments on these issues on July 29, 1999. See the

information under the headings DATES and ADDRESSES at the beginning of

this notice. Any oral comments will be part of the rulemaking record.

Persons presenting oral comments should limit their presentations

to approximately 10 minutes, exclusive of any periods of questioning by

the Commissioners or the CPSC staff. The Commission reserves the right

to further limit the time for any presentation and to impose

restrictions to avoid excessive duplication of presentations.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Parts 1213, 1500, and 1513

Consumer protection, Infants and children.

Effective date. The Commission originally proposed that the rule

become effective 180 days after publication of the final rule. The

Commission believes that the additional requirement proposed in this

notice will cause only minor changes to presently produced bunk beds.

Accordingly, manufacturers should still be able to make any

modification to their bunk beds within the 180-day delayed effective

date originally proposed.

In the Federal Register of March 3, 1999, the Commission proposed

to amend Title 16, Chapter II, Subchapters B and C, of the Code of

Federal Regulations by adding parts 1213 and 1513 and amending part

1500. For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Commission proposes

the following additions to that proposal, as set forth below.

PART 1213--[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 1213 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2056, 2058.

Sec. 1213.3 [Amended]

2. A new Sec. 1213.3(b)(4) is added to read as follows:

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(4) All portions of the boundary of any opening required by

Secs. 1213.4(c)(1) and (2) to be probed by the wedge block of Fig. 1

this part, and that permits free passage of a 9-inch diameter sphere,

must conform to the neck entrapment requirements of Sec. 1213.4(c)(3).

Sec. 1213.4 [Amended]

3. A new Sec. 1213.4(c)(3) is added to read as follows:

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(3) All portions of the boundary of any opening that is required to

be probed by the wedge block of Fig. 1 of this part by paragraphs

(c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section, and that permits free passage of a

9-inch diameter sphere, must satisfy the requirements of paragraphs

(c)(3)(i) and (c)(3)(ii) of this section addressing neck entrapment.

(i) Insert the ``A'' section of the test template shown in Fig. 2

of this part into the portion of the boundary of the opening to be

tested, with the plane of the template in the plane of the opening and

with the centerline of the top of the template (as shown in Fig. 2 of

this part) aligned parallel to the centerline of the opening, until

motion is stopped by contact between the test template and the

boundaries of the opening (see Fig. 3 of this part). By visual

inspection, determine if there is simultaneous contact between the

boundary of the opening and both sides of the ``A'' section of the

template. If simultaneous contact occurs, mark the contact points on

the boundary of the opening and conduct the additional test described

in paragraph (c)(3)(ii) of this section.

(ii) To check the potential for neck entrapment, place the neck

portion of the ``B'' section of the template into the opening, with its

plane perpendicular to both the plane of the opening and the centerline

of the opening (see Fig. 4 of this part). If the neck portion of the

``B'' section of the template completely enters the opening (passes

0.75 inch or more beyond the points previously contacted by the ``A''

section of the template), the opening is considered to present a neck

entrapment hazard and fails the test, unless its lower boundary slopes

downward at 45 degrees or more for the whole distance from the

narrowest part of the opening the neck can reach to the part of the

opening that will freely pass a 9-inch diameter sphere.

BILLING CODE 6355-01-P

[[Page 37058]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.008

[[Page 37059]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.009

[[Page 37060]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.010

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.011

PART 1513--[AMENDED]

4. The authority citation for part 1513 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1261(f)(1)(D), 1261(5), 1262(e)(1),

1262(f)-(i).

Sec. 1513.3 [Amended]

5. A new Sec. 1513.3(b)(4) is added to read as follows:

* * * * *

[[Page 37061]]

(b) * * *

(4) All portions of the boundary of any opening required by

Secs. 1513.4(c)(1) and (2) to be probed by the wedge block of Fig. 1 of

this part, and that permits free passage of a 9-inch diameter sphere,

must conform to the neck entrapment requirements of Sec. 1513.4(c)(3).

Sec. 1513.4 [Amended]

6. A new Sec. 1513.4(c)(3) is added to read as follows:

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(3) All portions of the boundary of any opening that is required to

be probed by the wedge block of Fig. 1 of this part by paragraphs

(c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section, and that permits free passage of a

9-inch diameter sphere, must satisfy the requirements of paragraphs

(c)(3)(i) and (c)(3)(ii) of this section addressing neck entrapment:

(i) Insert the ``A'' section of the test template shown in Fig. 2

of this part into the portion of the boundary to be tested, with the

plane of the template in the plane of the opening and with the

centerline of the top of the template (as shown in Fig. 2 of this part)

aligned parallel to the centerline of the opening, until motion is

stopped by contact between the test template and the boundaries of the

opening (see Fig. 3 of this part). By visual inspection, determine if

there is simultaneous contact between the boundary of the opening and

both sides of the ``A'' section of the template. If simultaneous

contact occurs, mark the contact points on the boundary of the opening

and conduct the additional test described in paragraph (c)(3)(ii) of

this section.

(ii) To check the potential for neck entrapment, place the neck

portion of the ``B'' section of the template into the opening, with its

plane perpendicular to both the plane of the opening and the centerline

of the opening (see Fig. 4 of this part). If the neck portion of the

``B'' section of the template can completely enter the opening (passes

0.75 inch or more beyond the points previously contacted by the ``A''

section of the template), the opening is considered to present a neck

entrapment hazard and fails the test, unless its lower boundary slopes

downward at 45 degrees or more for the whole distance from the

narrowest part of the opening the neck can reach to the part of the

opening that will freely pass a 9-inch diameter sphere.

BILLING CODE 6355-01-P

[[Page 37062]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.012

[[Page 37063]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.013

[[Page 37064]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.014

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09JY99.015

Dated: June 30, 1999.

Sadye E. Dunn,

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.

[FR Doc. 99-17087 Filed 7-8-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6355-01-C