[Federal Register: August 22, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 163)]
[Notices]               
[Page 50968]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au00-30]                         

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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

 
Petition Requesting Banning of Baby Bath Seats

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has received a petition (HP 00-4) requesting 
that the Commission ban bath seats and bath rings used for bathing 
infants in bathtubs. The Commission solicits written comments 
concerning the petition.

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments on the 
petition by October 23, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments, preferably in five copies, on the petition should 
be mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, DC 20207, telephone (301) 504-0800, or 
delivered to the Office of the Secretary, Room 501, 4330 East-West 
Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Comments may also be filed by 
telefacsimile to (301) 504-0127 or by email to cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. 
Comments should be captioned ``Petition HP 00-4, Petition to Ban Bath 
Seats.'' A copy of the petition is available for inspection at the 
Commission's Public Reading Room, Room 419, 4330 East-West Highway, 
Bethesda, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rockelle Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; 
telephone (301) 504-0800, ext. 1232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has received correspondence 
from The Consumer Federation of America (``CFA'') and other consumer 
groups requesting that the Commission issue a rule banning baby bath 
seats and bath rings. The petitioners assert that these products pose 
an unreasonable risk of injury primarily by giving parents and other 
caregivers a false sense of security that children using the products 
will be safe in the bathtub. They argue that recent research indicates 
that parents using bath seats are more likely to engage in ``risk-
taking behavior,'' such as leaving the infant alone briefly and using 
more water in the bathtub, than caregivers who do not use bath seats. 
The petitioners state that, to date, 66 incidents of drowning and 37 
reports of near drowning involving bath seats have been identified. The 
Commission is docketing the correspondence as a petition under 
provisions of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, 15 U.S.C. 1261-
1278.
    Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or 
calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-0800. A copy of 
the petition is also available for inspection from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, in the Commission's Public Reading Room, Room 
419, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland.

    Dated: August 16, 2000.
Sadye E. Dunn,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission
[FR Doc. 00-21257 Filed 8-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P