CPSC Extends Enforcement Discretion on Acoustics for Push/Pull Toys to December 2019
December 11, 2018 | The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has agreed to extend the enforcement discretion on acoustics requirements for push or pull toys until December 31, 2019.
As previously reported, four proposed revisions to the ASTM F963: Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety have been out for voting by ASTM Committee F15 and Subcommittee F15.22 members since mid-November. The proposed revisions include:
- A correction to the acoustics standard for push and pull toys to address a concern raised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from the 2017 edition – and for which CPSC had issued enforcement discretion through December 31, 2018;
- Broadening the requirement for expanding materials slightly to address certain products not foreseen at the time the standard was originally written, but that appear to pose similar concerns;
- Correcting an error in the tolerances for the expanding materials gauge (Figure 30 of the standard); and
- Updating the standard to mirror the CPSC final rule on phthalates.
While balloting is open until December 12, it is already clear that several negative votes will need to be addressed, and CPSC staff has indicated their desire to further discuss some areas of the acoustics and phthalates items, which may engender additional revision.
As a result, it appears unlikely that a revised version of the safety standard would be published by the end of 2018, which is when the previous CPSC-granted enforcement discretion on acoustics requirements for push or pull toys would expire. In light of this new information and anticipated delay in the standard’s revision, The Toy Association contacted CPSC to request the extension of the Enforcement Discretion beyond year-end 2018.
Members will be kept apprised once updates to the toy safety standard are finalized. Questions on these items may be directed to The Toy Association’s Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of standards and regulatory affairs, or Alan Kaufman, senior vice president of technical affairs.