The Consumer Product Safety Commission will exempt from third-party testing requirements certain untreated and unfinished engineered wood products (EWPs) used in children’s products, toys and child care articles, it said in a final rule. The agency determined that particleboard, hardwood plywood and medium-density fiberboard, made from virgin wood or pre-consumer waste wood, would not contain lead, elements identified in the industry standard ASTM F963, or specified phthalates that exceed the limits set forth under the CPSC’s children’s product safety standards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is setting a new children’s product safety standard for high chairs. The agency’s final rule adopts as mandatory the latest voluntary industry standard on high chairs, ASTM F404-18. Though the proposed standard issued by CPSC in 2015 included some changes from the industry standard in place at the time (see 1511060014), the latest version of the standard addresses CPSC’s concerns and is being adopted without modification.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is proposing a new safety standard for infant stationary activity centers. The proposed rule adopts as mandatory the current voluntary industry standard, ASTM F2012-18, with no changes. That standard defines stationary activity centers as “a freestanding product intended to remain stationary that enables a sitting or standing occupant whose torso is completely surrounded by the product to walk, rock, play, spin or bounce, or all of these, within a limited range of motion.” The products are intended for children who can hold up their heads unassisted but have not yet begun walking. Comments on the proposal are due Sept. 4.

Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on June 5-12 the following voluntary recalls:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is again considering additional labeling requirements for floor coverings. CPSC in May received a second petition from the National Floor Safety Institute to require that floor coverings for sale to consumers be labeled to provide information about the traction of each product. CPSC rejected a similar petition from the group in December 2016. Comments are due Aug. 6.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is amending its children’s product safety standard for non-full-size baby cribs to incorporate the latest revisions to international standards, it said in a direct final rule. The standard, issued in 2010, had not been updated since, despite several revisions to ASTM standards for the products in the intervening years. Most of the changes affect testing requirements. The direct final rule takes effect Sept. 10, unless CPSC receives “significant adverse comment” by July 6.

Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on May 24 the following voluntary recalls:

Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on May 23 the following voluntary recalls:

Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on May 22 the following voluntary recalls:

The Senate confirmed Dana Baiocco as a commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission on May 22, CPSC said in a press release. Baiocco comes from law firm Jones Day, where she defended clients in product liability litigation, helped companies respond to recalls and was the “go-to counsel for the Boston Red Sox,” according to her profile on the Jones Day website. A Republican, Baiocco replaces Democratic Commissioner Marietta Robinson at CPSC, shifting what remained of a Democratic majority to an even 2-2 split, said a blog post by law firm Crowell & Moring. “Commissioner Baiocco’s arrival at the CPSC will shift -- or at least begin to shift -- the Commission’s balance of power from Democratic to Republican control,” the blog post said. The fifth seat, formerly held by Republican Joe Mohorovic, has remained vacant since his resignation in October, Crowell & Moring said. Baiocco's term runs through October of 2024, CPSC said.