[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 41 (Monday, March 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11768-11769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04581]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0016]
Petition Requesting Exception From Lead Content Limits: BIC USA
Inc.; Reopening of the Comment Period
AGENCY: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Comment request.
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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC)
has received a petition requesting an exception from the 100 ppm lead
content limit under section 101(b) of the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), as amended by Public Law 112-28, for a
children's pen from BIC USA Inc. (BIC). On April 30, 2013 (78 FR
25256), the CPSC published notice of the petition inviting written
comments concerning the petition. On January 21, 2014, BIC submitted a
letter to the Commission to provide additional information about the
possible availability of a low lead stainless steel alternative to the
nickel silver alloy point for which a lead limit exception would be
required. A copy of the letter may be viewed on: http://www.regulations.gov, under docket number CPSC-2013-0016, Supporting and
Related Materials. To allow interested parties to comment on the
additional information, the Commission is reopening the comment period
for 30 days.
DATES: Submit comments by April 2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-
0016, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. The Commission does not accept
comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except through
www.regulations.gov. The Commission encourages you to submit electronic
comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
Written Submissions: Submit written submissions in the following
way: Mail/hand delivery/courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer
Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda,
MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted
without change, including any personal identifiers, contact
information, or other personal information provided, to: http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information,
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information
that you do not want to be available to the public. If furnished at
all, such information should be submitted in writing.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to: http://www.regulations.gov, and insert the
docket number CPSC-2013-0016, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Hatlelid, Ph.D., M.P.H.,
Directorate for Health Sciences, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5
Research Pl, Rockville, MD 20850; email: [email protected]; telephone:
301-987-2558.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 25, 2013, BIC submitted a petition
requesting an exception from the lead content limit of 100 ppm under
section 101(b) of the CPSIA for a new line of writing instrument
products intended for children age five and up (BIC Children's Pen) to
address the needs of young children who are in the early stages of
learning to write. BIC specifically requested an exception for the
accessible portion of the nickel silver point assembly (which includes
the point and point support subassembly) that BIC proposed to use in
the BIC Children's Pen. The petition noted that the point and point
support subassembly in the BIC Children's Pen contained total lead of
approximately 8720 ppm. According to BIC, all of the other accessible
components of the BIC Children's Pen contained total lead below 100
ppm. BIC asserted that removing or making excess lead inaccessible in
manufacturing the BIC Children's Pen is neither practicable nor
technologically feasible.
In the Federal Register of April 30, 2013 (78 FR 25256), the CPSC
invited comments on the issues raised by the petition. The Commission
received five comments in response to the notice.
On January 21, 2014, BIC submitted a letter to the CPSC to inform
the Commission about the possible availability of a low lead stainless
steel alternative to the nickel silver alloy point currently used in
BIC's solvent based ink pens and for which a lead limit exception would
be required. BIC states that a trial batch of the stainless steel
points passed BIC's technical qualification when tested with BIC's
solvent based inks. BIC further states that production of the low lead
stainless steel points on a consistent basis in industrial quantities
to meet the volume and timing demands of customers is not technically
feasible. Accordingly, BIC suggests that BIC's earlier request for an
exception for the continued use of the nickel silver alloy point be
limited to
[[Page 11769]]
five years to allow BIC additional time to develop a compliant
Children's Pen.
Through this notice, we are reopening the comment period to give
all interested parties an opportunity to comment on the additional
information provided by BIC. A copy of the letter may be viewed on
http://www.regulations.gov, under docket number CPSC-2013-0016,
Supporting and Related Materials.
Dated: February 26, 2014.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2014-04581 Filed 2-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P