ASTM F2085-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Portable Bed Rails, applies to portable bed rails intended to be installed on an adult bed to prevent children from falling out of bed. These bed rails are intended for children who can get in and out of an adult bed unassisted (typically children from 2 to 5 years of age). The standard is codified in the Commission’s regulations at 16 CFR part 1224 as the mandatory standard.

ASTM F2085-19 includes the revisions noted below:

1. Non-substantive changes
   • Two of the footnotes that were in section 7, which provide explanatory information, such as how to measure thickness and the definition of the “indentation load”, have been moved to the Notes section within the text of the regulation. Notes and footnotes are both considered to be nonmandatory text and for information only.
   • Changes to unit expressions to bring the standard in accordance with the ASTM form and style guidelines.
2. Substantive change

   This change relates to the fiber content of the mattress cover, which used to be a 50/50 cotton/polyester blend and will be a 60/40 cotton/polyester blend.

   ASTM F2085-19 (Effective on May 20, 2020)	ASTM F2085-12 (Previous Version)
   The mattress shall be covered with a standard twin-sized fitted sheet. The sheet shall be a 60/40 cotton/polyester blend containing 100 to 300 threads per square inch.	The mattress shall be covered with a standard twin sized fitted sheet. The sheet shall be a white, 50/50 cotton/polyester blend. It shall have 100 to 300 threads per square inch.

   The CPSC concluded that this change is neutral regarding safety while increasing the ease of sourcing the test materials.

ASTM F2613-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Children’s Chairs and Stools, applies to chairs and stools intended to be used by a single child who can get in and get out of the product unassisted. The chair or stool would have a seat height of 15 in. or less, and would be with or without a rocking base. The standard was codified in the Commission’s regulations at 16 CFR part 1232. This rule is incorporating ASTM F2613-19 as the mandatory standard.

ASTM F2613-19 includes the revisions below:

• Several changes were minor and editorial and do not affect the safety of children’s folding chairs and stools.
• Section 5.7 and 5.8 removed duplicative language such as “when folded” and “when being folded”, and clarified words to add “comply with” instead of “meet”.
• The Latching and Locking Mechanisms section under section 5.8.1 were restructured to improve clarity and organization.
• All of the non-substantive changes made in ASTM F2613-19 are neutral regarding safety and do not affect the safety of children’s folding chairs and stools.

Updates to the Age Determination Guidelines are divided into 4 main parts.

1. Scope is Expanded Beyond Children’s toys

   Current (2002 version)	New (2020 version)
   AGE DETERMINATION GUIDELINES: Relating Children’s Ages to Toy Characteristics and Play Behavior	AGE DETERMINATION GUIDELINES: Relating Consumer Product Characteristics to the Skills, Play Behaviors, and Interests of Children

2. Reorganization of the Guidelines

   • Split the Introduction into 3 segments: Introduction, Background, and User Guide
   • Technology Play category formed from existing subcategories
   • Age groups added
     • 3-5 years for Mirrors, Mobiles & Manipulatives
     • 12-18 and 19-23 months for Sports Equipment
   • Subcategories renamed to Building Play and Learning Products

3. Updates to Children’s Basic Abilities

   • Incorporated latest research on children’s typical development
   • Removed product references to focus on childhood development
   • Replaced "infant" & "toddler" with "children"

4. Products Addressed in the Guidelines

   • Examples of Products Added:
     • Gear toys
     • Foam clay
     • Bubble Blasters
     • Suction cup building sets
     • Wooden blocks with internal magnet connectors
   • Qualitative information added to studied products

Starting as of June 1, 2020, the CPSC staff will begin using the 2020 Age Determination Guidelines.

Compared to the previous standard, ASTM F2923-14, the significant updates include:

• Reduced total cadmium screening limit: From 300 ppm to 75 ppm, which is aligned with ASTM F963
• New phthalates requirement: Adopted the 8 phthalates requirement from 16 CFR 1307 for plasticized materials while also keeping the exemption for specific plastics listed in 16 CFR 1308

According to the section 303.7 of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, the generic names for manufactured fibers must be used in the required fiber content disclosures by:

1. 1. Referencing the generic names and definitions set forth in the ISO 2076 standard (current ISO 2076-2010(E) standard is incorporated by reference)
2. 2. Following the list of the generic names and definitions the FTC has established through its textile petition process

The proposed amendment to incorporate by reference the ISO 2076:2013(E) and seven additional manufactured fibers will be applied (see the list below). These were added to the ISO standard in the revision from 2010 to 2013:

1. “chitin,”
2. “ceramic,”
3. “polybenzimidazol,”
4. “polycarbamide,”
5. “polypropylene/polyamide bicomponent,”
6. “protein,” and
7. “trivinyl.”

This incorporation by reference will promote international consensus along with providing manufacturers selling textile products in multiple countries with more flexibility in the labeling of their textile products.

The DTSC is proposing this regulation because they have identified carpets and rugs as major sources of human and ecological exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). All PFASs have at least one hazard trait (meaning it can harm people or the environment) as defined under the Safer Consumer Products regulation.

PFASs associated with carpets and rugs have the potential to cause significant and widespread adverse impacts to sensitive subpopulations, including fetuses, infants, young children, pregnant women, carpet installers, carpet recyclers, carpet cleaners, and carpet retail sector workers. These chemicals are also harmful to environmentally-sensitive habitats, and can threaten endangered species. Given the known hazard traits, replacing currently-used PFASs in carpets and rugs with other members of the PFAS class could be equally problematic.

The proposal is now under public comment period until April 13, 2020.

The proposed bill intends to expand the restriction of flame retardants from TCEP and TDCPP to include all general flame retardants.

Flame retardants, according to the proposed bill, are defined as chemicals which:

(i) are used to resist or inhibit the spread of fire or act as a synergist to chemicals that resist or inhibit the spread of fire, including any chemical for which the term “flame retardant” appears on a safety data sheet

And

(ii) fulfil any one of the following chemical properties

1. Contains one or more halogen elements, including fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine;
2. Contains one or more carbon elements and one or more phosphorus elements;
3. Contains one or more carbon elements and one or more nitrogen elements; or
4. Is a nanoscale chemical.

If the proposed bill is enacted, the import, sale, or offer for sale of any juvenile product, mattress, upholstered furniture, or reupholstered furniture that contains more than 0.1% of a flame–retardant chemical by mass will be prohibited after October 1, 2020.

Highlights of the key changes between EN62115:2005+A12:2015 and EN62115:2020+A11:2020 are as below:

• New requirements
  • Safety of remote controls supplied with electrical ride-on toys
  • Instructions for electrical toys to be connected to class 1 equipment
  • Safety of USB connection as power source
  • New testing and warning requirements for button and coin batteries
• Amended requirements
  • Reduce the requirement for impact resistance from 0.7J to 0.5J
  • Assessment of LEDs is amended by using LED technical data sheet

It is expected EN IEC 62115:2020+A11:2020 will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) as a harmonized standard to the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC.

The Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 contains several important provisions:

• Will apply to Toys that are designed or clearly intended for use in play by children under 14 years of age;
• Conform to the latest versions of Indian Standards including amendments as shown in Table 1;
• Bear the Standard Mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), as per Scheme-I of Schedule-II of BIS (Conformity Assessments) Regulations, 2018;
• Directs the BIS to be the certifying and enforcement authority

Table 1

* The latest version in the Bureau of Indian Standards is IS 9873 : Part 1 : 2019 and IS 15644 : 2006 (Reaffirmed Year : 2016).

^Other Categories include Candles & Burning Items, Car Seat, Chemicals, Furniture, Homeware (Non-food Contact), Jewelry, Watches or other Fashion Accessories, Stationery with a frequency of less than 11.

^Other Provinces include Hangzhou, Henan, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Shenzhen, Sichuan, Wuhan and Zhejiang with a frequency of less than 8.

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As the latest toy safety standard in the ISO 8124 series, below are the significant changes:

• Defined the classification criteria of paper (mass per unit area of 400 g/m2 or less) and paper board (mass per unit area over 400 g/m2, excluding pressed wooden fiberboards) based on the definition in ISO 8124-1:2018
• Introduced two detailed dewaxing methods to replace the original one
• Introduced new Annex C to lay down the detailed methods for analysis of the 8 elements by ICP-OES