80 FR 46250 - Petition for Classification of Vacuum Diffusion Technology as an Anti-Entrapment System Under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 149 (August 4, 2015)

Paul C. McKain, Chief Executive Officer of PSD Industries, LLC, (``Petitioner''), requests that the Commission initiate rulemaking to determine that Vacuum Diffusion Technology is an anti-entrapment system under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (``VGBA''). The Commission invites written comments concerning the petition.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 149 (Tuesday, August 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46250-46251]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19076]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2015-0018]


Petition for Classification of Vacuum Diffusion Technology as an 
Anti-Entrapment System Under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa 
Safety Act

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Paul C. McKain, Chief Executive Officer of PSD Industries, 
LLC, (``Petitioner''), requests that the Commission initiate rulemaking 
to determine that Vacuum Diffusion Technology is an anti-entrapment 
system under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act 
(``VGBA''). The Commission invites written comments concerning the 
petition.

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments on the 
petition by October 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2015-
0018, 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

[[Page 46251]]

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-2015-0018, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rocky Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, 
Bethesda, MD, 20814; telephone (301) 504-6833, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1404(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the VGBA 
requires that each public pool and spa in the United States with a 
single main drain other than an unblockable drain be equipped, at a 
minimum, with one or more of the following anti-entrapment devices or 
systems: (I) Safety vacuum release system; (II) Suction-limiting vent 
system; (III) Gravity drainage system; (IV) Automatic pump shut-off 
system; (V) Drain disablement; or (VI) any other system determined by 
the Commission to be equally effective as, or better than, these 
systems at preventing or eliminating the risk of injury or death 
associated with pool drainage systems. 15 U.S.C. 8003(c)(1)(A)(ii). 
Petitioner submitted a petition to the Commission dated June 11, 2015, 
to initiate rulemaking to determine that the VDT is an anti-entrapment 
device or system under the VGBA. To include the VDT in the list of 
anti-entrapment devices or systems in the VGBA, the Commission must 
determine that the VDT is ``equally effective as, or better than'' the 
anti-entrapment devices and systems listed in section 1404(c)(1)(A)(ii) 
of the VGBA at preventing or eliminating the risk of injury or death 
associated with pool drainage systems.
    Petitioner asserts that VDT can help prevent risks of entrapment as 
a backup layer of protection and serves the same purpose as a safety 
vacuum release system (``SVRS''). Petitioner defines VDT as ``a system 
that removes the intense vacuum draw from the intake point of a pumping 
system by occluding the intake orifice from swimmers and diffusing the 
vacuum from a potential blockage immediately in multiple directions 
from the blockage.'' According to Petitioner, ``covering 50% of the 
Vacuum Diffusion Technology intake device should not raise the normal 
vacuum draw by more than .4'' Hg.''
    Petitioner states that changing technology necessitates new anti-
entrapment safety technology. Petitioner provides that some states have 
mandated the use of variable speed pumps in pools, and, according to 
Petitioner, SVRSs do not function on variable speed pumps. Petitioner 
asserts that technicians have learned to bypass SVRSs.
    Petitioner states that VDT is only effective when the drain cover 
is missing and acknowledges that VDT does not protect against full-body 
entrapment. Petitioner asserts, however, that the devices and systems 
listed in the VGBA have limitations, and that VDT protects against 
limb, hair, and mechanical entrapment and mitigates evisceration.
    By this notice, the Commission seeks comments concerning this 
petition to classify VDT as an anti-entrapment system or device under 
the VGBA. Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by 
writing or calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 
504-6833. The petition is also available at: http://www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. CPSC-2015-XXXX, Supporting and Related Materials.

    Dated: July 30, 2015.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-19076 Filed 8-3-15; 8:45 am]
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