Today, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine are urging the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to work with American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International.
The ASTM is a nonprofit that recently released safety standards to address hazards posed by detached and flyaway beach umbrellas, to evaluate and finalize the new standards.
CPSC estimates that nearly 3,000 individuals across the country are sent to the emergency room each year due to umbrella-related accidents, which includes last week’s incident in Cocoa Beach, Florida, as well as the tragic 2016 death of Lottie Michelle Belk of Chester, Virginia, who was struck in the torso and killed while vacationing in Virginia Beach with her family.
“As we enter the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with millions of Americans enjoying our country’s beaches, lakes, and rivers, it is vital that beachgoers are safe from dislodged beach umbrellas. Improperly secured umbrellas can result in death or serious injury. We believe that recent actions by CPSC and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), including the release earlier this year of the ASTM F3681-24 safety standard, are good steps forward. We urge CPSC and industry to work together quickly to finish any outstanding suggested improvements or other modifications to this standard,” Warner and Kaine wrote.
According to the senators, additional guidance continues to be considered, as well as safety improvements to the ASTM F3681-24 standard by the Beach Umbrellas Task Group, and “it is important that the group move swiftly and with thoroughness. We encourage the group to evaluate the full scope and harm of unsecured beach umbrellas to maximize safety for beachgoers.”
The letter is the latest push by Warner and Kaine to ensure the safety and wellbeing of beachgoers. In a 2019 letter to CPSC, they drew attention to the unexpected danger of flying beach umbrellas to beachgoers, and in 2021 the senators pushed ASTM International for increased safety measures. The efforts culminated in ASTM’s release of new safety standards earlier in 2024.
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Warner, Kaine push for protection from hazardous beach umbrellas – Augusta Free Press
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Rebecca Barnabi
