Feds delay rule for window curtains and blinds

The Obama administration has delayed new rules that aim to protect young children from being strangled by the cords of blinds and other window coverings.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is extending the public comment period for its proposed rule-making to June 1. Comments were originally due last Tuesday.

The Window Covering Manufacturers Association requested a 75-day extension in February to complete the multiple studies it had commissioned. The rule first proposed in January would create mandatory safety standards for household curtains. Under the rule, manufacturers would be required to make the cords inaccessible by using passive guarding devices when a cordless alternative is not feasible.

Between 1996 and 2012, the CPSC reported that 184 children were strangled to death and more than 100 others were injured by window coverings.