Purpose and background. The purpose of this section is to clarify the scope of the terms “bathtub doors and enclosures” and “shower door and enclosure” as they are used in the Standard in subpart A. The Standard lists the products that are subject to it (§ 1201.1(a)). This list includes bathtub doors and enclosures, a term defined in the Standard to mean “assemblies of panels and/or doors that are installed on the lip of or immediately surrounding a bathtub” (§ 1201.2(a)(2)). The list also includes shower doors and enclosures, a term defined to mean “(assemblies) of one or more panels installed to form all or part of the wall and/or door of a shower stall” (§ 1201.2(a)(30)). Since the Standard became effective on July 6, 1977, the question has arisen whether the definitions of these products include glazing materials in a window that is located over a bathtub or within a shower stall and in the exterior wall of a building. The definitions of the terms “bathtub doors and enclosures” and “shower door and enclosure” contain no specific exemption for glazing materials in such windows. If read literally, the Standard could include glazing materials in an exterior wall window located above a bathtub because that window could be interpreted as being “immediately surrounding” the bathtub. Similarly, the Standard, if read literally, could include glazing materials in an exterior wall window because that window could be interpreted as forming “all or part of the wall * * * of a shower stall.”

Interpretation. When the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the Standard, it did not intend the standard to apply to any item of glazing material in a window that is located over a bathtub or within a shower stall and in the exterior wall of a building. The Commission clarifies that the Standard does not apply to such items of glazing material or such windows. This interpretation applies only to the term “bathtub doors and enclosures” and “shower door and enclosure” and does not affect the applicability of the Standard to any other product.