Menendez Praises Consumer Safety Group ASTM International for Adopting New Safety Standards for Market Umbrellas; Urges Action on Beach Umbrellas

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) issued the following statement in response to last week’s announcement by the non-profit consumer product testing organization, ASTM International, that it has released new safety testing standards for market umbrellas and is working on developing similar standards for beach umbrellas.

“I applaud ASTM International for adopting new standards to evaluate the safety of market umbrellas, which are used at water parks, hotels, and other outside venues, from the grave dangers that wind speeds pose. We have seen the damage, including death and serious injury, that both market and beach umbrellas can cause when not properly designed, installed or maintained. We are glad that our calls for action have been heard. While the new protocols for market umbrellas are a positive first step, we urge ASTM to move quickly on its pledge to develop similar standards for beach umbrellas.”

Earlier this year, Sen. Menendez led a bi-state effort urging ASTM International to update its testing methods for the impact of wind speeds on beach umbrellas. Previously, in 2019, Sen. Menendez had urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) to take more aggressive action to protect beachgoers from the dangers of wind-swept beach umbrellas following the 2018 injury of a woman in Seaside Heights.