[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 3 (Friday, January 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 694-695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31677]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2009-0015]
Proposed Extension of Approval of Information Collection; Comment
Request--Testing and Recordkeeping Requirements Under the Standard for
the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattresses
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or
Commission) requests comments on a proposed 3-year extension of
approval of information collection requirements in the Standard for the
Flammability--Open Flame--of Mattresses Sets (Open-Flame standard), 16
CFR part 1633. The Commission has a separate flammability standard that
addresses cigarette ignition of mattresses, 16 CFR part 1632. The Open-
Flame standard is intended to reduce unreasonable risks of burn
injuries and deaths from fires associated with mattresses, particularly
those initially ignited by open-flame sources, such as lighters,
candles, and matches. The Open-Flame standard prescribes a test to
minimize or delay flashover when a mattress is ignited. The standard
requires manufacturers to test specimens of each of their mattress
prototypes before mattresses based on that prototype may be introduced
into commerce. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously
approved the collection of information under control number 3041-0133.
OMB's most recent extension of approval will expire on March 31, 2013.
The Commission will consider all comments received in response to this
notice before requesting an extension of approval of this collection of
information from OMB.
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments not later than
March 5, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2009-
0015, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
To ensure timely processing of comments, the Commission is no
longer accepting comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except
through www.regulations.gov.
Written Submissions
Submit written submissions in the following way:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 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 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
electronically. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact:
Robert H. Squibb, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 504-7815, or by email to:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Estimated Burden
The standard requires detailed documentation of prototype
identification and testing records, model and prototype specifications,
inputs
[[Page 695]]
used, name and location of suppliers, and confirmation test records, if
establishments choose to pool a prototype. This documentation is in
addition to documentation already conducted by mattress manufacturers
in their efforts to meet the cigarette standard under 16 CFR part 1632.
CPSC staff estimates that there are 571 establishments producing
conventional mattresses and 100 establishments producing
nonconventional mattresses in the United States, for a total of 671
firms affected by this standard. CPSC staff estimates the recordkeeping
requirements to take about 4 hours and 44 minutes per establishment,
per qualified prototype. Although some larger manufacturers reportedly
are producing mattresses based on more than 100 prototypes, most
mattress manufacturers base their complying production on 15 to 20
prototypes.
Assuming that establishments qualify their production with an
average of 20 different qualified prototypes, recordkeeping time is
estimated to be 94.7 hours (4.73 hours x 20 prototypes) per
establishment, per year. (However, pooling among establishments or
using a prototype qualification for longer than 1 year will reduce this
estimate). Accordingly, the annual recordkeeping time cost to all
mattress producers is estimated at 63,521 hours (94.7 hours x 671
establishments). The hourly compensation for the time required for
recordkeeping is $27.64 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Employer
Costs for Employee Compensation,'' June 2012, Table 9, total
compensation for all sales and office workers in goods-producing,
private industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs). Total estimated costs for
recordkeeping are approximately $1.7 million (63,521 hours x $27.64).
The estimated annual cost of information collection requirements to
the federal government is approximately $717,954. This represents 50
full-time employee staff hours. Record review will be performed during
compliance inspections conducted to follow up on consumer complaints
and reports of injury that indicate possible violations of the
regulations. This estimate uses an annual wage of $119,238 (the
equivalent of a GS-14 Step 5 employee), with an additional 30.8 percent
added for benefits (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Employer Costs
for Employee Compensation,'' September 2012, Table 1, percentage of
wages and salaries for all civilian management, professional, and
related employees) for total annual compensation of $172,309 per full-
time employee.
B. Request for Comments
The Commission solicits written comments from all interested
persons about the proposed collection of information. The Commission
specifically solicits information relevant to the following topics:
Whether the collection of information described above is
necessary for the proper performance of the Commission's functions,
including whether the information would have practical utility;
Whether the estimated burden of the proposed collection of
information is accurate;
Whether the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected could be enhanced; and
Whether the burden imposed by the collection of
information could be minimized by use of automated, electronic or other
technological collection techniques, or other forms of information
technology.
Dated: December 31, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-31677 Filed 1-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P