[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 115 (Friday, June 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35875-35876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14171]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC-2009-0092]
Proposed Extension of Approval of Information Collection; Comment
Request: Clothing Textiles, Vinyl Plastic Film
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 request for extension of
approval of a collection of information from manufacturers and
importers of clothing, textiles and related materials intended for use
in clothing under the Standard for the Flammability of Clothing
Textiles (16 CFR part 1610) and the Standard for the Flammability of
Vinyl Plastic Film (16 CFR part 1611). These regulations establish
requirements for testing and recordkeeping for manufacturers and
importers who furnish guaranties for products subject to these
standards. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously
approved the collection of information under control number 3041-0024.
OMB's most recent extension of approval will expire on August 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
August 13, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2009-
0092, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. The Commission does not accept
comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except through
www.regulations.gov. The Commission encourages you to submit electronic
comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
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 820, 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
that you do not want to be available to the public. If furnished at
all, such information should be submitted in writing.
[[Page 35876]]
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to: http://www.regulations.gov, and insert the
docket number, CPSC-2009-0092, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
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. Background
Clothing and fabrics intended for use in clothing (except
children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 14) are subject to the Standard
for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles (16 CFR part 1610). Clothing
made from vinyl plastic film and vinyl plastic film intended for use in
clothing (except children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 14) are
subject to the Standard for the Flammability of Vinyl Plastic Film (16
CFR part 1611). These standards prescribe a test to assure that
articles of wearing apparel, and fabrics and film intended for use in
wearing apparel, are not dangerously flammable because of rapid and
intense burning. (Children's sleepwear and fabrics and related
materials intended for use in children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through
14 are subject to other, more stringent flammability standards codified
at 16 CFR parts 1615 and 1616.) The flammability standards for clothing
textiles and vinyl plastic film were made mandatory by the Flammable
Fabrics Act of 1953 (FFA) (Pub. L. 83-88, 67 Stat. 111; June 30, 1953).
Section 8 of the FFA (15 U.S.C. 1197) provides that a person who
receives a guaranty in good faith that a product complies with an
applicable flammability standard is not subject to criminal prosecution
for a violation of the FFA resulting from the sale of any product
covered by the guaranty. The Commission uses the information compiled
and maintained by firms that issue these guaranties to help protect the
public from risks of injury or death associated with clothing and
fabrics and vinyl film intended for use in clothing. In addition, the
information helps the Commission arrange corrective actions if any
products covered by a guaranty fail to comply with the applicable
standard in a manner that creates a substantial risk of injury or death
to the public. Section 8 of the FFA requires that a guaranty must be
based on ``reasonable and representative tests.'' The testing and
recordkeeping requirements by firms that issue guaranties are set forth
under 16 CFR part 1610, subpart B, and 16 CFR part 1611, subpart B.
B. Burden Hours
The Commission estimates that approximately 1,000 manufacturers and
importers of garments, textiles, and related materials issue
guaranties. The Commission estimates that the flammability standards
for clothing textiles and vinyl plastic film and enforcement
regulations impose an average annual burden of about 101.6 hours on
each of those firms. That burden will result from conducting the
testing required by the regulations and maintaining records of the
results of that testing. The total annual burden imposed by the
flammability standards for clothing textiles and vinyl plastic film and
enforcement regulations on manufacturers and importers of garments,
fabrics, and related materials is about 101,600 hours.
The hourly wage for the testing and recordkeeping required by the
standards is about $61.06 (for management, professional, and related
occupations in goods-producing industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
December 2012), for an estimated annual cost to the industry of
approximately $6.2 million (101,600 x $61.06).
The estimated annual cost of the information collection
requirements to the federal government is approximately $3,264, which
includes 80 staff hours to examine and evaluate the information as
needed for Compliance activities. This is based on a GS-12 level
salaried employee. The average hourly wage rate for a mid-level
salaried GS-12 employee in the Washington, DC metropolitan area
(effective as of January 2011) is $40.80 (GS-12, step 5). This
represents 69.5 percent of total compensation (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,'' December
2012, Table 1, percentage of wages and salaries for all civilian
management, professional, and related employees: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Adding an additional 30.5 percent for benefits brings average
hourly compensation for a mid-level salaried GS-12 employee to $58.70.
C. 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: June 11, 2013.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-14171 Filed 6-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P