[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 27, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51563-51564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21936]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION


Public Meeting Concerning Upholstered Furniture Flammability 
Rulemaking

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) 
will conduct a public meeting on Wednesday, September 24, 2003 to 
receive comments on the July 2003 CPSC staff briefing package on 
upholstered furniture flammability. The briefing package recommends 
that the Commission issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
(ANPR) that could result in a mandatory flammability standard 
addressing upholstered furniture ignition by small open flames and/or 
smoldering cigarettes.\1\ If the staff's recommendation was accepted, 
the Commission's ongoing proceeding under the Flammable Fabrics Act 
(FFA), 15 U.S.C. 1191-1204 addressing ignition of upholstered furniture 
by small open flame sources such as matches, cigarette lighters, and 
candles would be expanded to also include ignition by smoldering 
cigarettes.
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    \1\ The staff briefing package and other materials pertinent to 
this rulemaking are available on the CPSC Web site at: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia.html.
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    The Commission invites oral presentations from individuals, 
associations, firms, and government agencies with information or 
comments related to the briefing package. The Commission will consider 
these presentations in its deliberations on the staff recommendation.

DATES: The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, September 24, 
2003. Requests to make oral presentations, and 10 copies of the text of 
the presentation, must be received by the CPSC Office of the Secretary 
no later than September 17, 2003. Persons making presentations at the 
meeting should provide an additional 25 copies for dissemination on the 
date of the meeting.
    Presentation texts should identify the author's affiliation with, 
or employment or sponsorship by, any entity with an interest in the 
Commission rulemaking on upholstered furniture flammability.
    The Commission reserves the right to limit the number of persons 
who make presentations and the duration of their presentations. To 
prevent similar presentations, groups may be directed to designate a 
spokesperson.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be in room 420 of the East-West Towers 
Building, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD. Requests to make oral 
presentations, and texts of oral presentations should be captioned 
``Upholstered Furniture Flammability Rulemaking'' and be mailed to the 
Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
Washington, DC 20207, or delivered to that office, room 502, 4330 East-
West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Requests and texts of oral 
presentations may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 504-0127 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the purpose or 
subject matter of this meeting contact Dale Ray, Project Manager, 
Directorate for Economics, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-7704; e-mail: [email protected]. 
For information about the schedule for submission of requests to make 
oral presentations and submission of texts of oral presentations, 
contact Rockelle Hammond, Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-6833; fax 
(301) 504-0127; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Cigarette-ignitions of upholstered furniture have long been a 
leading cause of residential fire deaths, injuries and property damage. 
The Commission has extensively investigated this risk since the 1970s, 
when the CPSC staff prepared a draft proposed cigarette ignition 
standard. In 1977, a furniture industry group, the Upholstered 
Furniture Action Council (UFAC), established a voluntary industry 
program as an alternative to CPSC rulemaking. The UFAC voluntary 
guidelines were amended in 1983, and are widely followed among 
manufacturers today.
    In 1993 the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) 
petitioned the Commission to issue rules concerning the flammability of 
upholstered furniture when exposed to smoldering ignition, small open 
flame ignition and large open flame ignition sources. In 1994 the 
Commission acted to deny the petition insofar as it concerned large 
open flame ignition sources, to defer it insofar as it concerned 
smoldering ignition sources and to grant it insofar as it concerned 
small open flame sources. In 2001 the NASFM withdrew its petition.
    Based on a 1996 CPSC survey, more than 85 percent of currently 
manufactured upholstered furniture (including products from non-UFAC 
member firms) meets the UFAC guidelines. Further, CPSC laboratory tests 
indicate that more than 80 percent of currently manufactured 
upholstered furniture resists cigarette ignition. However, cigarette-
ignited fires involving upholstered furniture not made with cigarette-
resistant materials constitutes a substantial proportion of overall 
fire losses. Thus, while the cigarette ignition risk is attributable to 
a relatively small proportion of currently produced upholstered 
furniture, the estimated societal costs associated with this risk are 
large.
    The CPSC staff developed a draft small open flame standard for 
residential upholstered furniture that would prevent or limit fire 
growth following exposure to a small open flame.\2\ The staff's draft 
standard does not directly address cigarette ignition resistance. 
However, CPSC laboratory testing suggests that flame retardant (FR) 
upholstery fabrics--identified by manufacturers as a likely means of 
limiting fire growth--would also reduce the risk of upholstered 
furniture fires ignited by smoldering cigarettes. About 80 percent of 
the projected safety benefits of a possible small open flame standard 
consist of reductions in cigarette fire losses.
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    \2\ The most recent draft appears in the staff's October 2001 
briefing package on upholstered furniture flammability. See fn. 1, 
supra, re obtaining this and other pertinent materials from the CPSC 
Web site.
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    The staff's October 2001 briefing package on upholstered furniture 
flammability presented options for possible continuing Commission 
action (e.g., a notice of proposed rulemaking on the small open flame 
ignition risk), and with respect to possible new action (e.g., an ANPR 
on the cigarette ignition risk).
    In June 2002, the CPSC staff held a public meeting to obtain 
comments from stakeholders on all aspects of the Commission's 
proceeding on upholstered furniture. At the public meeting, the 
American Furniture Manufacturers Association (AFMA)

[[Page 51564]]

stated their view that the Commission should promulgate a uniform 
national flammability standard for upholstered furniture. In a May 2, 
2003 letter to Chairman Stratton, AFMA reiterated this position and 
recommended that a standard include requirements for upholstered 
furniture cigarette ignitability.
    In a June 27, 2003 letter to Chairman Stratton, a group of six 
upholstery fabric manufacturers (the ``Fabric Coalition'') also 
expressed support for a national mandatory flammability standard for 
upholstered furniture. The Fabric Coalition asserted that its 
recommended approach to a national standard would address both 
cigarette- and open flame-related fire losses.
    A number of factors bear on whether CPSC should directly address 
the risk of cigarette-ignited upholstered furniture fires. These 
include the large proportion of fire losses resulting from cigarette 
ignitions, the importance of reducing this risk in any effective 
remedial action, the feasibility of risk-reducing remedies, and the 
adequacy of existing voluntary standards to address the risk.

B. The Public Meeting

    The purpose of the public meeting is to provide a forum for oral 
presentations on the CPSC staff briefing package on upholstered 
furniture flammability, with emphasis on the factors noted above.
    Participation in the meeting is open. See the DATES section of this 
notice for information on making requests to give oral presentations at 
the meeting and on submitting copies of presentation texts.

    Dated: August 22, 2003.
Sandra K. Bradshaw,
Deputy Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 03-21936 Filed 8-26-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P