[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 34 (Monday, February 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7568-7569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3295]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2009-0093]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Consumer Opinion 
Forum

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing 
that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Fax written comments on the collection of information by March 
24, 2010.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that comments on the information collection are 
received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: CPSC Desk Officer, 
FAX: 202-395-6974, or e-mailed to [email protected]. All 
comments should be identified with the OMB control number 3041-0135 and 
CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2009-0093. The written comments should also be 
submitted to the CPSC, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2009-0093, by any 
of the following methods:
    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 (e-mail) except through http://www.regulations.gov.
    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: Linda L. Glatz, Division of Policy and 
Planning, Office of Information Technology Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 504-7671, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, the CPSC 
has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB 
for review and clearance. Consumer Opinion Forum (OMB Control Number 
3041-0135--Extension).
    The Commission is authorized under section 5(a) of the Consumer 
Product

[[Page 7569]]

Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), to conduct studies and 
investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, 
accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic 
losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 
U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the Commission may conduct 
research, studies and investigations on the safety of consumer products 
or test consumer products and develop product safety test methods and 
testing devices.
    In order to better identify and evaluate the risks of product-
related incidents, the Commission staff seeks to solicit consumer 
opinions and perceptions related to consumer product use, on a 
voluntary basis, through questions posted on the CPSC's Consumer 
Opinion Forum. Through the forum, consumers will be able to answer 
questions and provide information regarding their experiences, opinions 
and/or perceptions on the use or pattern of use of a specific product 
or type of product. The Consumer Opinion Forum is intended for 
consumers, 18 years and older, who have access to the Internet and e-
mail, who voluntarily register to participate through a participant 
registration process, and respond to the questions posted in the 
Consumer Opinion Forum. A link to the Consumer Opinion Forum login page 
is available on the CPSC Web site, http://www.cpsc.gov. Consumers may 
link directly to the login page for the Consumer Opinion Forum at 
https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/cof/login.aspx. When new questions are 
posted on the CPSC Web site, registered participants will be invited 
via e-mail to respond to various questions, but not more frequently 
than once every four weeks.
    The information collected from the Consumer Opinion Forum will help 
inform the Commission's evaluation of consumer products and product use 
by providing insight and information into consumer perceptions and 
usage patterns. Such information also may help the Commission in its 
efforts to support voluntary standards activities and help the staff 
identify areas regarding consumer safety issues that need additional 
research. In addition, based on the information obtained, the staff may 
be able to provide safety information to the public that is easier to 
read and is more easily understood by a wider range of consumers. For 
example, the staff may be able to propose new language or revisions to 
existing language in warning labels or manuals if the staff finds that 
certain warning language is perceived by many participants to be 
unclear or subject to misinterpretation. Finally, the Consumer Opinion 
Forum may be used to invite consumer opinions and feedback regarding 
the effectiveness of product recall communications and in determining 
what action consumers are taking in response to such communications and 
why they are taking those actions. This may help tailor future recall 
activities to increase the success of those activities. If this 
information is not collected, the Commission would not have available 
useful information regarding consumer experiences, opinions, and 
perceptions related to specific product use, which the Commission 
relies on in its ongoing efforts to improve the safety of consumer 
products on behalf of consumers.
    In the Federal Register of November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58610), the 
CPSC published a 60-day notice requesting public comment on the 
proposed collection of information. No comments were received.
    Burden Estimates: During the past two years, 2,300 individuals have 
registered to participate in the Consumer Opinion Forum. Although the 
registration is still open, the Commission staff does not expect the 
number of registrants will exceed 5,000 over the next few years. The 
Commission staff estimates that each respondent will take 10 minutes or 
less to complete the one-time registration process. Based on that 
estimate, the registration burden is estimated to have been 
approximately 192 burden hours per year for 2,300 registrants.
    The Commission staff further estimates that the amount of time 
required to respond to each set of questions on the Consumer Opinion 
Forum will be five minutes or less. The Commission staff foresees the 
possibility of up to four surveys per year. If, at the maximum, each 
respondent responds to four sets of questions in one year, the yearly 
burden would result in approximately 20 minutes per year for each 
respondent. Based on an estimated 44 percent response rate for 2,300 
potential respondents, the annual burden could total 337 hours. If as 
many as 5,000 registrants respond, the Commission staff estimates that 
the annual burden could total approximately 733 hours per year (44 
percent response rate for 5,000 potential respondents at five minutes 
per survey for four surveys).
    The Commission staff estimates that the total estimated burden for 
new registrations and surveys, combined, will not exceed 925 hours 
annually (no more than 733 hours for four surveys per year, plus no 
more than 192 hours for new registrations). The Commission staff 
estimated the value of the time of respondents to this collection of 
information at $29.39 an hour. This is based on the 2009 U.S. 
Department of Labor Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. At this 
valuation, the estimated annual cost to the public of this information 
collection will be approximately $27,000 per year.
    The Commission will expend approximately one month of professional 
staff time annually for preparing questions and analysis of responses 
for each survey. Assuming that four surveys will be conducted annually, 
(and four staff months) the total annual cost to the Federal government 
of the collection of information is estimated to be $55,360.

    Dated: February 16, 2010.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-3295 Filed 2-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P