[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