[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]


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 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.

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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 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