[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 50 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14654-14655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05138]



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CONSUMER 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, 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 and the Standard for 
the Flammability of Vinyl Plastic Film. 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 June 30, 2020. 
The CPSC 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 
May 12, 2020.

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: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. The CPSC does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except through https://www.regulations.gov. The CPSC encourages you to submit electronic 
comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
    Mail/hand delivery/courier Written Submissions: Submit comments by 
mail/hand delivery/courier to: Division of the Secretariat, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, 
MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7479.
    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: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit electronically confidential business 
information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected 
information that you do not want to be available to the public. If you 
wish to submit such information please submit it according to the 
instructions for written submissions.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2009-0092, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7791, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The Commission has promulgated several standards under section 4 of 
the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), 15 U.S.C. 1193, to prohibit the use of 
dangerously flammable textiles and related materials in wearing 
apparel. 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 ensure 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).
    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 CPSC 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 flammable clothing 
and fabrics and vinyl film intended for use in clothing. In addition, 
the information helps the CPSC 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

    The CPSC estimates that approximately 1,000 firms issue guaranties. 
Although the CPSC's past records indicate that approximately 675 firms 
have filed continuing guaranties at the CPSC, staff believes additional 
guarantees may be issued that are not filed with the Commission. 
Accordingly, staff has estimated the number of firms upwards to account 
for those guaranties to 1000 firms. Staff estimated the burden hours 
based on an estimate of the time for each firm to conduct testing, 
issue guaranties, and to establish and maintain associated records.
     Burden Hours per Firm--An estimated 5 hours for testing 
per firm, using either the test and conditioning procedures in the 
regulations or alternate methods. Although many firms are exempt from 
testing to support guaranties under 16 CFR 1610.1(d), CPSC staff does 
not know the proportion of those firms that are testing vs. those that 
are exempt. Thus, staff has included testing for all firms in the 
burden estimates.
     Guaranties Issued per Firm--On average, 20 new guaranties 
are issued per firm per year for new fabrics or garments.
     Estimated Annual Testing Time per Firm--100 hours per firm 
(5 hours for testing x 20 guaranties issued = 100 hours per firm).
     Estimated Annual Recordkeeping per Firm--1 hour to create, 
record, and enter test data into a computerized dataset; 20 minutes (= 
0.3 hours) for annual review/removal of records; 20 minutes (= 0.3 
hours) to respond to one CPSC records request per year; for a total of 
1.6 recordkeeping hours per firm (1 hour + .3 hours + .3 hours = 1.6 
hours per firm).
     Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours per Firm--100 hours 
estimated annual testing time per firm + 1.6 estimated annual 
recordkeeping hours per firm = 101.6 hours per firm.

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     Total Estimated Annual Industry Burden Hours--101.6 hours 
per firm x 1,000 firms issuing guaranties = 101,600 industry burden 
hours. The total annual industry 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 estimated to be about 101,600 hours (101.6 hours 
per firm x 1,000 firms).
     Total Annual Industry Cost--The hourly wage for the 
testing and recordkeeping required by the standards is approximately 
$70.17 (for management, professional, and related occupations in goods-
producing industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September, 2019), for 
an estimated annual cost to the industry of approximately $7.1 million 
(101,600 x $70.17 = $7,129,272).

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.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2020-05138 Filed 3-12-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6355-01-P