[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 169 (Monday, August 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53800-53802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19142]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2020-0021]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Child Strength Study

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 
announcing an opportunity for public comment on a new proposed 
collection of information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in 
the Federal Register for each proposed collection of information and to 
allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice 
solicits comments on a study that will assess the strength capabilities 
of children. The Commission will consider all comments received in 
response to this notice before submitting this collection of 
information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval.

DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of 
information by October 30, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2020-
2021, by any of the following methods:

[[Page 53801]]

    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. CPSC does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except through https://www.regulations.gov. 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; email: [email protected].
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this notice. CPSC may post all comments received 
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, insert Docket 
No. CPSC-2020-2021 into the ``Search'' box, and follow the prompts. A 
copy of the proposed study is available at http://www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. CPSC-2020-2021, Supporting and Related Material.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Talcott, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; (301) 987-
2311; or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal 
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is 
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency 
data collection studies. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in 
the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. Accordingly, CPSC 
is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set 
forth in this document.

A. Proposed Child Strength Study

    The Commission is authorized under section 5(a) of the Consumer 
Product 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.
    CPSC uses data on human strength capabilities to develop product 
safety standards and inform other CPSC staff activities. CPSC's product 
safety work includes developing mandatory standards, enforcing existing 
safety requirements, and working with voluntary standards organizations 
to improve the safety of consumer products, including children's 
products. Products that are intended for children, and products that 
are not intended for children, can pose a hazard to a child (e.g., if 
the product or a component of it breaks, collapses, or liberates a 
small part). Information about children's strength capabilities is 
essential to improve product safety because it can inform the 
development of performance requirements that consider children's 
interactions with product components. Manufacturers can also use this 
information when designing products.
    In the 1970s, CPSC sponsored studies to conduct research on human 
size and strength; specifically, Snyder et al. (1975 \1\ and 1977 \2\), 
studied child anthropometry and Owings et al. (1975 \3\ and 1977 \4\), 
studied child strength. The research results were instrumental for many 
years in developing product safety standards; however, because the 
strength studies occurred more than 40 years ago, the information needs 
to be updated. Moreover, more recent studies lack information on 
younger children and additional strength measures, and they have 
collected data from a very small number of children. CPSC expects that 
the proposed information collection activity would provide CPSC staff 
with information that reflects more accurately the strength 
capabilities of children today, as well as data that is not available 
in literature currently, including data on younger children and 
additional strength measures.
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    \1\ Snyder, R.G., Spencer, M.L., Owings, C.L., and Schneider, 
L.W. (1975). The Physical Characteristics of Children as Related to 
Death and Injury for Consumer Product Design and Use (Report No. UM-
HSRI-BI-75-5). Prepared for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission. Ann Arbor, MI: The Highway Safety Research Institute, 
University of Michigan.
    \2\ Snyder, R.G., Schneider, L.W., Owings, C.L., Reynolds, H.M., 
Golomb, D.H., and Schork, M.A. (1977). Anthropometry of Infants, 
Children, and Youths to Age 18 for Product Safety Design. Final 
Report UM-HSRI-77-17. University of Michigan Transportation Research 
Institute, Ann Arbor, MI. Prepared for the U.S. Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, Washington, DC 014926-F.
    \3\ Owings, C.L., Chaffin, D.B., Snyder, R.G., and Norcutt, R.H. 
(1975). Strength Characteristics of U.S. Children for Product Safety 
Design. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD.
    \4\ Owings, C.L., Norcutt, R.H., Snyder, R.G., Golomb, D.H., and 
Lloyd, K.Y. (1977). Gripping Strength Measurements of Children for 
Product Safety Design (Contract No. CPSC-C-76-0119).
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    The proposed study would collect data from a sample of up to 
approximately 800 children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years to 
assess children's strength capabilities. The proposed study would 
collect data on bite strength for children ages 3 months through 5 
years, and strength data for children ages 6 months through 5 years. 
The information collected from the proposed study would provide CPSC 
staff with updated child strength measures, including upper and lower 
extremities and bite strength for expanded age ranges. With this 
information, CPSC would have more accurate and current data for 
developing voluntary and mandatory safety standards. This information 
will also help staff to analyze injuries and deaths of children 
interacting with consumer products and determine whether a product 
presents a safety hazard.
    CPSC has contracted with the University of Michigan to conduct the 
proposed study and collect the data. A team of researchers at the 
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) will 
lead the study, and the study will be conducted at UMTRI Laboratories 
in Ann Arbor, MI. The contractor will recruit children to participate 
through their caregivers, using the University of Michigan Engage site, 
Craigslist, and flyers placed at UMTRI. The contractor will create a 
customized tool for data collection and feedback. The contractor will 
assign participants a random identification number that is not linked 
to any personal identifying information and will de-identify photos and 
videos of participants, taken to document their exertion postures, by 
blurring the faces. Participation will be voluntary and information 
collected from participants will be kept confidential and only used for 
research purposes. Following data collection, the contractor will 
provide CPSC staff with raw strength and position data (with 
identifying

[[Page 53802]]

information removed), as well as a final report. After CPSC staff has 
reviewed and approved the final report, CPSC will release the report on 
the agency's website and through presentations at meetings and 
conferences related to the subject matter, in accordance with 
applicable laws and Commission policy.

B. Burden Hours

    We estimate that the study will involve 3,050 respondents and take 
a total of 1,813 hours over the duration of the study. The monetized 
hourly cost is $37.73, as defined by the average total hourly cost to 
employers for employee compensation for all civilian employees across 
all occupations as of March 2020, reported by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. Accordingly, we 
estimate the total cost burden to be $68,404 (1,813 hours x $37.73 = 
$68,404). The estimated cost to the federal government for the contract 
to design and conduct the study issued to the University of Michigan 
under contract number 61320618D0004 is $1,134,502. The total estimated 
cost to the federal government is $1,134,502 for the contract, plus 
$170,356 in government labor costs, for a total of $1,304,858.

C. Request for Comments

    CPSC invites comments on these topics:
     Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of CPSC's functions, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of CPSC's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on participants, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information 
technology; and
     Additional measures of children's strength capabilities, 
other than those already included in this proposed collection of 
information, which would be informative for developing consumer safety 
standards.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2020-19142 Filed 8-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P