[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39006-39007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15735]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2018-0005]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Survey on Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

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 extension of approval for an information 
collection on a survey that will estimate the use of smoke and carbon 
monoxide alarms in United States households. The Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) previously approved the collection of information 
under OMB Control No. 3041-0180. The current information collection 
will expire on October 31, 2021. 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: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of 
information by September 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2018-
0005, 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. CPSC does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except through https://www.regulations.gov and as described below. 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, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479. Alternatively, as a temporary option during 
the COVID-19 pandemic, you may email such submissions to: [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 mail/hand delivery/courier 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-2018-0005 into the ``Search'' box, and follow the prompts. A 
copy of the proposed survey titled ``SCOA ICR 2021 60-day'' is 
available at: http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. CPSC-2018-
0005, Supporting and Related Material.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7991, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    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.
    In 1992, the CPSC sponsored a national in-home survey to collect 
information on the number of residential smoke alarms in actual use in 
homes and to evaluate the operability of the sampled alarms. The 
results were published in the 1994 report, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission Smoke Detector Operability Survey Report on Findings.\1\ 
Although the survey results were instrumental for many years in 
developing state and local codes and standards related to smoke alarms, 
subsequent changes in technology, installation codes, and state/local 
ordinances in the past 25 years have rendered the information outdated 
and less effective. Stakeholders' groups for fire loss prevention have 
identified a need for an updated national survey to increase the 
installation and maintenance of smoke alarms in the United States. In 
addition, installations of CO alarms have increased since 1992. 
Accordingly, CPSC sought to update its data information collection 
related to smoke and CO alarm use through a new survey, the National 
Smoke and CO Alarm Survey (SCOA survey).
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    \1\ 1. Charles L. Smith, Smoke Detector Operability Survey--
Report on Findings, (Bethesda, MD: CPSC, November 1993).
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    Although the SCOA survey initially commenced in January 2019, CPSC 
experienced lower response rates relative to expectations in the 
administration of the SCOA survey in fielding locations than had been 
established by the study's approved methodology. To correct for this 
challenge, and to complete the number of homes surveyed in the 
contract, CPSC undertook a revised sampling method and contact protocol 
of participant recruitment. Among the revisions to the methodology, 
CPSC included a redesign of the recruitment, screening, and in-home 
survey based on a random walk door-to-door knocking sample methodology. 
The SCOA survey seeks to collect information from 1,185 households 
within the United States. The survey will be conducted only through 
face-to-face, in-home interviews. Following all COVID-19 safety 
precautions, survey professionals will provide pre-notification door 
hangers requesting participation in the survey. These households will 
be recruited, and willing participants will be provided with consent 
forms, and the survey team will administer questions regarding the 
residence type, and smoke and CO alarm availability and functionality 
in the residences. The survey team also will identify, test, and 
examine several of the alarms in the home, as time permits, and if they 
are found faulty, provide new alarms or batteries, if requested by the 
participant. No action will be taken if participants choose not to have 
the alarm fixed or replaced.
    CPSC entered into a contract with Eureka Facts to conduct the SCOA 
survey through a national in-home survey that would estimate the use 
and

[[Page 39007]]

functionality of smoke and CO alarms in households, as well as assess 
user hazard perceptions regarding such alarms. The purpose of the SCOA 
survey is to collect data that will assist CPSC with better estimation 
of the number and types of smoke and CO alarms installed in U.S. 
households, the proportion of working smoke and CO alarms, the 
characteristics of residences and residents where the smoke and CO 
alarms are not operational, perceptions of residents related to the 
causes of ``false'' alarms or causes of faulty alarms, consumer hazard 
awareness, and consumer behavior related to alarm use and smoke and CO 
hazards.
    The information collected from the SCOA survey would provide CPSC 
updated national estimates regarding the use of smoke alarms and CO 
alarms in households, based on direct observation of alarm 
installations. The survey also would help CPSC identify the groups that 
do not have operable smoke alarms and/or CO alarms and understand the 
reasons why they do not have such alarms. With this information, CPSC 
would be able to target better its messaging to improve consumer use 
and awareness regarding the operability of these alarms. In addition, 
the survey results would help to inform CPSC's recommendations to 
voluntary standards groups and state/local jurisdictions regarding 
their codes, standards, and/or regulations on smoke and CO alarms.

B. Burden Hours

    We estimate the number of respondents to be 1,185. We estimate the 
total annual burden hours for respondents to be 1,552 hours, based on 
the total time required to respond to the invitation, screener, and the 
actual survey. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 
total compensation for civilian workers in March 2021 was $39.01 per 
hour (Employer Cost for Employee Compensation, Table 2, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htm). Therefore, CPSC estimates the 
cost burden for respondents to be $60,544 ($39.01 per hour x 1,552 
hours = $60,543.52). The total cost to the federal government for the 
contract to design and conduct the revised survey is $562,725.

C. Request for Comments

    The 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; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information 
technology.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2021-15735 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P