March 15, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'') is issuing a flammability standard under the authority of the Flammable Fabrics Act. This new standard establishes performance requirements based on research conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (``NIST''). Mattresses and mattress and foundation sets (``mattress sets'') that comply with the requirements will generate a smaller size fire with a slower growth rate, thus reducing the possibility of flashover occurring. These improved mattresses should result in significant reductions in deaths and injuries associated with the risk of mattress fires. The Commission estimates that the standard could limit the size of mattress fires to the extent that 240 to 270 deaths and 1,150 to 1,330 injuries could potentially be eliminated annually. As discussed in the preamble, this means that the standard could yield lifetime net benefits of $23 to $50 per mattress or aggregate lifetime net benefits for all mattresses produced in the first year of the standard of $514 million to $1,132 million.