Proposed Collection of Information; Comment Request-Safety Standard for Cigarette Lighters, 24651-24653 [E6-6297]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24651-24653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6297]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION


Proposed Collection of Information; Comment Request--Safety 
Standard for Cigarette Lighters

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 24652]]

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission requests comments 
on a proposed request for an extension of approval of a collection of 
information from manufacturers and importers of disposable and novelty 
cigarette lighters. This collection of information consists of testing 
and recordkeeping requirements in certification regulations 
implementing the Safety Standard for Cigarette Lighters (16 CFR part 
1210). The Commission will consider all comments received in response 
to this notice before requesting an extension of approval of this 
collection of information from the Office of Management and Budget.

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive written comments not 
later than June 26, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be captioned ``Cigarette Lighters'' 
and e-mailed to the Office of the Secretary at cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. 
Comments may also be sent by facsimile to (301) 504-0127, or by mail to 
the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 
East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the proposed 
extension of approval of the collection of information, or to obtain a 
copy of 16 CFR part 1210, call or write Linda L. Glatz, Office of 
Planning and Evaluation, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East 
West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; telephone (301) 504-7671.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1993, the Commission issued the Safety 
Standard for Cigarette Lighters (16 CFR part 1210) under provisions of 
the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) to 
eliminate or reduce risks of death and burn injury from fires 
accidentally started by children playing with cigarette lighters. The 
standard contains performance requirements for disposable and novelty 
lighters that are intended to make cigarette lighters subject to the 
standard resist operation by children younger than five years of age.

A. Certification Requirements

    Section 14(a) of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)) requires 
manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of a consumer product 
subject to a consumer product safety standard to issue a certificate 
stating that the product complies with all applicable consumer product 
safety standards. Section 14(a) of the CPSA also requires that the 
certificate of compliance must be based on a test of each product or 
upon a reasonable testing program.
    Section 14(b) of the CPSA authorizes the Commission to issue 
regulations to prescribe a reasonable testing program to support 
certificates of compliance with a consumer product safety standard. 
Section 16(b) of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 2065(b)) authorizes the Commission 
to issue rules to require that firms ``establish and maintain'' records 
to permit the Commission to determine compliance with rules issued 
under the authority of the CPSA.
    The Commission has issued regulations prescribing requirements for 
a reasonable testing program to support certificates of compliance with 
the standard for cigarette lighters. These regulations require 
manufacturers and importers to submit a description of each model of 
lighter, results of surrogate qualification tests for compliance with 
the standard, and other information before the introduction of each 
model of lighter in commerce. These regulations also require 
manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of disposable and 
novelty lighters to establish and maintain records to demonstrate 
successful completion of all required tests to support the certificates 
of compliance that they issue. 16 CFR part 1210, subpart B.
    The Commission uses the information compiled and maintained by 
manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of disposable and 
novelty lighters to protect consumers from risks of accidental deaths 
and burn injuries associated with those lighters. More specifically, 
the Commission uses this information to determine whether lighters 
comply with the standard by resisting operation by young children. The 
Commission also uses this information to obtain corrective actions if 
disposable or novelty lighters fail to comply with the standard in a 
manner that creates a substantial risk of injury to the public.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the collection 
of information in the certification regulations for cigarette lighters 
under control number 3041-0116. OMB's most recent extension of approval 
will expire on June 30, 2006. The Commission proposes to request an 
extension of approval for these collection of information requirements.

B. Estimated Burden

    The cost of the rule's testing requirement is the cost of testing, 
either by the firm or by outside contractors. There are an estimated 60 
firms that may be affected. If done through outside contractors, the 
cost per test has been estimated at $15,000 to $25,000 on average. Each 
firm is expected to test 2 models per year. Thus, for the 60 affected 
firms, the cost of outside testing would be $2.4 million. If tests are 
conducted in-house, testing 2 new models is expected to take 175 hours 
per firm. The total testing time for all 60 firms, if conducted in-
house, would be approximately 10,500. Based on the average hourly total 
compensation (wages and benefits) for U.S. technical workers of $42.84 
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, September, 2005), the total industry cost 
of the testing component for this regulation would be in the range of 
$450,000 to $2.4 million per year, depending on the method chosen.
    The cost of the recordkeeping requirements has two separate 
components: Recordkeeping for new models and recordkeeping for 
comparable models. The time consumed in recordkeeping for new models 
has been estimated at 20 hours per model. Thus the total time consumed 
for recordkeeping of new models would be 2,400 hours (20 hours x 2 
models x 60 firms). Based on the average hourly compensation for 
technical workers, the cost of recordkeeping for new models would be 
about $100,000 annually (2,400 x 42.84).
    Time consumed in recordkeeping for lighters that are submitted for 
comparison to previously tested models will require approximately 3 
hours for each model. Based on recent submission, each firm is expected 
to submit 35 models each year for comparison. Thus, an estimated 6,300 
hours may be required by the 60 firms for recordkeeping regarding 
comparison lighters (35 models x 60 firms x 3 hours). Based on the 
average hourly compensation for technical workers, the cost of 
recordkeeping would be about $270,000 (6,300 hours x $42.84). The total 
recordkeeping costs associated with the lighter regulation would be 
approximately $370,000 ($100,000 + $270,000).
    In addition, each firm will submit information to the CPSC 
regarding the new testing and comparison submissions totaling about 
2,200 responses per year (2 models tested + 35 comparison models x 60 
firms). The total number of hours for these responses would be 
approximately 19,200 per year including new-product testing (175 hours 
x 60 firms = 10,500), new product recordkeeping (40 hours x 60 firms = 
2,400), and recordkeeping for comparison lighters (35 models x 3 hours 
x 60 firms = 6,300). Based on the average hourly compensation for

[[Page 24653]]

technical workers, the total cost of preparing these submissions would 
be about $823,000 (19,200 hours x $42.84).

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: April 21, 2006.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. E6-6297 Filed 4-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P