Proposed Extension of Approval of Information Collection; Comment Request-Safety Standard for Cigarette Lighters, 32573-32574 [E9-16012]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32573-32574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16012]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or 
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 (OMB).

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive written comments not 
later than September 8, 2009.

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 
collection of information call or write Linda Glatz, Division of Policy 
and Planning, Office of Information Technology and Technology Services, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, 
MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-7671 or by e-mail to lglatz@cpsc.gov.

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 under the CPSA or similar 
rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other act enforced by the 
Commission to issue a certificate stating that the product complies 
with all applicable rules, bans, standards or regulations. 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 
and specify each such rule, ban, standard or regulation applicable to 
the product.
    Section 14(b) of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 2063(b)) authorizes the 
Commission to issue regulations to prescribe a reasonable testing 
program to support certificates of compliance with a consumer product 
safety standard under the CPSA or similar rule, ban, standard, or 
regulation under any other act enforced by the Commission. 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.
    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 September 30, 
2009. The Commission proposes to request an extension of approval for 
this collection of information requirements.

[[Page 32574]]

B. Estimated Burden

    The cost of the rule's testing requirement is the cost of testing, 
either by the firm or by outside contractors. For the last two complete 
fiscal years (2007 and 2008) the total number of new lighter models 
submitted by firms to the CPSC has averaged about 20 per year. During 
that time, an annual average of 16 firms have submitted new lighter 
models. If tests are conducted through outside contractors, the cost 
per test has been estimated at $15,000 to $25,000 each, or $20,000 on 
average. If 20 total tests are done annually by outside contractors, 
the estimated cost is $400,000. If tests are conducted in-house, 
testing each new model is expected to take 90 hours. The total testing 
time for 20 new models, if conducted in-house, would be approximately 
1,800 hours. Based on the average hourly total compensation of $54.88 
(for management, professional, and related occupations in goods-
producing industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September, 2008), the 
total industry cost of the testing component for this regulation would 
be in the range of $99,000 to $400,000 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 400 hours (20 hours x 20 
models). Based on the average hourly compensation of $27.14 (for sales 
and office workers in goods-producing industries, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, September 2008), the cost of recordkeeping for new models 
would be about $11,000 annually (400 hours x $27.14).
    Time consumed in recordkeeping for lighters that are submitted for 
comparison to previously tested models will require approximately 3 
hours for each model. For the last two complete fiscal years, an annual 
average of 1,100 comparison lighters have been submitted to the CPSC. 
Thus, an estimated 3,300 hours may be required by the firms for 
recordkeeping regarding comparison lighters (1,100 models x 3 hours). 
Based on the average hourly compensation of $27.14, the estimated cost 
of recordkeeping regarding comparison lighters is $90,000 annually 
(3,300 hours x $27.14). The total recordkeeping costs associated with 
the lighter regulation would be approximately $101,000 ($11,000 + 
$90,000).
    In addition, each firm will submit information to the CPSC 
regarding the new testing and comparison submissions totaling about 
1,120 responses per year (20 models tested + 1,100 comparison models). 
The total number of hours for these responses would be approximately 
5,500 per year including new-product testing (1,800 hours if done in-
house), new product recordkeeping (400 hours), and recordkeeping for 
comparison lighters (3,300 hours). The Commission staff estimates the 
total cost for firms for testing, recordkeeping, and reporting to 
comply with the lighter regulation would be in the range of $200,000 to 
$501,000, depending upon the test method chosen.
    The Commission staff will expend approximately 4 full-time-
equivalent staff years to administer the rule. The annual cost to the 
Federal government of the collection of information in these 
regulations is estimated to be $664,000.

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: June 30, 2009.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-16012 Filed 7-7-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P