Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses and Mattress Pads and Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets, 39832-39833 [2023-13052]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39832-39833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13052]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2010-0055]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses and 
Mattress Pads and Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of 
Mattress Sets

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 of a collection of 
information from manufacturers and importers of mattresses and mattress 
pads. The collection of information is set forth in the Standard for 
the Flammability of Mattresses and Mattress Pads and the Standard for 
the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets. These regulations 
establish testing and recordkeeping requirements for manufacturers and 
importers subject to the standards. The Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) previously approved the collection of information under control 
number 3041-0014. OMB's most recent extension of approval will expire 
on August 31, 2023. 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: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments not later than 
August 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-
0055, by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: CPSC encourages you to submit electronic 
comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. 
CPSC typically does not accept comments submitted by electronic mail 
(email), except as described below.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/Confidential Written Submissions: Submit 
comments by mail, hand delivery, or courier to: Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-7479. If you wish to submit 
confidential business information, trade secret information, or other 
sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available 
to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, or 
courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided, to: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit 
through this website: 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/confidential written submissions.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2010-0055, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7791, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    CPSC promulgated the Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses 
and Mattress Pads, 16 CFR part 1632 (part 1632 standard) under section 
4 of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), 15 U.S.C. 1193, to reduce 
unreasonable risks of burn injuries and deaths from fires associated 
with mattresses and mattress pads. The part 1632 standard prescribes 
requirements to test whether a mattress or mattress pad will resist 
ignition from a smoldering cigarette. The part 1632 standard also 
requires manufacturers to perform prototype tests of each combination 
of materials and construction methods used to produce mattresses or 
mattress pads and to obtain acceptable results from such testing. 
Manufacturers and importers must maintain the records and test results 
specified under the standard.
    The Commission also promulgated the Standard for the Flammability 
(Open Flame) of Mattress Sets, 16 CFR part 1633 (part 1633 standard), 
under section 4 of the FFA to reduce deaths and injuries related to 
mattress fires, particularly those ignited by open-flame sources, such 
as lighters, candles, and matches. The part 1633 standard requires 
manufacturers to maintain certain records to document compliance with 
the standard, including maintaining records concerning prototype 
testing, pooling, and confirmation testing, and quality assurance 
procedures and any associated testing. The required records must be 
maintained for as long as mattress sets based on the prototype are in 
production and must be retained for 3 years thereafter. OMB previously 
approved the collection of information for 16 CFR parts 1632 and 1633, 
under control number 3041-0014, with an expiration date of August 31, 
2023. The information collection requirements

[[Page 39833]]

under the part 1632 standard are separate from the testing and 
recordkeeping requirements under the part 1633 standard.

B. Burden Hours

    16 CFR 1632: Commission staff estimates that there are 403 
respondents that produce mattresses. It is estimated that each 
respondent will spend 26 hours for testing and record keeping annually 
for a total of 10,478 hours (403 establishments x 26 hours = 10,478). 
The hourly compensation for the time required for record keeping is 
$72.91 (for management, professional, and related occupations in goods-
producing industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2022). The 
annualized cost to respondents would be approximately $763,950.98 
(10,478 hours x $72.91 per hour).
    16 CFR 1633: The standard requires detailed documentation of 
prototype identification and testing records, model and prototype 
specifications, inputs used, name and location of suppliers, and 
confirmation of test records, if establishments choose to pool a 
prototype. This documentation is in addition to documentation already 
conducted by mattress manufacturers to meet 16 CFR part 1632. Staff 
again estimates that there are 403 respondents. Based on staff 
estimates, the recordkeeping requirements are expected to require about 
4 hours and 44 minutes per establishment, per qualified prototype. 
Although some larger manufacturers reportedly are producing mattresses 
based on more than 100 prototypes, most mattress manufacturers probably 
base their complying production on 15 to 20 prototypes, according to an 
industry representative contacted by staff. Assuming that 
establishments qualify their production with an average of 20 different 
qualified prototypes, recordkeeping time is about 94.6 hours (4.73 
hours x 20 prototypes) per establishment, per year. (Note that pooling 
among establishments or using a prototype qualification for longer than 
1 year will reduce the hours required). This translates to an estimated 
annual recordkeeping time cost to all mattress producers of 38,124 
hours (94.6 hours x 403 establishments). The hourly compensation for 
the time required for record keeping is $72.91 (for management, 
professional, and related occupations in goods-producing industries, 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2022). The annual total estimated 
costs for recordkeeping are approximately $2,779,606 (38,124 hours x 
$72.91 per hour).
    The total estimated annual cost to the 403 establishments for the 
burden hours associated with both 16 CFR part 1632 and 16 CFR part 1633 
is approximately $3.5 million (10,478 + 38,124 = 48,602 total hours; 
48,602 x $72.91 = $3,543,571,182).

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.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-13052 Filed 6-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P