Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Bathtub Slip Resistance Study, 15978-15979 [2025-06432]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15978-15979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06432]



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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2024-0045]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Bathtub Slip Resistance Study

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) announces that 
the Commission has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) a request for approval of a new information collection for a 
bathtub slip resistance study to support work on a voluntary Safety 
Standard for Bathtub and Shower Structure. On January 6, 2025, CPSC 
published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on the 
information collection request. The Commission received nine public 
comments. By publication of this notice, the Commission announces that 
CPSC has submitted to the OMB a request for approval of that collection 
of information.

DATES: Submit comments on the collection of information by May 16, 
2025.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments about this request by email: 
[email protected]. Comments by mail should be sent to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer 
for the CPSC, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Written comments that are sent to OMB 
also should be submitted electronically at https://www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. CPSC-2024-0045.

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: CPSC seeks approval for the following 
collection of information: \1\
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    \1\ On April 8, 2025, the Commission voted (5-0) to publish this 
notice.
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    Title: Bathtub Slip Resistance Study.
    OMB Number: New.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: The objective of this 
study is to conduct human slip research on three bathtubs on the market 
and to measure the friction demand of participants stepping into and 
out of the bathtubs when dry and wet. CPSC contracted with Arizona 
State University (ASU) to conduct this study. Participants will be 
recruited from the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. The experiments will be 
conducted at ASU's Locomotion Research Laboratory. The study will 
involve a total of three sessions to test three bathtub surfaces, where 
participants will walk into the tub and step out while wearing fall 
arresting harness systems for safety. During these sessions, resistance 
forces under the foot and motion of the foot movements will be 
measured. The study will quantify the minimum frictional performance 
required for a bathing surface to reduce slips and falls. CPSC will 
publish the study and will share the results of the study with the ASTM 
F15.03 Subcommittee on Safety Standards for Bathtub and Shower 
Structures working on replacing ASTM F462.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: Falls are the leading cause of injury and death for older 
adults 65 and older.\2\ Information collected as part of the bathtub 
slip resistance study is needed initially to support CPSC staff in 
efforts to work with the ASTM F15.03 Subcommittee on Safety Standards 
for Bathtub and Shower Structures to replace the obsolete ASTM F462 
standard for bathing surface friction that ASTM withdrew in 2016. This 
study will be used to inform CPSC of major requirements needed to 
achieve an efficient and effective slip-resistance standard.
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    \2\ Chowdhury et al., U.S. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm'n., 
Consumer Product-related Injuries and Deaths Among Adults 65 Years 
of Age and Older, 67-68 (2021), available at https://tinyurl.com/2t88v33m.
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    Affected Public: Adults between ages 18 and 95 years old.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: We expect up to 200 respondents 
annually. Over the full authorized period of the study, which is three 
years, up to 600 respondents may participate.
    Frequency: One.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: Although response times will vary, 
on average, it will take 2.5 hours for respondents to fully participate 
in the study. Therefore, the annual estimated response burden is 500 
hours (200 responses x 2.5 hours per response).
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Cost: There are no costs to 
respondents and no respondent recordkeeping requirements associated 
with the study. There are no operating, maintenance, or capital costs 
associated with the collection. Participants will receive $100 for 
participation in the study.
    Response to Public Comments:
    Most commenters expressed support for the proposed information 
collection with some commenters offering suggestions that were out of 
scope. Other comments included discussing the sample size, requesting 
clarity about the development of the standard, suggesting ways to 
measure data, and seeking information about the equipment that will be 
used to measure friction data.
    An engineering consultant, a biomedical consultant, and an 
anonymous commenter opined that the proposed research includes a small 
sample size of bathtubs. The bathtubs in the study are representative 
of three types of bathtub surfaces. Staff assessed that this is 
adequate for gathering preliminary data on whether a minimum frictional 
performance for reducing slips and falls exists.
    The engineering consultant further commented seeking clarity on how 
the results will be used to develop a standard. As stated in the 
Summary of the Collection of Information, during the three sessions 
where participants will step into and out of the bathtubs, the 
resistance forces under the foot and motion of the foot movements will 
be measured to quantify the minimum frictional performance required for 
a bathing surface to reduce slips and falls to support ASTM's work in 
developing the standard.
    The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) commented that transition 
from dry to wet surfaces should be considered, as unexpected changes in 
traction can cause slip incidents. Staff notes that the study will 
include transitions from dry to wet surfaces. TCNA also requested 
clarification on how friction data will be collected. Friction data 
will be collected using a force plate \3\ to quantify human gait and 
balance.
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    \3\ A force plate is a mechanical sensing system ``designed to 
measure the ground reaction forces and moments involved in human 
movements.'' More information available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/force-plate.
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    Another engineering consultant commented that CPSC's proposed 
collection of information does not have practical utility because it 
will not provide useful information to replace ASTM F462, and they 
pointed to other research that should be considered.

[[Page 15979]]

Practical utility is defined as ``the ability of an agency to use 
information, particularly the capability to process such information in 
a timely and useful fashion.'' 44 U.S.C. 3502(11). As stated in the 
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information, the study will quantify the minimum frictional performance 
required for a bathing surface to reduce slips and falls. Staff intends 
to work with the ASTM F15.03 Subcommittee on Safety Standards for 
Bathtub and Shower Structures to replace the obsolete ASTM F462 
standard for bathing surface friction that ASTM withdrew in 2016. This 
study will be used to inform CPSC of major requirements needed to 
achieve an efficient and effective slip-resistance standard. With this 
information, the Commission details its need and ability to process and 
use this information collection.
    The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) also submitted comments 
to suggest that CPSC should not conduct their own research and instead 
rely on NFSI's research and standard. As stated in the Description of 
the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the Information, the 
Commission describes the need for this study to support CPSC's efforts 
to work with the ASTM F15.03 Subcommittee on Safety Standard for 
Bathtub and Shower Structures to replace the withdrawn ASTM F462 
standard.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2025-06432 Filed 4-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P