Federal Register Notice April 16, 2009

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices

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products subject to the carpet
flammability standards. 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 OMB.
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must
receive comments not later than June
15, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be captioned ‘‘Carpets and Rugs;
Paperwork Reduction Act,’’ and sent by
e-mail to [email protected]. 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 [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. The Standards
Carpets and rugs that have one
dimension greater than six feet, a
surface area greater than 24 square feet,
and are manufactured for sale in or
imported into the United States are
subject to the Standard for the Surface
Flammability of Carpets and Rugs (16
CFR Part 1630). Carpets and rugs that
have no dimension greater than six feet
and a surface area not greater than 24
square feet are subject to the Standard
for the Surface Flammability of Small
Carpets and Rugs (16 CFR Part 1631).
Both of these standards were issued
under the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA)
(15 U.S.C. 1191 et seq.). Both standards
require that products subject to their
provisions must pass a flammability test
that measures resistance to a small,
timed ignition source. Small carpets and
rugs that do not pass the flammability
test comply with the standard for small
carpets and rugs if they are permanently
labeled with the statement that they fail
the standard and should not be used
near sources of ignition.
Section 8 of the FFA (15 U.S.C 1197)
provides that a person who receives a
guaranty in good faith that a product
complies with an applicable
flammability standard is not subject to
criminal prosecution for a violation of
the FFA resulting from the sale of any
product covered by the guaranty.
Section 8 of the FFA requires that a
guaranty must be based on ‘‘reasonable

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and representative’’ tests. Many
manufacturers and importers of carpets
and rugs issue guaranties that the
products they produce or import
comply with the applicable standard.
Regulations implementing the carpet
flammability standards prescribe
requirements for testing and
recordkeeping by firms that issue
guaranties. See 16 CFR Part 1630,
Subpart B, and 16 CFR Part 1631,
Subpart B. The Commission uses the
information compiled and maintained
by firms that issue these guaranties to
help protect the public from risks of
injury or death associated with carpet
fires. More specifically, the information
helps the Commission arrange
corrective actions if any products
covered by a guaranty fail to comply
with the applicable standard in a
manner that creates a substantial risk of
injury or death to the public. The
Commission also uses this information
to determine whether the requisite
testing was performed to support the
guaranties.
The OMB approved the collection of
information in the regulations under
control number 3041–0017. OMB’s most
recent extension of approval expires on
June 30, 2009. The Commission now
proposes to request an extension of
approval for the collection of
information in the regulations.
B. Estimated Burden
The Commission staff estimates that
the enforcement rules result in an
industry expenditure of a total of 30,000
hours for testing and recordkeeping. The
Commission staff estimates that 120
firms are subject to the information
collection requirements because the
firms have elected to issue a guaranty of
compliance with the FFA. The number
of tests that a firm issuing a guaranty of
compliance would be required to
perform each year varies, depending
upon the number of carpet styles and
the annual volume of production. The
staff estimates that the average firm
issuing a continuing guaranty under the
FFA is required to conduct a maximum
of 200 tests per year. The actual number
of tests required by a given firm may
vary from 1 to 200, depending upon the
number of carpet styles and the annual
production volume. For purposes of
estimating the burden, the staff used the
midpoint, 100 tests per year. The time
required to conduct each test is
estimated by the staff to be 21⁄2 hours
plus the time required to establish and
maintain the test record. The total
annualized burden to respondents may
be up to 12,000 tests per year at 2.5
hours per test or 30,000 hours. The
estimated annualized cost to

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respondents may be up to $1,646,400,
based on an hourly wage of $54.88
(Bureau of Labor Statistics: All workers,
goods-producing industries,
management, professional and related,
September 2008) × 30,000 hours. The
estimated annual cost of the information
and collection requirements to the
Federal Government is approximately
$42,000. This sum includes three staff
months expended for examination of the
records required to be maintained.
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 10, 2009.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
[FR Doc. E9–8714 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355–01–P

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
Proposed Extension of Approval of
Information Collection; Comment
Request—Baby Bouncers, WalkerJumpers, and Baby-Walkers
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Consumer Product
Safety Commission (Commission)
requests comments on a proposed
extension of approval, for a period of
three years from the date of approval by
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), of information collection
requirements for manufacturers and
importers of children’s articles known

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 72 / Thursday, April 16, 2009 / Notices

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

as baby-bouncers, walker-jumpers, or
baby-walkers. The collection of
information consists of requirements
that manufacturers and importers of
these products must make, keep and
maintain records of inspections, testing,
sales, and distributions consistent with
the provisions of the Federal Hazardous
Substances Act, 15 U.S.C. 1261, 1262,
and 16 CFR Part 1500.
The CPSC will consider all comments
received in response to this notice
before requesting approval of this
collection of information from OMB.
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must
receive written comments not later than
June 15, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be captioned ‘‘Baby-Bouncers’’ and sent
by e-mail to [email protected].
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. [email protected].
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 [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations issued under provisions of
the Federal Hazardous Substances Act
(15 U.S.C. 1261, 1262), codified at 16
CFR Part 1500, establish safety
requirements for products called ‘‘babybouncers,’’ ‘‘walker-jumpers,’’ or ‘‘babywalkers.’’
A. Requirements for Baby-Bouncers,
Walker-Jumpers, and Baby Walkers
One CPSC regulation bans any
product known as a baby-bouncer,
walker-jumper, baby-walker or similar
article if it is designed in such a way
that exposed parts present hazards of
amputations, crushing, lacerations,
fractures, hematomas, bruises or other
injuries to children’s fingers, toes, or
other parts of the body. 16 CFR
1500.18(a)(6).
A second CPSC regulation establishes
criteria for exempting baby-bouncers,
walker-jumpers, and baby-walkers from
the banning rule under specified
conditions. 16 CFR 1500.86(a)(4). The
exemption regulation requires certain
labeling on these products and their
packaging to identify the name and
address of the manufacturer or
distributor and the model number of the
product. Additionally, the exemption

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regulation requires that records must be
established and maintained for three
years relating to testing, inspection,
sales, and distributions of these
products. The regulation does not
specify a particular form or format for
the records. Manufacturers and
importers may rely on records kept in
the ordinary course of business to
satisfy the recordkeeping requirements
if those records contain the required
information.
If a manufacturer or importer
distributes products that violate the
banning rule, the records required by
section 1500.86(a)(4) can be used by the
manufacturer or importer and the CPSC
(i) to identify specific models of
products that fail to comply with
applicable requirements, and (ii) to
notify distributors and retailers if the
products are subject to recall.
The OMB approved the collection of
information requirements in the
regulations under control number 3041–
0019. OMB’s most recent extension of
approval expires on June 30, 2009. The
CPSC now proposes to request an
extension of approval without change
for the collection of information
requirements.
B. Estimated Burden
The CPSC staff estimates that about 34
firms are subject to the testing and
recordkeeping requirements of the
regulations. Firms are expected to test
on the average two new models per year
per firm. The CPSC staff estimates
further that the burden imposed by the
regulations on each of these firms is
approximately 1 hour per year on the
recordkeeping requirements and 30
minutes or less per model on the label
requirements. Thus, the annual burden
imposed by the regulations on all
manufacturers and importers is
approximately 68 hours on
recordkeeping (34 firms × 2 hours) and
34 hours on labeling (34 firms × 1 hour)
for a total annual burden of 102 hours
per year.
The CPSC staff estimates that the
hourly wage for the time required to
perform the required testing and
recordkeeping is approximately $54.88
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, All workers,
goods-producing industries,
management, professional and related
September 2008), and the hourly wage
for the time required to maintain the
labeling requirements is approximately
$27.14 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, All
workers, goods-producing industries,
sales and office September 2008). The
annualized total cost to the industry is
estimated to be $4,654.60 (68 hours ×
$54.88 plus 34 hours × $27.14).

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The Commission will expend
approximately two days of professional
staff time reviewing records required to
be maintained by the regulations for
baby-bouncers, walker-jumpers, and
baby-walkers. The annual cost to the
Federal government of the collection of
information in these regulations is
estimated to be $1,277.51.
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 10, 2009.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
[FR Doc. E9–8713 Filed 4–15–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355–01–P

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Announcement of Office of
Management and Budget Approval;
Children’s Products Containing Lead;
Procedures and Requirements for
Commission Determination or
Exclusion
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety
Commission (Commission) is
announcing that a collection of
information entitled Children’s Products
Containing Lead; Procedures and
Requirements for Commission
Determination or Exclusion has been
approved by the Office of Management
and budget (OMB) under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.

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