Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Collection of Information for Children's Sleepwear

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 (CPSC) 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 a collection of information from manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear. This collection of information is in the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 0 through 6X and the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 7 through 14 and regulations implementing those standards. See 16 CFR parts 1615 and 1616. The children's sleepwear standards and implementing regulations establish requirements for testing and recordkeeping by manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear.

The Commission 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 written comments not later than December 30, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be captioned “Children's Sleepwear, Collection of Information” and mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207, or delivered to that office, room 502, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Written comments may also be sent to the Office of the Secretary by facsimile at (301) 504-0127 or by e-mail at cpsc-os@cpsc.gov.

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 parts 1615 and 1616, call or write Linda L. Glatz, Office of Planning and Evaluation, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-0416, extension 2226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. The Standards

Children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 6X manufactured for sale in or imported into the United States is subject to the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 0 through 6X (16 CFR part 1615). Children's sleepwear in sizes 7 through 14 is subject to the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 7 through 14 (16 CFR part 1616). The children's sleepwear flammability standards require that fabrics, seams, and trim used in children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 14 must self-extinguish when exposed to a small open-flame ignition source. The children's sleepwear standards and implementing regulations also require manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 14 to perform testing of products and to maintain records of the results of that testing. 16 CFR part 1615, subpart B; 16 CFR part 1616; subpart B. The Commission uses the information compiled and maintained by manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear to help protect the public from risks of death or burn injuries associated with children's sleepwear. More specifically, the Commission reviews this information to determine whether the products produced and imported by the firms comply with the applicable standard. Additionally, the Commission uses this information to arrange corrective actions if items of children's sleepwear fail to comply with the applicable standard in a manner that creates a substantial risk of injury to the public.

OMB approved the collection of information in the children's sleepwear standards and implementing regulations under control number 3041-0027. OMB's most recent extension of approval will expire on January 31, 2003. The Commission proposes to request an extension of approval without change for the collection of information in the children's sleepwear standards and implementing regulations.

B. Estimated Burden

The Commission staff estimates that about 53 firms manufacture or import products subject to the two children's sleepwear flammability standards. The Commission staff estimates that these standards and implementing regulations will impose an average annual burden of about 6,000 hours on each of those firms. That burden will result from conducting the testing required by the standards and maintaining records of the results of that testing required by the implementing regulations. The total annual burden imposed by the standards and regulations on all manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear will be about 318,000 hours. The hourly wage for the testing and recordkeeping required by the standards and regulations is about $30.03, for an annual cost to the industry of about $9,550,000.

The Commission will expend approximately three months of professional staff time annually for examination of information in the records maintained by manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear subject to the standards. The annual cost to the Federal government of the collection of information in the sleepwear standards and implementing regulations is estimated to be $22,500.

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.