The Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC", "Commission") has announced its intent to hold a meeting on upholstered furniture fire safety technologies. The meeting will be held at the CPSC's laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, on April 25, 2013. CPSC invites interested parties to participate in or attend the meeting. They also invite interested parties to submit comments related to the meeting or the possible change in regulatory approach.
The meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on April 25, 2013. Individuals interested in serving on panels or presenting information at the meeting should register by March 25, 2013; all other individuals who wish to attend the meeting should register by April 18, 2013. Written comments must be received by July 1, 2013.
The meeting will be held at the CPSC's National Product Testing and Evaluation Center, 5 Research Place, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Persons interested in serving on a panel, presenting information, or attending the meeting should register online at http://www.cpsc.gov/meetingsignup.html and click on the link titled, "Upholstered Furniture Fire Safety Technology Meeting."
You may submit written comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2008-0005, by any of the following methods:
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. The Commission does not accept comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except through www.regulations.gov.
Submit written submissions in the following way:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary,Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted without change, including any personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal information provided, to http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rohit Khanna, Office of HazardIdentification and Reduction, 5 Research Place, Rockville, Maryland 20850, telephone 301-987-2508, email furnituretechmeeting@cpsc.gov.
Topics to be addressed at the meeting:
1. Fire Barriers
Types of products available
Materials and technologies used in fire barriers
Capabilities and limitations of fire barriers
Mattress fire barriers
Cost considerations
2. Commercial Furniture Fire Safety Technologies
Fire reduction strategies
Applicability to residential furniture
3. Application of Other Fire Safety Technologies to Residential Furniture
Fire technologies used in marine and aviation furniture
Fire technologies used in other countries
Cost considerations
CPSC is seeking comments in particular regarding the following questions:
1. Can fire barriers used by the mattress industry be used in upholstered furniture applications?
2. What modifications to mattress fire barriers, if any, are necessary to make them effective in upholstered furniture?
3. What technologies (Fire retardant (FR) chemicals, specialty fibers/fabrics without FR chemicals, inherently fire resistant materials, etc.) do fire barrier manufacturers use to achieve improved fire performance?
4. Do fire barrier manufacturers use FR chemicals to achieve improved fire performance? If so, are the FR chemicals covalently bonded to the barrier? What is the risk of human exposure from the specific FR chemicals used? What exposure testing and data exists for the specific FR chemicals used? Is the product that uses an FR chemical based fire barrier labeled to indicate use of such FR chemicals within it?
5. What, if any, FR chemicals are used in mattress or other fire barrier technologies?
6. What are the cost considerations for using fire barriers? How does furniture manufacturing and assembling change with a fire barrier?
7. Given the variety of ignition sources involved in furniture fires, which ignition sources resulting in fatalities would fire barriers be effective in addressing the fatalities?
8. What fire safety technologies from commercial furniture can be applied to residential furniture?
9. What fire safety technologies from other industries (e.g., marine, aviation) can be applied to residential furniture?
10. For fire barrier materials that do not use FR chemical treatments, what materials are used and what human exposure data exist for those materials?
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