3041-AB35 201610 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 3041 Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC Flammability Standard for Upholstered Furniture

In October 2003, the Commission issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to address the risk of fire associated with cigarette and small open-flame ignitions of upholstered furniture. The Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in March 2008, and received public comments. The Commission's proposed rule would require that upholstered furniture have cigarette-resistant fabrics or cigarette- and open flame-resistant barriers. The proposed rule would not require flame-resistant chemicals in fabrics or fillings. CPSC staff is conducting technical work to support a Final Rule. Since the Commission published the NPRM, CPSC staff has conducted testing of upholstered furniture, using both full-scale furniture and bench-scale models, as proposed in the NPRM. Currently, staff is reviewing fire barriers and fire-resistant fill materials that do not contain organohalogen chemicals as an approach for reducing deaths and injuries associated with furniture fires from upholstered furniture ignitions. Staff will develop a briefing package with options for consideration by the Commission in FY 2017, as well as a briefing package reviewing the pros and cons of adopting California's standard TB-117-2013 in FY 2016. Staff is also actively working with both ASTM and NFPA to evaluate new provisions and improve the existing consensus standards related to upholstered furniture flammability.

]]> Economically Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Proposed Rule Stage Yes No 16 CFR 1634 15 U.S.C. 1193 5 U.S.C. 801 Yes

From 2009 to 2011, an annual average of approximately 5,000 residential fires in which upholstered furniture was the first item to ignite resulted in an estimated 410 deaths, 730 civilian injuries, and about $280 million in property damage that could be addressed by a flammability standard. The total annual societal cost attributable to these upholstered furniture fire losses was more than $3.8 billion for 2008-2011. This total includes fires ignited by small open-flame sources and cigarettes.

]]>

Section 4 of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) (15 U.S.C. 1193) authorizes the Commission to issue a flammability standard or other regulation for a product of interior furnishing if the Commission determines that such a standard is "needed to adequately protect the public against unreasonable risk of the occurrence of fire leading to death or personal injury, or significant property damage." The Commission's regulatory proceeding could result in several actions, one of which could be the development of a mandatory standard requiring that upholstered furniture sold in the United States meet mandatory requirements specified in the standard.

]]>

(1) The Commission could issue a mandatory flammability standard if the Commission finds that such a standard is needed to address an unreasonable risk of the occurrence of fire from ignition of upholstered furniture. (2) The Commission could issue mandatory requirements for labeling of upholstered furniture, in addition to, or as an alternative to, the requirements of a mandatory flammability standard. (3) The Commission could terminate the proceeding for development of a flammability standard and rely on a voluntary standard if a voluntary standard would adequately address the risk of fire, and substantial compliance with such a standard is likely to result.

]]>

The estimated annual cost of imposing a mandatory standard to address ignition of upholstered furniture will depend upon the test requirements in the Final Rule and the steps manufacturers take to meet those requirements. Depending upon the test requirements, a standard may reduce upholstered furniture-related fire losses, the annual societal cost of which was more than $3.8 billion for 2008 to 2011. Thus, the potential benefits of a mandatory standard to address the risk of ignition of upholstered furniture could be significant, even if the standard did not prevent all such fires.

]]>

The estimated average annual cost to society from residential fires associated with upholstered furniture was $3.8 billion for 2008 to 2011. Societal costs associated with upholstered furniture fires are among the highest associated with any product subject to the Commission's authority. A standard has the potential to reduce these societal costs.

]]> ANPRM 06/15/1994 59 FR 30735 Commission Hearing May 5 & 6, 1998 on Possible Toxicity of Flame-Retardant Chemicals 03/17/1998 63 FR 13017 Meeting Notice 03/20/2002 67 FR 12916 Notice of Public Meeting 08/27/2003 68 FR 51564 Public Meeting 09/24/2003 ANPRM 10/23/2003 68 FR 60629 ANPRM Comment Period End 12/22/2003 Staff Held Public Meeting 10/28/2004 Staff Held Public Meeting 05/18/2005 Staff Sent Status Report to Commission 01/31/2006 Staff Sent Status Report to Commission 11/03/2006 Staff Sent Status Report to Commission 12/28/2006 Staff Sent Options Package to Commission 12/22/2007 Commission Decision to Direct Staff to Prepare Draft NPRM 12/27/2007 Staff Sent Draft NPRM to Commission 01/22/2008 Commission Decision to Publish NPRM 02/01/2008 NPRM 03/04/2008 73 FR 11702 NPRM Comment Period End 05/19/2008 Staff Published NIST Report on Standard Test Cigarettes 05/19/2009 Staff Publishes NIST Report on Standard Research Foam 09/14/2012 Notice of April 25 Public Meeting and Request for Comments 03/20/2013 78 FR 17140 Staff Holds Upholstered Furniture Fire Safety Technology Meeting 04/25/2013 Comment Period End 07/01/2013 Staff Sends Briefing Package to Commission on California's TB117-2013 09/08/2016 Staff Sends NPRM Briefing Package to Commission 09/00/2017 Undetermined Undetermined Undetermined No No Yes Andrew Lock Project Manager, Directorate for Laboratory Sciences 3041 301 987-2099 alock@cpsc.gov National Product Testing and Evaluation Center, 5 Research Place, Rockville MD 20850