Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Proposed Rules 18795 

(vii) solar-assisted fossil fuel storage 

water heaters. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–07956 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 1610 

[Docket No. CPSC–2015–0007] 

Petition Requesting Rulemaking To 

Amend the Standard for the 

Flammability of Clothing Textiles 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Petition for 

Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC or Commission) has 

received a petition requesting 

amendments to the test procedure in the 

Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles, 16 CFR part 1610. 

Petitioner requests changes in the 

requirements for preparation of clothing 

textiles for flammability testing. The 

Commission invites comments 

concerning the petition. 

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must 

receive comments on the petition by 

June 8, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. CPSC–2015– 

0007, by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit 

electronic comments to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at: 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. The Commission 

encourages you to submit electronic 

comments by using the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal, as described above. 

Written Submissions: Submit written 

submissions by mail/hand delivery/

courier to: Office of the Secretary, 

Consumer Product Safety Commission, 

Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, MD 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 

that you do not want to be available to 

the public. If furnished at all, such 

information should be submitted in 

writing. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to: http://

www.regulations.gov, insert the docket 

number, [ ], into the ‘‘Search’’ box, and 

follow the prompts. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rocky Hammond, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, MD, 20814; telephone (301) 

504–6833, email: rhammond@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 4, 2015, CPSC’s Office of the 

Secretary received a petition to the 

Commission to initiate rulemaking to 

amend the test procedure in 16 CFR part 

1610, Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles (the Standard). 

Petitioner, the International Association 

of Users of Artificial and Synthetic 

Filament Yarns and of Natural Silk, 

asserts that the pre-test conditioning 

requirements for textile samples set 

forth in 16 CFR 1610.6(a)(2)(iv) (for 

plain surface textile fabrics) and 

1610.6(a)(3)(v) (for raised surface textile 

fabrics) are inappropriate and 

unrealistic for silk fabrics. The Standard 

requires that textile specimens be 

prepared for testing by treating them in 

an oven at 105° C (221 °F) for 30 

minutes, then placing them in a 

desiccator to cool. See 16 CFR 

1610.6(a)(2)(iv); 1610.6(a)(3)(v). 

Petitioner contends this process 

removes all moisture from silk fabric 

samples, resulting in unrealistic 

measures of textile flammability. 

Petitioner asks that the Standard be 

changed to require that all clothing 

textile samples, including silk, be 

conditioned at a lower temperature and 

at a higher level of humidity. 

Proposed Changes in Testing. 

Petitioner asks the Commission to adopt 

changes that would require all clothing 

textiles to be conditioned before 

flammability testing under the 

temperature and humidity conditions 

set forth in ASTM D1776–04, Standard 

Practice for Conditioning and Testing 

Textiles. This standard specifies that 

general textiles should be conditioned at 

a temperature of 21° ± 1° C (70° ± 2 ° 

F) and at a relative humidity of 65 ± 2% 

for at least 24 hours prior to testing. 

Petitioner contends flammability testing 

of silk fabrics would be more realistic 

and more meaningful if testing were 

conducted using these conditioning 

requirements. The proposed changes in 

pre-test conditioning would apply to all 

clothing textiles. 

Reasons for Proposed Testing 

Changes. Petitioner asserts that the 

Standard’s conditioning requirements 

subject silk fabric samples to ‘‘extreme 

conditions not found in reality’’ and are 

not based on any scientific reason. 

Petitioner claims its test results show 

that flammability testing outcomes for 

silk fabrics vary dramatically, 

depending on the conditioning standard 

used. Petitioner also asserts that the 

Standard’s conditioning requirements 

are inconsistent with all national and 

international textile testing standards of 

which Petitioner is aware, including 

textile testing standards promulgated by 

the International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) and ASTM 

International (ASTM). The two 

alternative standards specifically cited 

by Petitioner, ASTM D1776–04 and ISO 

139, Textiles—Standard atmospheres 

for conditioning and testing, require 

conditioning of fabrics at lower 

temperatures and at higher levels of 

humidity than the Standard. 

Proposed Commission Action. 

Petitioner requests the Commission 

implement the pre-test conditioning 

standards of ASTM D1776 by amending 

16 CFR 1610.6(a)(2)(iv) (conditioning of 

plain surface textile fabrics) and 

1610.6(a)(3)(v) (conditioning of raised 

surface textile fabrics) to include the 

conditioning standards of ASTM 

D1776–04 for all clothing textiles, 

including silk. These revisions also 

would include a requirement that 

conditioned samples be sealed in a tight 

container and that testing be initiated 

within one minute of opening of the 

container. Petitioner also requests that 

the Commission amend 16 CFR 

1610.6(b) (refurbishing and testing after 

refurbishing) by adding a new 

subsection 1610.6(b)(4) to apply ASTM 

D1776–04 conditioning standards to 

flammability testing of refurbished (i.e., 

laundered or dry cleaned) textiles. 

By this notice, the Commission seeks 

comments concerning this petition. 

Interested parties may obtain a copy of 

the petition by writing or calling the 

Office of the Secretary, Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, 4330 East 

West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 

telephone (301) 504–6833. The petition 

is also available at http://

www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 

CPSC–2015–0007, Supporting and 

Related Materials. 

Alberta E. Mills, 

Acting Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07907 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 


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