This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

15635 

Vol. 73, No. 58 

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

8 CFR Parts 103, 204, 213a, 299, and 

322 

[CIS No. 2098–00; DHS Docket No. USCIS– 

2007–0008] 

RIN 1615–AA43 

Classification of Aliens as Children of 

United States Citizens Based on 

Intercountry Adoptions Under the 

Hague Convention; Re-Opening and 

Extension of the Comment Period 

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services, DHS. 

ACTION: Interim rule; re-opening and 

extension of the comment period. 

SUMMARY: On October 4, 2007, The 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) published an interim rule in the 

Federal Register at 72 FR 56832, 

establishing rules necessary for the 

ratification and implementation of the 

Convention on Protection of Children 

and Co-operation in Respect of 

Intercountry Adoption, signed at The 

Hague on May 29, 1993 (‘‘Convention’’). 

The comment period ended December 3, 

2007. Of the 54 comments received by 

DHS, most requested an extension of the 

comment period to allow sufficient time 

to provide meaningful and substantive 

comments. DHS is re-opening and 

extending the comment period for 60 

days until May 27, 2008. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before May 27, 2008. 

Comments received beyond this date 

will not be considered. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

to DHS, identified by DHS Docket No. 

USCIS–2007–0008, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Chief, Regulatory 

Management Division, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Department 

of Homeland Security, 111 

Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 

3008, Washington, DC 20529. To ensure 

proper handling, please reference DHS 

Docket No. USCIS–2007–0008 on your 

correspondence. This mailing address 

may also be used for paper, disk, or CD– 

ROM submissions. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Regulatory 

Management Division, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Department 

of Homeland Security, 111 

Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 

3008, Washington, DC 20529. Contact 

Telephone Number (202) 272–8377. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Valverde, Chief, Children’s 

Issues, U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services, Department of 

Homeland Security, 20 Massachusetts 

Avenue, NW., Suite 3300, Washington, 

DC 20529, telephone (202) 272–9176. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Interim Rule 

On October 4, 2007, the DHS 

published in the Federal Register at 72 

FR 56832 an interim rule entitled 

‘‘Classification of Aliens as Children of 

United States Citizens Based on 

Intercountry Adoptions Under the 

Hague Convention.’’ The interim rule 

established the Department of 

Homeland Security rules necessary for 

the ratification and implementation of 

the Convention on Protection of 

Children and Co-operation in Respect of 

Intercountry Adoption, signed at The 

Hague on May 29, 1993 (‘‘Convention’’). 

The interim rule entered into force on 

November 5, 2007, although actual 

implementation of the interim rule will 

not occur until the Convention enters 

into force for the United States. The 

comment period for the interim rule 

ended December 3, 2007. 

Implementation 

On November 16, 2007, the President 

signed the instrument of ratification for 

the Convention. The Department of 

State deposited the instrument of 

ratification with the Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs of the Kingdom of the 

Netherlands on December 12, 2007. On 

December 18, 2007, the Department of 

State published in the Federal Register 

at 72 FR 71730 a written notice that the 

Convention will enter into force for the 

United States on April 1, 2008. 

Accordingly, the DHS interim rule 

published on October 4, 2007, will also 

enter into force April 1, 2008. 8 CFR 

204.300(a). 

Comments 

As of December 3, 2007, 54 comments 

had been received on the interim rule. 

Most of the comments did not address 

any issue raised by the interim rule. 

Rather, these comments requested an 

extension of the comment period. These 

commenters contend that the 60-day 

comment period did not provide 

sufficient time for them to submit 

substantive comments. Many of these 

commenters requested additional time 

to comment. 

As a legal matter, the 60-day comment 

period provided for by the interim rule 

is sufficient. The Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553, generally 

contemplates a 30-day comment period. 

Section 6(a)(1) of Executive Order 

12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 

as amended by Executive Order 13422, 

72 FR 2763, references a 60-day 

benchmark for establishing an 

appropriate comment period. 

Nevertheless, DHS has determined as a 

matter of policy that the importance of 

the implementation of the Convention 

makes it reasonable for DHS to agree to 

the request for an additional comment 

period. DHS has also determined that it 

is possible to re-open the comment 

period without delaying 

implementation of the interim rule. 

Accordingly, DHS has decided to reopen and extend the comment period. 

All comments received by May 27, 

2008 will be considered by DHS in 

preparing the final rule. Note that this 

extension of the comment period does 

not delay the implementation of the 

interim rule. The interim rule itself 

entered into force on November 5, 2007. 

Implementation will still begin on April 

1, 2008, when the Convention enters 

into force for the United States. 8 CFR 

204.300(a). Prospective adoptive parents 

seeking to adopt children habitually 

resident in a Convention country may 

begin a Convention adoption case by 

filing Form I–800A, Application for 

Determination of Suitability to Adopt a 

Child from a Convention Country, on 

April 1, 2008. 

View the Interim Rule 

To view the interim rule published on 

October 4, 2007, see the url listed 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES
15636 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 58 / Tuesday, March 25, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

below: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/ 

257/2422/01jan20071800/ 

edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/E7- 

18992.htm. 

Dated: March 18, 2008. 

Emilio T. Gonzalez, 

Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 08–1069 Filed 3–21–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 1610 

Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is amending 

its flammability standard for general 

wearing apparel, the Standard for the 

Flammability of Clothing Textiles, 16 

CFR part 1610. The Standard, originally 

issued in 1953, has become outdated in 

several respects. The revisions better 

reflect current consumer practices and 

technologies and clarify several aspects 

of the Standard. 

DATES: The rule is effective September 

22, 2008. The incorporation by reference 

of the publication listed in this rule is 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register as of September 22, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Toro, Directorate for Compliance 

and Field Operations, Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, 4330 East 

West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 

20814–4408; telephone (301) 504–7586; 

e-mail mtoro@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

1. History of the Standard 

The Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles, 16 CFR part 1610 

(‘‘the Standard’’) dates back to the 

1950s. Congress enacted the Flammable 

Fabrics Act (‘‘FFA’’) in 1953 (Pub. L. 

83–88, 67 Stat. 111). It specified a test, 

a voluntary commercial standard then 

called ‘‘Flammability of Clothing 

Textiles, Commercial Standard (‘CS’) 

191–53,’’ to be used to determine if 

fabric or clothing is ‘‘so highly 

flammable as to be dangerous when 

worn by individuals.’’

When Congress established the 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

in 1972, it transferred to the 

Commission the authority the Secretary 

of Commerce had to issue and amend 

flammability standards under the FFA. 

15 U.S.C. 2079(b). In 1975, the 

Commission published the FFA of 1953 

at 16 CFR 1609 and codified the 

Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles at 16 CFR 1610. 

2. The Standard 

The Commission’s revisions to the 

Standard will update and clarify it. The 

Standard describes a test apparatus and 

the procedures for testing clothing and 

textiles intended to be used for clothing. 

It establishes three classes of 

flammability. The classes are based on 

measurement of burn time, along with 

visual observations of flame intensity. 

The classes are: Class 1 or normal 

flammability; Class 2 or intermediate 

flammability; and Class 3 or rapid and 

intense burning. Clothing and textiles 

that are categorized as Class 3 under the 

prescribed test method are considered 

dangerously flammable. 16 CFR 1610.4. 

The Standard prescribes the method 

of testing to determine the appropriate 

classification. Five specimens are 

subjected to a flammability tester. This 

is a draft-proof ventilated chamber 

containing an ignition medium, a 

sample rack and an automatic timing 

device. A swatch of each sample must 

be subjected to the dry cleaning and 

hand washing procedure prescribed by 

the Standard. To determine results, the 

average time of flame spread is taken for 

five specimens. However, if the time of 

flame spread is less than 4 seconds (31⁄2

seconds for plain-surfaced fabrics), five 

additional specimens must be tested 

and the average time of flame spread for 

these ten specimens, or for as many of 

them as burn, must be taken. 

Classification is based on the reported 

results before and after dry cleaning and 

washing, whichever is lower. 

3. The Products 

The products regulated under the 

Standard are clothing and fabrics 

intended to be used for clothing. The 

Standard applies to all items of clothing, 

and fabrics used for such clothing, 

whether for adults or children, for 

daywear or nightwear. The Commission 

has other regulations governing the 

flammability of children’s sleepwear, 16 

CFR parts 1615 and 1616, that are more 

stringent than the general wearing 

apparel flammability standard. The 

revisions discussed in this notice would 

not affect the children’s sleepwear 

standards. 

4. The Risk of Injury 

Fatalities where clothing was the first 

item ignited have declined from 311 

fatalities in 1980 to 129 fatalities in 

2004, the most recent year of available 

data. An average of 120 clothing firerelated fatalities occurred annually 

during 2002–2004. Population fatality 

rates increased with age. In addition, an 

estimated 3,947 non-fatal injuries were 

treated in hospital emergency 

departments annually (2003–2005). 

Among these non-fatal injuries, 25 

percent were serious enough to require 

admission to a hospital (compared to 5 

percent for all consumer products). 

B. Statutory Provisions 

Section 4 of the FFA sets forth the 

process by which the Commission can 

issue or amend a flammability standard. 

In accordance with that section, the 

Commission issued an advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking (‘‘ANPR’’) on 

September 12, 2002, 67 FR 57770. The 

Commission issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (‘‘NPR’’) on February 27, 

2007 containing the text of the proposed 

rule along with alternatives the 

Commission has considered and a 

preliminary regulatory analysis. 72 FR 

8844. Before issuing a final rule, the 

FFA requires the Commission to prepare 

a final regulatory analysis, and make 

certain findings concerning any relevant 

voluntary standard, the relationship 

between costs and benefits of the rule, 

and the burden imposed by the 

regulation. 15 U.S.C. 1193(j). In 

addition, the Commission must find that 

the Standard (1) is needed to adequately 

protect the public against the risk of the 

occurrence of fire leading to death, 

injury or significant property damage, 

(2) is reasonable, technologically 

practicable, and appropriate, (3) is 

limited to fabrics, related materials or 

products which present unreasonable 

risks, and (4) is stated in objective 

terms. Id. U.S.C. 1193(b). 

C. Revisions 

The changes to the Standard reflect 

changes in consumer garment care 

practices and will make the Standard 

easier to understand. These changes are 

discussed below. 

Definitions. Some definitions have 

been revised and some new ones added 

to eliminate confusion. In particular, the 

meaning of the terms ‘‘base burn’’ and 

‘‘surface flash’’ have caused confusion 

in interpreting and reporting test results 

for raised surface textile fabrics. These 

terms are now defined in the Standard. 

In addition, several other relevant terms 

and definitions have been added. These 

terms include burn time, dry cleaning, 

flammability, flame application time, 

ignition, interlining, laundering, long 

dimension, plain surface textile fabric, 

raised surface textile fabric, 

refurbishing, sample, specimen, and 

stop thread supply. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES