[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6872-S6873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. NELSON of Florida:
  S. 1510. A bill require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
promulgate consumer product safety rules concerning the safety and 
labeling of portable generators; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, over the last several years, 
hundreds of Americans have died from inhaling the poisonous carbon 
monoxide emitted by portable, gas-powered generators. It is well past 
time for Congress to step in and end these needless deaths. That is why 
today I am introducing the Portable Generator Safety Act of 2007.
  As most of us know, portable generators are frequently used to 
provide electricity during temporary power outages. These generators 
use fuel-burning engines that give off poisonous carbon monoxide gas in 
their exhaust.
  Every hurricane season, news stories come from Florida and elsewhere 
about people killed or seriously injured by carbon monoxide poisoning 
caused by portable generators. From 2000 through 2006, at least 260 
carbon monoxide poisoning deaths were reported to the U.S. Consumer 
Product Safety Commission. In the last 3 months of 2006 alone, 32 
people died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generators. These 
people died because portable generators are not manufactured to 
automatically cut off when high carbon monoxide levels are reached, and 
because generators still do not have adequate carbon monoxide warning 
labels.
  Here is what is especially troubling about these senseless deaths: 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission has studied and known for years 
that people were dying from carbon monoxide poisoning at an incredibly 
alarming rate. In study after study, Commission staff has recognized 
the high death rate from portable generators, and found that current 
regulations are inadequate to protect consumers. In January of this 
year, the Commission finally adopted warning label requirements for 
portable generators, nearly 10 years after they started looking into 
the issue. While I appreciate this initial step, I remain very troubled 
that the Commission again refused to take the most logical step, 
adoption of mandatory Federal safety standards.
  Enough is enough. Industry self-regulation, which works in some 
settings, clearly is not working in this area. Congress must now step 
in and do its part to eliminate these tragic and avoidable deaths.
  My bill, the Portable Generator Safety Act of 2007, takes some 
simple, common sense steps. The bill requires the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission to pass tough Federal regulations within 180 days of 
enactment of this bill. The new regulations would have three key 
components.
  First, every portable generator would be required to have a sensor 
that automatically shuts off the generator before lethal levels of 
carbon monoxide are reached. Other products, such as portable heaters, 
already contain these types of sensors, and they save lives.
  Second, every portable generator must have clearly written warnings 
on the packaging, in the instruction manual accompanying the generator, 
and on the generator itself. In January, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission issued new regulations requiring placement of warning labels 
on generators. Unfortunately, these labels are not as clear as they 
should be. This bill will require clear, easy-to-read warnings that 
consumers will read both when they purchase the generators and when 
they power them up in emergency situations.
  Third, this legislation will require the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission to carry out a comprehensive education program warning the 
public of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  How many more innocent people must die before we require the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission and the portable generator industry to take 
some sensible, pro-consumer steps? The National Hurricane Center just 
issued its 2007 hurricane season forecast, and it looks like we will 
have an above-average year for hurricane activity. I hope we are not 
back here at the end of the year asking these same questions.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text in the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1510

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Portable Generator Safety 
     Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Portable generators are frequently used to provide 
     electricity during temporary power outages. These generators 
     use fuel-burning engines that emit carbon monoxide gas in 
     their exhaust.
       (2) In the last several years, hundreds of people 
     nationwide have been seriously injured or killed due to 
     exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning from portable 
     generators. From 2000 through 2006, at least 260 carbon 
     monoxide poisoning deaths related to portable generator use 
     were reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 
     the last three months of 2006 alone, 32 carbon monoxide 
     deaths were linked to generator use.
       (3) Virtually all of the serious injuries and deaths due to 
     carbon monoxide from portable generators were preventable. In 
     many instances, consumers simply were unaware of the hazards 
     posed by carbon monoxide.
       (4) Since at least 1997, a priority of the Consumer Product 
     Safety Commission has been to reduce injuries and deaths 
     resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning.
       (5) On January 4, 2007, the Consumer Product Safety 
     Commission adopted certain labeling standards for portable 
     generators (section 1407 of title 16, Code of Federal 
     Regulations), but such standards do not go far enough to 
     reduce substantially the potential harm to consumers.
       (6) The issuance of mandatory safety standards and labeling 
     requirements to warn consumers of the dangers associated with 
     portable generator carbon monoxide would reduce the risk of 
     injury or death.

     SEC. 3. SAFETY STANDARD: REQUIRING EQUIPMENT OF PORTABLE 
                   GENERATORS WITH CARBON MONOXIDE INTERLOCK 
                   SAFETY DEVICES.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
     promulgate consumer product safety rules, pursuant to section 
     7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056), 
     requiring, at a minimum, that every portable generator sold 
     to the public for purposes other than resale shall be 
     equipped with an interlock safety device that--
       (1) detects the level of carbon monoxide in the areas 
     surrounding such portable generator; and
       (2) automatically turns off the portable generator before 
     the level of carbon monoxide reaches a level that would cause 
     serious bodily injury or death to people.

     SEC. 4. LABELING AND INSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
     promulgate consumer product safety rules, pursuant to section 
     7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056), 
     requiring, at a minimum, the following:

[[Page S6873]]

       (1) Warning labels.--Each portable generator sold to the 
     public for purposes other than resale shall have a large, 
     prominently displayed warning label in both English and 
     Spanish on the exterior packaging, if any, of the portable 
     generator and permanently affixed on the portable generator 
     regarding the carbon monoxide hazard posed by incorrect use 
     of the portable generator. The warning label shall include 
     the word ``DANGER'' printed in a large font that is no 
     smaller than 1 inch tall, and shall include the following 
     information, at a minimum, presented in a clear manner:
       (A) Indoor use of a portable generator can kill quickly.
       (B) Portable generators should be used outdoors only and 
     away from garages and open windows.
       (C) Portable generators produce carbon monoxide, a 
     poisonous gas that people cannot see or smell.
       (2) Pictogram.--Each portable generator sold to the public 
     for purposes other than resale shall have a large pictogram, 
     affixed to the portable generator, which clearly states 
     ``POISONOUS GAS'' and visually depicts the harmful effects of 
     breathing carbon monoxide.
       (3) Instruction manual.--The instruction manual, if any, 
     that accompanies any portable generator sold to the public 
     for purposes other than resale shall include detailed, clear, 
     and conspicuous statements that include the following 
     elements:
       (A) A warning that portable generators emit carbon 
     monoxide, a poisonous gas that can kill people.
       (B) A warning that people cannot smell, see, or taste 
     carbon monoxide.
       (C) An instruction to operate portable generators only 
     outdoors and away from windows, garages, and air intakes.
       (D) An instruction never to operate portable generators 
     inside homes, garages, sheds, or other semi-enclosed spaces, 
     even if a person runs a fan or opens doors and windows.
       (E) A warning that if a person begins to feel sick, dizzy, 
     or weak while using a portable generator, that person should 
     shut off the portable generator, get to fresh air 
     immediately, and consult a doctor.

     SEC. 5. PUBLIC OUTREACH.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety 
     Commission shall establish a program of public outreach to 
     inform consumers of the dangers associated with the emission 
     of carbon monoxide from portable generators.
       (b) Time.--The program required by subsection (a) shall 
     place emphasis on informing consumers of the dangers 
     described in such subsection during the start of each 
     hurricane season.
                                 ______