[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 245 (Thursday, December 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66997-66998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32129]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION


Privacy Act of 1974, Announcement of System of Records

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Announcement of system of records.

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DATES: The system of records will become effective on January 28, 1997, 
unless comments are received which require a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to the Office of the Secretary, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph F. Rosenthal, Office of the 
General Counsel, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 
20207, Telephone (301) 504-0980.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Consumer Product Safety Commission is 
publishing notice of a system of records for incident reports submitted 
to the Commission.
    The Commission's statutory responsibilities include ``to collect, 
investigate, analyze, and disseminate injury data, and information 
relating to the causes and prevention of death, injury, and illness 
associated with consumer products.'' (15 U.S.C. 2054(a)(1)). In 
carrying out these responsibilities, the Commission encourages the 
public to report injuries, deaths, and suspected hazards associated 
with consumer products and to make inquiries about such matters. 
Incident reports and queries are submitted to the Commission's Hotline 
by toll free telephone calls. Submitters are encouraged to supply their 
names, addresses, and telephone numbers and that of victims, if 
different, but need not do so. The Commission may use this personal 
information to contact the submitter or the victim to verify the 
information submitted, to request additional information about the 
reported incident, to help determine the cause of injuries and deaths 
associated with consumer products, or to respond to follow-up questions 
from submitters about Commission actions taken.
    The volume of incident reports and their complexity makes it 
necessary to store these reports as a system of records in a computer 
database. Access to the database is limited to selected Commission 
staff with a need to know, and requires two separate passwords.
    The Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate, the Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight of the House of Representatives, and the Office of Management 
and Budget have been notified of this system.

    Dated: December 12, 1996.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Deputy Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
CPSC-4

SYSTEM NAME:
    Hotline Database--CPSC-4.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information

[[Page 66998]]

Systems, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Persons who contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 
Hotline to report consumer product associated injuries, illnesses, 
deaths, incidents, or perceived hazards associated with consumer 
products; and other persons identified by the reporting persons as 
victims of consumer product associated incidents.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Information about accidents, injuries, illnesses, deaths, and 
suspected safety hazards associated with consumer products. The records 
contain free form narratives, and a variety of fields dedicated to 
specific data about different types of products or incidents. Records 
contain personal information such as the name, address, and telephone 
number of the person submitting the information and the name of the 
victim, if different.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Section 5 of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2054.

PURPOSE(S):
    To collect data on hazards, defects, injuries, illnesses, and 
deaths associated with consumer products; to respond to inquiries from 
the public; to record personal information to permit further 
interaction with persons submitting data or persons named by those who 
submit data; to further public safety by helping determine the cause of 
injuries and deaths associated with consumer products.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USES AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    Records are disclosed to contractor personnel who operate the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission's Hotline and who enter data into 
the database. Copies of records are mailed to callers for their 
verification of the information provided. Copies of records may also be 
sent to sources of consumer products identified in the records (e.g., 
manufacturers, distributors, or retailers) and may be distributed to 
others, but any personal identifying information is deleted before such 
disclosure unless permission to disclose such personal identifying 
information has been explicitly granted in writing by the person in 
question.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained by a computer database management system on 
a local and wide area network. Paper copies of individual records are 
made by the Hotline staff but these are not stored by name or other 
individual identifier. Other paper copies are made available to 
Commission staff but are not stored by name or other individual 
identifier.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are retrievable by a variety of fields, including the name 
of the person who submitted the information, but not by the name of the 
victim, if different from the person who submitted the information.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to the computer records requires the use of two passwords: 
One to access the agency's computer network and another to access the 
database. Access is limited to those with a particular need to know the 
information--selected Commission employees and the contractor employees 
who operate the Hotline.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Computer records are maintained indefinitely. Paper records are 
destroyed when no longer needed.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Hotline Project Officer, Communication Services Division, Office of 
Information Systems, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 
20207.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Officer, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Same as notification.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Same as notification.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in these records is initially supplied by persons who 
contact the Commission. The Commission may solicit additional or 
verifying information from those persons or from other persons who were 
identified as victims.

[FR Doc. 96-32129 Filed 12-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6335-01-P