[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9877-9879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3977]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

49 CFR Part 1540

RIN 1652-ZA04


Prohibited Items

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.

ACTION: Interpretive rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Transportation Security 
Administration's (TSA) interpretive rule that provides guidance to the 
public on the types of property that TSA considers weapons, explosives, 
and incendiaries prohibited in airport sterile areas, in the cabin of 
aircraft, or in passengers' checked baggage. This document adds all 
lighters to the list of prohibited items.

DATES: Effective Date: March 1, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clint Fisher, TSA-9, Transportation 
Security Policy, Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th 
Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220; telephone (571) 227-2621.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

Availability of Rulemaking Document

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
    (1) Searching the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) electronic 
Docket Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search);
    (2) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html; or
    (3) Visiting TSA's Law and Policy Web page at http://www.tsa.dot.gov/public/index.jsp.
    In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the 
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, above. Make 
sure to identify the docket number of this rulemaking.

Statutory and Regulatory Background

    TSA is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 
operating under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Homeland 
Security (Transportation Security Administration). TSA is responsible 
for security in all modes of transportation, including aviation. See 49 
U.S.C. 114(d). Under TSA's regulation on acceptance and screening of 
individuals and accessible property, 49 CFR 1540.111, an individual 
(other than a law enforcement or other authorized individual)--

* * * may not have a weapon, explosive, or incendiary, on or about 
the individual's person or accessible property--
    (1) When performance has begun of the inspection of the 
individual's person or accessible property before entering a sterile 
area, or before boarding an aircraft for which screening is 
conducted under Sec.  1544.201 or Sec.  1546.201 of this chapter;
    (2) When the individual is entering or in a sterile area; or
    (3) When the individual is attempting to board or onboard an 
aircraft for which screening is conducted under Sec.  1544.201 or 
Sec.  1546.201 of this chapter.''

    On February 14, 2003, TSA published an interpretive rule that 
provided guidance to the public on the types of property TSA considers 
to be weapons, explosives, and incendiaries prohibited on an 
individual's person or accessible property, items permitted on an 
individual's person or accessible property, and items prohibited in 
checked baggage (68 FR 7444). On March 3, 2003, TSA subsequently 
published technical corrections to the interpretive rule at 68 FR 9902.
    On December 17, 2004, the President signed into law the 
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) (Pub. 
L. 108-458). Section 4025 of IRTPA requires TSA, no later than 60 days 
after enactment, to add butane lighters to the prohibited items list 
and to make any other modifications that TSA considers appropriate. TSA 
has reviewed the prohibited items list and is now making a change to 
the list. This document amends TSA's interpretive rule to reflect this 
change, which is discussed below.

Prohibited Items List Change: All Lighters Prohibited

    Pursuant to the February 14, 2003 interpretive rule, TSA limited 
the types and quantities of lighters that persons are permitted to 
bring on board the cabin of an aircraft to reflect limits in DOT's 
regulations (see, e.g., 49 CFR 175.10(a)(10)) and related 
interpretations governing the transport of hazardous materials on 
aircraft. Specifically, TSA allowed persons to board an aircraft with 
no more than two lighters per person, as long as the lighters were 
fueled with either liquefied gas (Bic[reg]- or Colibri[reg]-type) or 
absorbed liquid (Zippo[reg]-type). Under the DOT hazardous materials 
regulation all other types of lighters are prohibited in the aircraft 
cabin. See 49 CFR 175.10(a)(10). Further, all lighters, including those 
fueled with liquefied gas or absorbed liquid, are prohibited from 
carriage in checked baggage.
    Most liquefied gas lighters, which in the past have been permitted 
in the aircraft cabin, are butane lighters. Thus, the effect of Section 
4025 of IRTPA is to require the prohibition of most liquefied gas 
lighters from the cabin of an aircraft. In light of this change, TSA 
has reconsidered whether all lighters should be prohibited from the 
cabin of an aircraft.
    It is very difficult, and often impossible, for TSA security 
screeners to distinguish between lighters that are fueled with butane 
and lighters that are fueled by some other flammable gas or liquid. 
Consequently, TSA is modifying the prohibited items list to include all 
lighters, consistent with the provision in section 4025 that directs 
TSA to make other modifications to the prohibited items list that it 
deems appropriate. As a result, beginning on the effective date of this 
rule, TSA is prohibiting passengers from carrying any type of lighter 
on their person or in accessible property once screening has begun, 
when in airport sterile areas, or onboard an aircraft for which 
screening is conducted. In addition, lighters remain prohibited from 
carriage in passengers' checked baggage under DOT's hazardous materials 
regulation.
    Separately, TSA is considering adding all matches to the prohibited 
items list. Consistent with DOT's regulation governing the transport of 
hazardous materials, TSA presently limits the type and quantity of 
matches passengers may bring on board an aircraft. Specifically, 
passengers now may carry up to four books of strike-on-cover matches on 
their person or in accessible property. Under the DOT regulation, all 
matches are prohibited from carriage in checked baggage. Before 
modifying the interpretive rule with respect to matches carried on 
one's person or in accessible property, TSA will publish a notice in 
the Federal Register requesting public comment on such a change. If TSA 
determines that prohibiting the carriage

[[Page 9878]]

of matches on one's person or in accessible property is warranted, the 
agency will publish a notice in the Federal Register effecting a 
further modification to its interpretive rule.

Effective Date and Enforcement Discretion

    This interpretive rule is effective on March 1, 2005. TSA 
understands, however, that the addition of lighters to the prohibited 
items list constitutes a significant change in policy and will exercise 
its inherent enforcement discretion accordingly during the first 45 
days after the effective date.

Amendments to Interpretation

    For purposes of reference to the prohibited items list published in 
the Federal Register on February 14, 2003, and corrected on March 3, 
2003, TSA makes the following changes:
    1. Section I.E(9) is added to read ``All lighters.''
    2. Section II.A(9) is amended to read ``RESERVED''.
    The following is the list of prohibited items and permitted items 
reprinted in its entirety, with the changes inserted.

Prohibited Items and Permitted Items Interpretation

    I. Prohibited Items. For purposes of 49 U.S.C. 40101 et seq. and 
49 CFR 1540.111, TSA interprets the terms ``weapons, explosives, and 
incendiaries'' to include the items listed below. Accordingly, 
passengers may not carry these items as accessible property or on 
their person through passenger screening checkpoints or into airport 
sterile areas and the cabins of a passenger aircraft.

A. Guns and Firearms

    (1) BB guns.
    (2) Compressed air guns.
    (3) Firearms.
    (4) Flare pistols.
    (5) Gun lighters.
    (6) Parts of guns and firearms.
    (7) Pellet guns.
    (8) Realistic replicas of firearms.
    (9) Spear guns.
    (10) Starter pistols.
    (11) Stun guns/cattle prods/shocking devices.

B. Sharp Objects

    (1) Axes and hatchets.
    (2) Bows and arrows.
    (3) Drills, including cordless portable power drills.
    (4) Ice axes/Ice picks.
    (5) Knives of any length, except rounded-blade butter and 
plastic cutlery.
    (6) Meat cleavers.
    (7) Razor-type blades, such as box cutters, utility knives, and 
razor blades not in a cartridge, but excluding safety razors.
    (8) Sabers.
    (9) Saws, including cordless portable power saws.
    (10) Scissors, metal with pointed tips.
    (11) Screwdrivers (except those in eyeglass repair kits).
    (12) Swords.
    (13) Throwing stars (martial arts).

C. Club-Like Items

    (1) Baseball bats.
    (2) Billy clubs.
    (3) Blackjacks.
    (4) Brass knuckles.
    (5) Cricket bats.
    (6) Crowbars.
    (7) Golf clubs.
    (8) Hammers.
    (9) Hockey sticks.
    (10) Lacrosse sticks.
    (11) Martial arts weapons, including nunchucks, and kubatons.
    (12) Night sticks.
    (13) Pool cues.
    (14) Ski poles.
    (15) Tools including, but not limited to, wrenches and pliers.

D. All Explosives, Including

    (1) Ammunition.
    (2) Blasting caps.
    (3) Dynamite.
    (4) Fireworks.
    (5) Flares in any form.
    (6) Gunpowder.
    (7) Hand grenades.
    (8) Plastic explosives.
    (9) Realistic replicas of explosives.

E. Incendiaries

    (1) Aerosol, any, except for personal care or toiletries in 
limited quantities.
    (2) Fuels, including cooking fuels and any flammable liquid 
fuel.
    (3) Gasoline.
    (4) Gas torches, including micro-torches and torch lighters.
    (5) Lighter fluid.
    (6) Strike-anywhere matches.
    (7) Turpentine and paint thinner.
    (8) Realistic replicas of incendiaries.
    (9) All lighters.

F. Disabling Chemicals and Other Dangerous Items

    (1) Chlorine for pools and spas.
    (2) Compressed gas cylinders (including fire extinguishers).
    (3) Liquid bleach.
    (4) Mace.
    (5) Pepper spray.
    (6) Spillable batteries, except those in wheelchairs.
    (7) Spray Paint.
    (8) Tear gas.
    II. Permitted Items. For purposes of 49 U.S.C. 40101 et seq. and 
49 CFR 1540.111, TSA does not consider the items on the following 
lists as weapons, explosives, and incendiaries because of medical 
necessity or because they appear to pose little risk if, as is 
required, they have passed through screening. Therefore, passengers 
may carry these items as accessible property or on their person 
through passenger screening checkpoints and into airport sterile 
areas and the cabins of passenger aircraft.

A. Medical and Personal Items

    (1) Braille note taker, slate and stylus, and augmentation 
devices.
    (2) Cigar cutters.
    (3) Corkscrews.
    (4) Cuticle cutters.
    (5) Diabetes-related supplies/equipment (once inspected to 
ensure prohibited items are not concealed), including: Insulin and 
insulin loaded dispensing products; vials or box of individual 
vials; jet injectors; pens; infusers; and preloaded syringes; and an 
unlimited number of unused syringes, when accompanied by insulin; 
lancets; blood glucose meters; blood glucose meter test strips; 
insulin pumps; and insulin pump supplies. Insulin in any form or 
dispenser must be properly marked with a professionally printed 
label identifying the medication or manufacturer's name or 
pharmaceutical label.
    (6) Eyeglass repair tools, including screwdrivers.
    (7) Eyelash curlers.
    (8) Knives, round-bladed butter or plastic.
    (9) Reserved.
    (10) Matches (maximum of four books, strike on cover, book 
type).
    (11) Nail clippers.
    (12) Nail files.
    (13) Nitroglycerine pills or spray for medical use, if properly 
marked with a professionally printed label identifying the 
medication or manufacturer's name or pharmaceutical label.
    (14) Personal care or toiletries with aerosols, in limited 
quantities.
    (15) Prosthetic device tools and appliances (including drill, 
allen wrenches, pullsleeves) used to put on or remove prosthetic 
devices, if carried by the individual with the prosthetic device or 
his or her companion.
    (16) Safety razors (including disposable razors).
    (17) Scissors, plastic or metal with blunt tips.
    (18) Tweezers.
    (19) Umbrellas (once inspected to ensure prohibited items are 
not concealed).
    (20) Walking canes (once inspected to ensure prohibited items 
are not concealed).

B. Toys, Hobby Items, and Other Items Posing Little Risk

    (1) Knitting and crochet needles.
    (2) Toy transformer robots.
    (3) Toy weapons (if not realistic replicas).

Regulatory Impact Analyses

    Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic 
analyses. First, Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review 
(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), directs each Federal agency to propose 
or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the 
benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. Second, the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996) 
requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of regulatory changes 
on small entities.

[[Page 9879]]

Third, the Office of Management and Budget directs agencies to assess 
the effect of regulatory changes on international trade. Fourth, the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) requires 
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and 
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate 
likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 
million or more annually (adjusted for inflation.)

Executive Order 12866 Assessment

    This rule explains to the public, airport personnel, screeners, and 
airlines how TSA interprets certain terms used in an existing rule, 49 
CFR 1540.111. This interpretative rule is not considered an 
economically significant regulatory action for purposes of Executive 
Order 12866. However, there has been significant public interest in 
aviation security issues since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 
2001. Therefore, this rule is significant for purposes of the Executive 
Order and has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB).
    This rule modifies the prohibited items list to all lighters 
consistent with Section 4025 of IRTPA. As a result, passengers will no 
longer be able to carry any lighters onboard an aircraft for which 
screening is conducted or into airport sterile areas. TSA notes that 
this ban may cause inconvenience to some passengers. Passengers and 
other persons carrying lighters who wish to enter an airport sterile 
area have several options, some of which include leaving the lighter at 
home, or returning it to their car. These persons can also choose to 
abandon the lighter in TSA-provided receptacles, at which point title 
of the property transfers to the Government.
    While TSA acknowledges this added inconvenience, TSA believes that 
the added security this change provides outweighs the inconvenience.

Regulatory Flexibility Determination

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 requires that agencies 
perform a review to determine whether a proposed or final rule will 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. If the determination is that it will, the agency must prepare 
a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in the RFA. For purposes 
of the RFA, small entities include small businesses, not-for-profit 
organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. Individuals and 
States are not included in the definition of a small entity.
    Based on the analysis discussed in the section above, this 
interpretative rule does not impose a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Therefore, a Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis is not required.

International Trade Impact Assessment

    The Trade Agreement Act of 1979 prohibits Federal agencies from 
establishing any standards or engaging in related activities that 
create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United 
States. Legitimate domestic objectives, such as safety, are not 
considered unnecessary obstacles. The statute also requires 
consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that 
they be the basis for U.S. standards. TSA has assessed the potential 
effect of this interpretative rule and has determined that it will 
impose the same costs on domestic and international entities and thus 
has a neutral trade impact.

Unfunded Mandates Assessment

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 is intended, among other 
things, to curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal mandates on 
State, local, and tribal governments. Title II of the Act requires each 
Federal agency to prepare a written statement assessing the effects of 
any Federal mandate in a proposed or final agency rule that may result 
in a $100 million or more expenditure (adjusted annually for inflation) 
in any one year by State, local, and tribal governments, in the 
aggregate, or by the private sector; such a mandate is deemed to be a 
``significant regulatory action.''
    This rulemaking does not contain such a mandate. The requirements 
of Title II of the Act, therefore, do not apply and TSA has not 
prepared a statement under the Act.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    TSA has analyzed this interpretive rule under the principles and 
criteria of Executive Order 13132, Federalism. We have determined that 
this action will not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on 
the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels 
of government, and therefore will not have federalism implications.

Environmental Analysis

    TSA has reviewed this action for purposes of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and has 
determined that this action will not have a significant effect on the 
human environment.

Energy Impact

    The energy impact of this action has been assessed in accordance 
with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), Public Law 94-163, 
as amended (42 U.S.C. 6362).
    We have determined that this rulemaking is not a major regulatory 
action under the provisions of the EPCA.

David M. Stone,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-3977 Filed 2-25-05; 9:42 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P