[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50003-50007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7069]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 164 / Thursday, August 24, 2006 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 50003]]



CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1407


Portable Generators; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed 
Labeling Requirements; Request for Comments and Information

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In this document the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
(Commission or CPSC) proposes to require manufacturers to label 
portable generators with performance and technical data related to 
performance and safety. The warning label would inform purchasers that: 
``Using a generator indoors will kill you in minutes;'' ``Exhaust 
contains carbon monoxide, a poison gas you cannot see or smell;'' 
``Never use in the home or in partly enclosed areas such as garages;'' 
``Only use outdoors and far from open windows, doors, and vents.'' The 
warning label will also include pictograms. The Commission believes 
that providing this labeling information will help reduce risks to 
consumers. The Commission invites public comment on this proposal.\1\
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    \1\ Acting Chairman Nancy A. Nord and Commissioner Thomas H. 
Moore each filed a statement. The statements are available from the 
Office of the Secretary or on the Commission's Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.

DATES: Written comments in response to this notice must be received by 
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November 7, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be e-mailed to [email protected], and should 
be captioned ``PORTABLE GENERATOR NPR.'' Comments may also be mailed, 
preferably in five copies, to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, 
MD 20814, or delivered to the same address (telephone (301) 504-0800). 
Comments also may be filed by facsimile to (301) 504-0127.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet L. Buyer, Project Manager, 
Directorate for Engineering Sciences, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD; telephone (301) 504-
7542 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The total yearly estimated non-fire related carbon monoxide (CO) 
deaths for each of the years 1999 through 2002 are 109, 138, 130 and 
188, respectively. Since 1999, the percentage of estimated CO poisoning 
deaths specifically associated with generators has been increasing 
annually. In 1999, generators were associated with 7 (6%) of the total 
yearly estimated CO poisoning deaths for that year. In 2000, 2001 and 
2002, they were associated with 19 (14%), 22 (17%) and 46 (24%) deaths 
out of the total estimates for each of those years.
    On October 12, 2005, Commission Chairman Hal Stratton sent a 
memorandum to the Executive Director directing the staff to undertake a 
thorough review of the status of portable generator safety. As part of 
this review, Chairman Stratton requested that the staff address the 
sufficiency of warning labels to address the CO poisoning hazard posed 
by portable generators that are used within or near residences.

B. The Product

    Portable generators offer a portable means of providing electrical 
power to a location that either temporarily lacks it or is not provided 
with electrical service at all. A portable generator has an internal 
combustion engine to produce rotational energy, which is used to 
generate electricity. The engine may be fueled by gasoline, diesel, 
natural gas, or liquid propane. It is the engine that is the source of 
carbon monoxide.
    Estimates of sales of portable generators for consumer use vary, 
but could be more than a million units annually. The most popular of 
these generators are gasoline-powered and are priced in the $500 to 
$800 range. The output of the majority of light duty generators sold to 
consumers in 2005 was in the 3.5 kW to 6.5 kW range. This is the size 
of most of the units involved in the fatal CO poisoning incidents CPSC 
staff investigated in which the rating of the involved generator was 
identified.

C. Relevant Statutory Provisions

    Section 27(e) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) authorizes 
the Commission, by rule, to ``require any manufacturer of consumer 
products to provide the Commission with such performance and technical 
data related to performance and safety as may be required to carry out 
the purposes of this Act, and to give such notification of such 
performance and technical data at the time of original purchase to 
prospective purchasers and to the first purchaser of such product for 
purposes other than resale, as it determines necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this Act.'' As provided in section 2(b)(1) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051(b)(1)), one purpose of the CPSA is 
``to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated 
with consumer products.''

D. Development of Proposed Rule

    In 2002, CPSC staff assessed the effectiveness of current CO 
poisoning warnings found on the product and within the owner's manuals 
of several models of portable generators found on store shelves. Staff 
found that the guidance provided for avoiding the hazard was typically 
twofold: (1) Do not use in a confined or enclosed space, and (2) 
provide proper ventilation. None of the evaluated warnings defined 
``confined or enclosed space'' or ``proper ventilation.''
    The Commission believes these ambiguous instructions and warnings 
do not adequately advise the user how to avoid the CO poisoning hazard. 
Furthermore, the incident data includes fatalities where it appears 
that the victims attempted to provide adequate ventilation, to open 
confined areas, or to do both by, for example, opening doors, opening 
windows, and running exhaust fans. Prior research has shown that tools 
with gasoline-powered engines produce CO that ``can rapidly accumulate, 
even in areas that appear to be well-ventilated, resulting in dangerous 
and fatal concentrations within minutes.'' \2\ Thus, evidence suggests 
that the methods consumers typically use to

[[Page 50004]]

provide ventilation or to open confined areas are insufficient to 
prevent hazardous levels of CO buildup. Even locating a generator 
outdoors can be insufficient if the generator is near enough to 
openings to the home or other occupied structure to allow CO to 
permeate and subsequently accumulate indoors. CPSC is aware of at least 
five deaths that occurred when the generator was situated outdoors but 
near openings to the home. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention recently reported the results of a study of post-
hurricane related generator use in 2005 that found up to 50 percent of 
non-fatal CO poisoning incidents involved generators operated outdoors 
but within one to seven feet from the home.\3\
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    \2\ Earnest, G.S., Carbon Monoxide Poisonings from Small, 
Gasoline-Powered, Internal Combustion Engines: Just What is a 
``Well-Ventilated Area''?, American Industrial Hygiene Association 
Journal, November 1997.
    \3\ CDC, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After Two Major Hurricanes--
Alabama and Texas, August-October 2005, MMWR March 10, 2006; 55(09); 
236-239.
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    The staff believes that there are too many unknown variables to be 
able to recommend one single safe distance for the location of a 
portable generator relative to a home or dwelling. Variables such as 
the wind speed and direction relative to openings to indoor spaces, 
relative proximity of other structures in the area that could create 
wind vortices, direction in which the engine exhaust is pointing, and a 
multitude of other factors complicate attempts to define a safe 
distance. Notwithstanding the issue of defining a safe operating 
distance, the staff believes that warning labels must instruct 
consumers to keep generators outdoors and away from air intakes during 
use.
    In 2003, the staff developed recommended warning language for 
engine-driven tools, with particular focus on portable generators, as a 
follow-up to the staff's assessment of the inadequacy of current 
warnings. This was later provided to the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 
voluntary standard development committee. In February 2006, staff 
developed a further refined warning label for portable generators and 
presented it to UL in response to their request for CPSC staff comments 
on a proposed UL Outline of Investigation. UL incorporated staff's 
proposed warning label into their Outline of Investigation, which 
became effective April 2006 and serves as the requirements with which a 
product must conform in order to be eligible to bear the UL mark. This 
document is not a consensus standard. The Commission believes the 
proposed rule is needed to ensure that all products will bear the 
proposed warning label as opposed to only those that seek UL's mark.

E. Description of the Proposal

    The proposed warning label appears at fig. 1 (and fig. 3 for the 
on-package label). The warning label provides technical data, i.e., it 
indicates the presence of carbon monoxide in the portable generator 
exhaust and informs that carbon monoxide is a gas you cannot see or 
smell. The label uses the phrase ``you cannot see or smell'' rather 
than terms such as ``odorless'' and ``colorless,'' because the latter 
terminology may be less familiar and understandable to some consumers.
    The label also includes statements which connect the technical data 
with safety concerns. Specifically, the label warns: ``Using a 
generator indoors WILL KILL YOU IN MINUTES.'' The phrase ``in minutes'' 
is intended to emphasize the imminence of the carbon monoxide poisoning 
hazard to provide consumers with a better understanding of the speed 
with which incapacitation can occur. In addition, research indicates 
that information about hazard scenarios affects consumers' risk 
judgments. Thus, the label includes a description not just of the 
hazard, carbon monoxide, but of the primary hazard scenario associated 
with CO-poisoning deaths, i.e., using a generator indoors. The label 
also warns, ``NEVER use in the home or in partly enclosed areas such as 
garages.'' The label warns specifically against use in the home and in 
garages, since these are known places in which consumers use 
generators. Furthermore, the use of a more wide-reaching phrase, 
``partly enclosed,'' is intended to broaden the perceived range of 
potentially dangerous areas in which to operate a generator, since this 
range does include partly enclosed areas. The label includes 
prescriptive advice to ``ONLY use outdoors and far from open windows, 
doors, and vents,'' so consumers can know what positive action they can 
take to avoid the hazard, rather than focusing exclusively on 
prohibited behaviors, or what consumers should not do. This is 
consistent with the requirements of ANSI Z535.4-2002, which is the 
primary U.S. voluntary consensus standard on product safety signs and 
labels, and with warning design guidelines in general. The accompanying 
pictograms are based on the pictograms developed by the Underwriters 
Laboratories Standards Technical Panel. Research shows that labels with 
pictograms tend to capture a consumer's attention more readily than a 
label without pictograms.

F. Unreasonable Risk of Injury

    Portable generators are powered by gasoline, diesel, or propane 
engines and exhaust CO. If the generator is used in enclosed or even 
partially enclosed spaces, the CO can very quickly build to hazardous 
levels. Serious injury can also result when the generator is placed 
outdoors but near an open window or vent and the exhaust is pulled into 
a house. In the 6-year period from 2000 through 2005, CPSC staff is 
aware of at least 222 deaths related to CO poisoning associated with 
generators.\4\ Non-fatal CO injuries can have serious consequences 
since permanent brain or neurological damage can result.
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    \4\ Natalie E. Marcy and Debra S. Ascone, ``Incidents, Deaths 
and In-Depth Investigations Associated with Carbon Monoxide from 
Engine-Driven Generators and other Engine-Driven Tools, 1990-2004,'' 
CPSC Memorandum to Janet Buyer, Directorate for Engineering 
Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC (1 
December 2005) and Robin L. Ingle, ``Non-fire Carbon Monoxide 
Fatalities Associated with Engine-Driven Generators and Other Engine 
Driven Tools in 2004 and 2005,'' CPSC Memorandum to Janet Buyer, 
Directorate for Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, DC (3 January 2006).
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    A well-designed warning label could inform the consumer of the CO 
hazard associated with generators and how to avoid the hazard while 
using the generator. A label placed in a prominent position on the 
generator could reinforce this information each time the consumer used 
the generator. For example, the proposed label reminds the consumer 
that generator exhaust contains CO, which cannot be seen or smelled, 
and can quickly kill. The label also clarifies that a generator should 
only be used outside and away from windows and vents and should not be 
used in partly enclosed spaces such as garages. This information is 
important since some consumers have apparently been aware that a CO 
hazard was associated with generators, but believed that they would 
avoid the hazard by running the generator in a garage with the door 
open or outside the house, but did not understand that it was necessary 
to place it away from open windows and vents.\5\ The costs of a warning 
label include the one-time cost of designing the label and the 
continuing costs of printing and applying the labels to the generators 
and packages. These costs are expected to be low--less than one dollar 
per generator. The Commission therefore preliminarily concludes that 
there is an unreasonable risk of injury associated with portable 
generators and

[[Page 50005]]

that providing the information required by the proposed rule will help 
reduce the rising CO death toll associated with consumer use of 
portable generators.
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    \5\ Timothy P. Smith, ``Human Factors Assessment for the Small 
Engine-Driven Tools Project,'' CPSC Memorandum to Janet L. Buyer, 
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC (18 June 
2002).
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G. Environmental Considerations

    Labeling requirements are not expected to have an adverse impact on 
the environment and are considered to be ``categorical exclusions'' for 
the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act according to the 
CPSC regulations that cover its ``environmental review'' procedures (16 
CFR part 1021.5(c)(2)).

H. Impact on Small Business

    CPSC staff has identified more than 40 suppliers of generators to 
the U.S. consumer market. Although a few large firms dominate the 
market, a number of these suppliers are likely to be small businesses. 
The small businesses include firms that import generators from foreign 
manufacturers as well as equipment assemblers, which assemble generator 
sets from purchased components. The small manufacturers will be 
responsible for ensuring that their generators are properly labeled. 
However, the labeling requirement is not expected to pose a significant 
burden to small business because the cost of adding the labels per 
generator is expected to be less than a dollar per generator set.

I. Effective Date

    The proposed effective date of Part 1407, which requires labeling 
for portable generators, is 90 days from issuance of any final 
regulation in the Federal Register. The labeling requirement would 
apply to all portable generators imported or introduced into commerce 
after the 89th day following publication of any final regulation in the 
Federal Register.

J. Request for Information and Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this 
proposal. The Commission specifically seeks comments on whether the 
proposed new warning label should be required or permitted to appear in 
a second language. If such dual language labeling is required or 
permitted, the Commission seeks further comments on the most effective 
manner to implement the second language warning. Comments should be e-
mailed to [email protected] and should be captioned ``PORTABLE GENERATOR 
NPR.'' Comments may also be mailed, preferably in five copies, to the 
Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 
4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, or delivered to the same 
address (telephone (301) 504-0800). Comments also may be filed by 
telefacsimile to (301) 504-0127. All comments and submissions should be 
received no later than November 7, 2006.

K. Conclusion and Proposal

    On the basis of the information discussed above, the Commission 
preliminarily finds that there is an unreasonable risk of injury 
associated with portable generators, and concludes that a requirement 
for a carbon monoxide identification and warning statement on portable 
generators is necessary to help protect the public against the risk of 
CO poisoning associated with such products.
    Therefore, under provision of the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(section 27(e), 86 Stat. 1227-9, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 2076(e)), the 
Commission proposes that Title 16, Chapter II, be amended by adding to 
Subchapter B the following new Part 1407:

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1407

    Consumer protection, labeling.

PART 1407--PORTABLE GENERATORS: REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE PERFORMANCE 
AND TECHNICAL DATA BY LABELING

Sec.
1407.1 Purpose, Scope, and Effective Date.
1407.2 Definitions.
1407.3 Providing performance and technical data to purchasers by 
labeling.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2076(e).


Sec.  1407.1  Purpose, Scope, and Effective Date.

    This part 1407 establishes requirements under section 27(e) of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2076(e)) for manufacturers to 
provide consumers with a specified notification concerning the carbon 
monoxide poisoning hazard associated with the use of portable 
generators. The notification is intended to provide consumers with 
technical and performance information related to the safety of portable 
generators. This part becomes effective [90 DAYS FROM ISSUANCE OF FINAL 
RULE].


Sec.  1407.2  Definitions.

    (a) The definitions in section 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(15 U.S.C. 2052) apply to this part 1407.
    (b) A portable generator is an internal combustion engine-driven 
electric generator, which is intended to be moved for temporary use at 
a location where utility-supplied electric power is not available. It 
has receptacle outlets for the alternating-current output circuits and 
may also have a direct current (DC) battery charging outlet.


Sec.  1407.3  Providing performance and technical data to purchasers by 
labeling.

    (a) Notice to purchasers. Manufacturers of portable generators 
shall give notification of performance and technical data related to 
performance and safety to prospective purchasers of such products at 
the time of original purchase and to the first purchaser of such 
product for purposes other than resale, in the manner set forth below.
    (1) On-product label. The CO poisoning hazard label shown in fig. 1 
shall be used on the product. A different representation of the 
generator may be substituted for accuracy if consumers are more likely 
to recognize the substituted representation as the generator to which 
this label is affixed.
    (i) The signal word ``DANGER'' shall be in letters not less than 
0.15 inch (3.8 mm) high. The remaining text shall be in type whose 
uppercase letters are not less than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) high.
    (ii) The signal word ``DANGER'' shall appear in white letters on a 
safety red background. The safety alert symbol shown in fig. 2 shall 
appear immediately before and next to the signal word and be no smaller 
than the height of the signal word with the base of the triangle on the 
same horizontal line as the base of the signal word. The solid portion 
of the triangle (within the lines of the triangle, around the 
exclamation mark) shall be white and the exclamation mark shall be 
safety red. The prohibition ``X''s shall be safety red.
    (iii) The on-product hazard label shown in fig. 1 shall be located:
    (A) On a part of the portable generator that, if removed, would 
impair the operation of the generator assembly, and
    (B) On a location that is prominent and conspicuous to an operator 
while performing at least two of the following actions: filling the 
fuel tank, accessing the receptacle panel, and starting the engine.
    (iv) The on-product hazard label shown in fig. 1 shall be designed 
to remain permanently affixed, intact, legible, and largely unfaded in 
the environment in which the product is expected to be operated and 
stored over the life of the product.
    (2) Carbon monoxide poisoning hazard label for package. The CO 
poisoning hazard label shown in fig. 3 shall be affixed to the 
principal display panel(s) of the package, as well as the surface 
containing the top flaps of the package. The principal display panel(s)

[[Page 50006]]

of the package is the portion(s) of the outer packaging that is 
designed to be most prominently displayed, shown, presented, or 
examined under conditions of retail sale. Any panel of the package that 
includes text in a language other than English shall also include a CO 
poisoning hazard label in that language. Alternate-language versions of 
this label may also appear on the top flaps of the package as long as 
they are physically separate from one another. A different 
representation of the generator may be substituted for accuracy if 
consumers are more likely to recognize the substituted representation 
as the generator contained within the packaging.
    (i) The signal word ``DANGER'' shall be in letters not less than 
0.15 inch (3.8 mm) high. The remaining text shall be in type whose 
uppercase letters are not less than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) high.
    (ii) The signal word ``DANGER'' shall appear in white letters on a 
safety red background. The safety alert symbol shown in fig. 2 shall 
appear immediately before and next to the signal word and be no smaller 
than the height of the signal word with the base of the triangle on the 
same horizontal line as the base of the signal word. The solid portion 
of the triangle (within the lines of the triangle, around the 
exclamation mark) shall be white and the exclamation mark shall be 
safety red. The prohibition ``X''s shall be safety red.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP24AU06.022

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP24AU06.023


[[Page 50007]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP24AU06.024


    Dated: August 17, 2006.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 06-7069 Filed 8-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P