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CPSC RIN: 3041-AC36 Publication ID: Spring 2016 
Title: Portable Generators 
Abstract:

On December 5, 2006, the Commission voted 2-0 to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) concerning portable generators. The ANPRM discusses regulatory options that could reduce deaths and injuries related to portable generators, particularly those involving carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. The ANPRM was published in the Federal Register on December 12, 2006. Staff reviewed public comments and conducted technical activities. In FY 2006, staff awarded a contract to develop a prototype generator engine with reduced CO in the exhaust. Also in FY 2006, staff entered into an interagency agreement (IAG) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to conduct tests with a generator, in both off-the-shelf and prototype configurations, operating in the garage attached to NIST's test house. NIST's test house, a double-wide manufactured home, is designed for conducting residential indoor air quality (IAQ) studies, and the scenarios tested are typical of those involving consumer fatalities. These tests provide empirical data on CO accumulation in the garage and infiltration into the house; staff used these data to evaluate the efficacy of the prototype in reducing the risk of fatal or severe CO poisoning. Under this IAG, NIST also modeled the CO infiltration from the garage under a variety of other conditions, including different ambient conditions and longer generator run times. In FY 2009, staff entered into a second IAG with NIST with the goal of developing CO emission performance requirements for a possible proposed regulation that would be based on health effects criteria. In 2011, staff prepared a package containing staff and contractor reports on the technology demonstration of the low CO emission prototype portable generator. This included, among other staff reports, a summary of the prototype development and durability results, as well as end-of-life emission test results performed on it by an independent emissions laboratory. Staff's assessment of the ability of the prototype to reduce the CO poisoning hazard was also included. In September 2012, staff released this package and solicited comments from stakeholders. Staff is reviewing the comments that were submitted in response to the release of the technology demonstration report. The technology demonstration of the low CO emission prototype portable generator and other staff activities on the portable generator project will be used in the development of a briefing package for use by the Commission to consider whether to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). Staff is scheduled to send an NPRM briefing package to the Commission in FY 2016.

 
Agency: Consumer Product Safety Commission(CPSC)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage 
Major: Undetermined  Unfunded Mandates: Undetermined 
CFR Citation: Not Yet Determined     (To search for a specific CFR, visit the Code of Federal Regulations.)
Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2051   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Staff Sent ANPRM to Commission  07/06/2006 
Staff Sent Supplemental Material to Commission   10/12/2006    
Commission Decision  10/26/2006    
Staff Sent Draft ANPRM to Commission  11/21/2006    
ANPRM  12/12/2006  71 FR 74472   
ANPRM Comment Period End  02/12/2007    
Staff Releases Research Report for Comment  10/10/2012 
Staff Sends NPRM Briefing Package to Commission  09/00/2016 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Undetermined  Government Levels Affected: Undetermined 
Federalism: Undetermined 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
International Impacts: This regulatory action will be likely to have international trade and investment effects, or otherwise be of international interest.
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Janet L. Buyer
Project Manager, Directorate for Engineering Sciences
Consumer Product Safety Commission
National Product Testing and Evaluation Center, 5 Research Place,
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone:301 987-2293
Email: jbuyer@cpsc.gov