Exemptions From Classification as Banned Hazardous Substances;
Proposed Exemption for Certain Model Rocket Propellant Devices for Use
With Lightweight Surface Vehicles
[Federal Register: January 30, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 20)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4373-4375]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja02-22]
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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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[[Page 4373]]
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 1500
Exemptions From Classification as Banned Hazardous Substances;
Proposed Exemption for Certain Model Rocket Propellant Devices for Use
With Lightweight Surface Vehicles
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing to exempt from the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') certain model rocket propellant
devices for vehicles that travel on the ground. The Commission's
current regulations exempt motors used for flyable model rockets. The
proposed rule would exempt certain propellant devices for model rocket
ground vehicles if they meet requirements similar to those required for
flyable model rockets.
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments by April 15,
2002.
ADDRESSES: Comments, preferably in five copies, should be mailed to the
Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Washington, DC 20207, telephone (301) 504-0800, or delivered to the
Office of the Secretary, Room 501, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda,
Maryland 20814. Comments may also be filed by telefacsimile to (301)
504-0127 or by email to cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. Comments should be captioned
``Proposed exemption for model rocket propellant devices for surface
vehicles.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terrance Karels, Directorate for
Economic Analysis, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
20207; telephone (301) 504-0962, ext. 1320.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Section 2(q)(1)(A) of the FHSA bans toys containing hazardous
substances that are accessible to a child. 15 U.S.C. 1261(q)(1)(A).
However, the FHSA authorizes the Commission, by regulation, to grant
exemptions from classifications as banned hazardous substances for:
articles, such as chemistry sets, which by reason of their
functional purpose require the inclusion of the hazardous substance
involved, or necessarily present an electrical, mechanical, or
thermal hazard, and which bear labeling giving adequate directions
and warnings for safe use and are intended for use by children who
have attained sufficient maturity, and may reasonably be expected to
read and heed such directions and warnings.
15 U.S.C. 1261(q)(1)(A). Thus,the Commission may issue an exemption if
it finds that the product requires inclusion of a hazardous substance
in order for it to function, has sufficient directions and warnings,
and is intended for children who are old enough to read and follow the
directions and warnings. Id. The Food and Drug Administration, which
administered the FHSA before the Commission was established, issued a
rule under this authority that exempted from the definition of banned
hazardous substances model rocket propellant devices (motors) designed
for use in light-weight, recoverable, and reflyable model rockets, if
they meet certain requirements. 16 CFR 1500.85(a)(8).
B. The Petition
The Commission received a petition from Centuri Corporation
requesting that the Commission issue a rule exempting certain model
rocket propellant devices to be used for model rocket surface vehicles.
The petitioner requested an exemption for race cars that travel on the
ground along a tethered line and are propelled in a manner similar to
rockets. The petitioner requested an exemption that would allow the
sale of both of its two prototype model rocket cars. The smaller car,
named ``Blurzz,'' uses an ``A'' motor, and is shaped like a ``rail,'' a
type of custom-made vehicle used in competitive drag racing. The larger
prototype, named ``Screamin'' Eagle,'' uses a ``D'' motor, and is
shaped like a ``Bonnevile Speed Record'' custom vehicle. The Commission
has decided to grant the petition in part and propose an exemption for
model rocket propellant devices to be used for surface vehicles like
the smaller ``Blurzz'' car only.\1\
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\1\ The Commission voted 2-1 to grant the petition with regard
to the smaller vehicles and deny it regarding the larger ones.
Commissioners Thomas Moore and Mary Sheila Gall voted to take this
action, while Chairman Ann Brown voted to deny the entire petition.
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C. The Proposed Exemption
Both the Blurzz and Screamin' Eagle rocket-powered cars are
designed to be operated along a tethered line. When operated along the
tether, the paths of the cars are guided. A user who wishes to operate
either car without the tether must physically cut the tether and remove
the engine mount from it. The Commission recognizes that some users of
the Screamin' Eagle and the Blurzz rocket-powered cars may operate them
without the use of the tether. In such a case the path of the cars will
be unguided. The Commission staff conducted limited tests of both the
Screamin'' Eagle and the Blurzz without the tether and videotaped the
results. The Commissioners had the opportunity to view the videotapes
and to consult with both Commission staff and with the senior
management of Centuri about the behavioral characteristics of the cars
when they were operated without the tether.
In the case of the Screamin' Eagle, the videotapes demonstrated
clearly that the car can rise to a significant height and that it
travels at a high rate of speed for a considerable distance before
falling to earth or encountering an obstacle. The Screamin' Eagle is
also relatively heavy. There is, therefore, a significant risk of
injury to any person downrange from the Screamin' Eagle when it is used
in the absence of the tether. The Commission, therefore, denied the
petition insofar as it seeks an exemption from the FHSA for model
rocket propellant devices for cars like the Screamin' Eagle.
In the case of the Blurzz, however, senior management of Centuri
represented in a meeting with Commissioner Gall, her staff, and staff
from the office of Commissioner Moore on October 26, 2001 that the
Blurzz failed in a ``safe'' mode. By this expression, Centuri
management meant that when the rocket motor was ignited in the Blurzz
in the absence of the tether, its normal behavior was to flip over onto
its back and skitter about the ground, a behavior that posed little or
[[Page 4374]]
no risk. The Commissioners' observation of the staff-prepared
videotapes of rocket car testing, and additional consultation with
Commission staff confirmed this representation of Centuri management.
When ignited without the tether the Blurzz car ordinarily simply
flipped onto its back and skittered around on the ground. Even when the
Blurzz did not flip immediately onto its back, it traveled downrange
only a very limited distance, and rose only a few inches in the air,
before flipping onto its back. The petitioner asserts that the
experience of trying to operate the Blurzz without the tether results
in little user satisfaction, meaning that users are unlikely to
continue the practice. Moreover, the rocket motor used in the Blurzz is
of limited thrust, and the vehicle and the rocket motor combined are
very light. Even if a person were downrange from the Blurzz in the
absence of the tether, the Blurzz would strike only a light blow a few
inches above the ground.
On the basis of its meeting with Centuri management, and its
observation of the videotapes of the testing of the Blurzz, the
Commission finds that there is a reasonable probability that model
rocket propellant devices for surface vehicles like the Blurzz present
no unreasonable risk of injury even when operated in reasonably
foreseeable misuse without the tether. The Commission, therefore,
proposes to exempt model rocket propellant devices for surface vehicles
like the Blurzz from the ban that would otherwise be imposed by the
FHSA.
In order to grant an exemption from the ban that would ordinarily
be imposed by the FHSA, the Commission must find that the labeling that
accompanies model rocket propellant devices for surface vehicles like
the Blurzz gives adequate directions and warnings for safe use. The
Commission must also find that the product is intended for use by
children who have attained sufficient maturity and that those children
may reasonably be expected to read and heed the directions and
warnings. The Blurzz is intended for use by children aged 12 and above.
The Commission finds that those children interested in model rockets
and rocket vehicles such as the Blurzz are of sufficient maturity that
they may reasonably be expected to read and heed the directions for use
and warnings that accompany model rocket surface vehicles like the
Blurzz. The Commission finds further that those directions and warnings
are adequate to guide users in the safe use of the product.
D. Impact on Small Business
The staff preliminarily assessed the impact that a rule to exempt
model rocket propellant devices for use with surface vehicles like the
``Blurzz'' might have on small businesses. Because the proposed
exemption would relieve manufacturers from existing restrictions, the
staff expects that the exemption would impose no additional costs to
businesses of any size. Rather, it would allow companies to manufacture
and market a product currently prohibited under the FHSA.
Based on this assessment, the Commission preliminarily concludes
that the proposed amendment exempting model rocket propellant devices
for surface vehicles like the ``Blurzz'' would not have a significant
impact on a substantial number of small businesses or other small
entities.
E. Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, and in
accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations and
CPSC procedures for environmental review, the Commission has assessed
the possible environmental effects associated with the proposed
exemption.
The Commission's regulations state that rules issuing or amending
safety standards for consumer products normally have little or no
potential for affecting the human environment. 16 CFR 1021.5(c)(1).
Nothing in this proposed rule alters that expectation. Therefore,
because the rule would have no adverse effect on the environment,
neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact
statement is required.
F. Executive Orders
According to Executive Order 12988 (February 5, 1996), agencies
must state in clear language the preemptive effect, if any, of new
regulations.
The FHSA provides that, generally, if the Commission issues a rule
under section 2(q) of the FHSA to protect against a risk of illness or
injury associated with a hazardous substance,''no State or political
subdivision of a State may establish or continue in effect a
requirement applicable to such substance and designed to protect
against the same risk of illness or injury unless such requirement is
identical to the requirement established under such regulations.'' 15
U.S.C. 1261n(b)(1)(B). (The FHSA also provides for the state or
political subdivision of a state to apply for an exemption from
preemption if certain requirements are met.) Thus, the proposed rule
exempting model rocket propellant devices for use with certain surface
vehicles would preempt non-identical requirements for such propellant
devices.
The Commission has also evaluated the proposed rule in light of the
principles stated in Executive Order 13132 concerning federalism, even
though that Order does not apply to independent regulatory agencies
such as CPSC. The Commission does not expect that the proposed rule
will have any substantial direct effects on the States, the
relationship between the national government and the States, or the
distribution of power and responsibilities among various levels of
government.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1500
Consumer protection, Hazardous materials, Hazardous substances,
Imports, Infants and children, Labeling, Law enforcement, and Toys.
Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, the Commission preliminarily
concludes that, with the requirements stated in the proposed exemption,
model rocket propellant devices to propel lightweight surface vehicles
like the Blurzz require inclusion of a hazardous substance in order to
function, have sufficient directions and warnings for safe use, and are
intended for children who are mature enough that they may reasonably be
expected to read and head the directions and warnings. Therefore, the
Commission proposes to amend title 16, chapter II of the Code of
Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 1500--HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES AND ARTICLES: ADMINISTRATION AND
ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS
1. The authority for part 1500 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1261-1278.
2. Section 1500.85 is amended by adding a new paragraph (a)(14) to
read as follows:
Sec. 1500.85 Exemptions from classification as banned hazardous
substances.
(a) * * *
(14) Model rocket propellant devices (model rocket motors) designed
to propel lightweight surface vehicles such as model rocket cars,
provided--
(i) Such devices:
(A) Are designed to be ignited electrically and are intended to be
operated from a minimum distance of 15 feet (4.6 m) away;
[[Page 4375]]
(B) Contain no more than 4 g. of propellant material and produce no
more than 2.5 Newton-seconds of total impulse with a thrust duration
not less than 0.050 seconds;
(C) Are constructed such that all the chemical ingredients are pre-
loaded into a cylindrical paper or similarly constructed non-metallic
tube that will not fragment into sharp, hard pieces;
(D) Are designed so that they will not burst under normal
conditions of use, are incapable of spontaneous ignition, and do not
contain any type of explosive or pyrotechnic material other than a
delay and small recovery system activation charge;
(E) Bear labeling, including labeling that the devices are intended
for use by persons age 12 and older, and include instructions providing
adequate warnings and instructions for safe use; and
(F) Comply with the requirements of 16 CFR 1500.83(a)(36)(i)
through (iii); and
(ii) The surface vehicles intended for use with such devices:
(A) Are lightweight, weighing no more than 3.0 oz. (85 grams), and
constructed mainly of materials such as balsa wood or plastics that
will not fragment into sharp, hard pieces;
(B) Are designed to utilize a braking system such as a parachute or
shock absorbing stopping mechanism;
(C) Are designed so that they cannot accept propellant devices
measuring larger than 0.5" (13 mm) in diameter and 1.75" (44 mm) in
length;
(D) Are designed so that the engine mount is permanently attached
by the manufacturer to a track or track line that controls the
vehicle's direction for the duration of its movement;
(E) Are not designed to carry any type of explosive or pyrotechnic
material other than the model rocket motor used for primary propulsion;
and
(F) Bear labeling and include instructions providing adequate
warnings and instructions for safe use.
* * * * *
3. Section 1500.83(a)(36)(i) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1500.83 Exemptions for small packages, minor hazards, and special
circumstances.
(a) * * *
(36) * * *
(i) The devices are designed and constructed in accordance with the
specifications in Sec. 1500.85(a)(8), (9) or (14);
* * * * *
Dated: January 22, 2002.
Todd Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 02-2059 Filed 1-29-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P