Carbon Monoxide Detectors; Public Hearing

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

Carbon Monoxide Detectors; Public Hearing

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Commission will conduct a public hearing on January 23 and

24, 1996, to receive scientific, medical, and other technical

information about carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and a voluntary

standard for CO detectors. The Commission seeks written submissions and

oral presentations from individuals, associations, or firms with

substantiated information or technical comments on these topics. The

Commission will use the information obtained from this hearing to

evaluate an existing voluntary standard for CO detectors and to develop

information for consumers about the reliability of CO detectors.

DATES: The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on January 23, 1996, and

will conclude on January 24, 1996. Written comments and requests to

make oral presentations must be received by the Office of the Secretary

not later than January 9, 1996. Persons desiring to make oral

presentations at this hearing must submit a written abstract of their

presentations not later than January 9, 1996. The Commission reserves

the right to limit the number of persons who testify and the duration

of their testimony.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be in room 420 of the East-West Towers

Building, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland. Written comments,

requests to make oral presentations, and abstracts of oral

presentations should be captioned ``Carbon Monoxide Detectors'' and

mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety

Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207, or delivered to that office, room

502, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the purpose or

subject matter of the hearing, call or write Elizabeth Leland,

Directorate for Economic Analysis, Consumer Product Safety Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20207; telephone (301) 504-0962, extension 1321. For

information about the schedule for submission of written comments,

requests to make oral presentations, and submission of abstracts of

oral presentations, call or write Rockelle Hammond, Office of the

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207;

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telephone (301) 504-0800, extension 1232

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless,

odorless gas, produced by the incomplete combustion of solid, liquid,

and gaseous fuels. Household appliances fueled with gas, oil, kerosene,

or wood may produce CO.

Breathing CO causes symptoms ranging from headaches and dizziness

to nausea, vomiting, and disorientation. At very high levels, CO can

cause loss of consciousness and death. In 1992, the last year for which

complete data are available, an estimated 212 deaths resulted from

carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1994, there were an estimated 3,900

incidents involving one or more persons treated in hospital emergency

rooms for CO poisoning.

Standard for CO Detectors

In the early 1990's CO detectors became available for use in the

home. In 1992, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) published a

standard, UL 2034, for CO detectors. The Commission staff worked with

UL to develop this standard. Since publication of UL 2034, the

Commission has encouraged homeowners to install CO detectors certified

to meet the standard, and has urged organizations which publish model

building codes to adopt provisions requiring the installation of CO

detectors in new residential buildings. The Commission estimates that

between seven and eight million CO detectors are now in use.

Unexplained CO Detector Alarms

Early in 1994, the Commission began receiving information about

incidents in which fire fighters or utility employees responded to

calls after a CO detector sounded an alarm but were unable to detect

the presence of CO or a harmful level of CO.

In June, 1994, the Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency,

the American Gas Association, the Gas Research Institute, and the

National Association of State Fire Marshals co-sponsored a CO Detector

Workshop. The purpose of this workshop was to raise and find ways to

resolve questions about why CO detectors would sound an alarm when CO

either could not be detected or could be detected at a level which is

not harmful. One outgrowth of the workshop was the formation of non-

governmental task forces to address the following specific issues:

Technical guidance for response personnel;

Field and laboratory testing;

Consumer and professional education;

Standards evaluation;

Action levels; and

Data gathering and coordination.

The task forces are expected to complete their work in December,

1995, and file final reports in March, 1996.

Chicago Experience

While the task forces have been working, additional information

from widespread use of CO detectors has become available from the city

of Chicago, Illinois. In 1993, the city of Chicago adopted an ordinance

requiring installation of CO detectors bearing the mark of a nationally

recognized testing laboratory in all homes heated by a fossil fuel-

burning furnace or appliance. This ordinance became effective on

October 1, 1994.

Fire departments in Chicago reported that between October 1 and

December 31, 1994, they responded to approximately 8,600 calls after CO

detectors sounded alarms. In the majority of cases, the responding fire

department found no CO present, or a level of CO that was not harmful

to health. In December, 1994, UL proposed a series of revisions to its

voluntary standard for CO detectors to lessen the likelihood of alarm

activations when CO is not present at a detectable or harmful level.

Portions of the revised standard became effective on June 1, 1995; the

remainder of the standard became effective on October 1, 1995.

Unresolved Questions

Several questions about CO detectors and the UL standard for CO

detectors are still unresolved. These questions include, but are not

limited to:

What is the appropriate scope and purpose of a voluntary

standard for CO detectors?

What are the effects of exposure to CO, including exposure

at low levels, to healthy individuals and to individuals who might be

especially susceptible to the effects of CO?

What are the anticipated ``normal'' levels of CO in the

ambient air inside and outside the home?

What factors should determine the mandatory activation and

mandatory resistance level of CO for CO detectors; what level of CO

should activate a detector's alarm; at what level of CO should a CO

detector resist activation of the alarm?

What is the relative reliability of the various CO sensor

technologies now available?

Request for Information

To obtain information relevant to these questions, the Commission

will conduct a public hearing on January 23 and 24, 1996. The

Commission solicits written submissions and oral presentations of

scientific, medical, and technical information, documented studies, and

analyses from all interested parties on the following topics:

I. Health Effects

A. Health effects of exposure to CO, including exposure at low

levels, on healthy individuals and individuals who might be especially

susceptible to the effects of CO.

B. Medical opinion about mandatory activation levels of CO for CO

detector alarms.

C. Medical opinion concerning early warning signals in addition to

activation of CO detector alarms.

II. Analysis of Unexplained Alarm Activation

A. Data and analyses related to unexplained CO detector alarm

activation experienced in Chicago during 1994, or in other locations in

the United States.

B. Analyses of unexplained activations of CO detector alarms

experienced in other countries.

III. Expected Levels of CO

A. Expected levels of CO in a ``typical'' home.

B. Expected levels of ambient CO in outside air in various

locations in the United States: on ``usual'' days; in ``rush hour''

periods; during temperature inversions.

IV. CO Detector Standards

CO detector standards issued by governments outside the United

States, or by international standards organizations.

V. Human Factors Issues

A. Information relating to the effective communication of a warning

signal and an alarm; information relating to a consumer's ability to

distinguish different levels of urgency--e.g., an early warning as

opposed to an alarm.

B. The effect of unexplained alarms on consumer attentiveness to

alarms, particularly CO detector alarms.

C. The effect of consistency:

1. in instructions for installation and use of CO detectors.

2. in warning and alarm sounds for various models of CO detectors.

D. The effectiveness of labeling to influence user behavior.

VI. Needs of Responders to Alarms from CO Detectors

A. Collected information on the extent to which responders in the

fire services and gas utility companies around the

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country are equipped with appropriate instruments for measuring CO in

homes.

B. Collected information on the extent to which educational

programs for responders have been developed and implemented around the

country.

C. Collected information about the impact on responders of CO

detector alarm activations around the country.

VII. Needs of Consumers

A. Numbers of calls received by hotlines operated by manufacturers

of CO detectors.

B. Manufacturers' procedures for responding to hotline calls,

especially those involving unexplained activations.

Written comments and requests to make oral presentations must be

received by the Office of the Secretary not later than January 9, 1996.

Persons desiring to make oral presentations at the hearing must submit

an abstract of their presentations by January 9, 1996. Abstracts must

include the author's affiliation with, or employment or sponsorship by,

any professional organization, government agency, or business firm. All

data analyses and studies should include substantiation and citations.

The Commission will establish time limits for all presentations,

and may impose further limitations on presentations to avoid

duplication. At the conclusion of each oral presentation, the

Commissioners and selected staff members may question speakers.

Dated: October 18, 1995.

Sadye E. Dunn,

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.

[FR Doc. 95-26355 Filed 10-23-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6355-01-P