CPSC Final Rule Requires Warning Labels for Portable Generators
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a final rule that requires manufacturers to label portable generators with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning warning labels which contain performance and technical data related to performance and safety.
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(CPSC defines a portable generator as an internal combustion engine-driven electric generator rated no higher than 15 kilowatts and 250 volts that 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 (AC) output circuits, and may have alternating- or direct-current (DC) sections for supplying energy to battery charging circuits.
CPSC states that it is the internal combustion engine that produces CO as a byproduct of combustion.)
Final Rule for Manufactured/Imported Portable Generators Effective May 14, 2007
CPSC states that this final rule becomes effective May 14, 2007 and applies to any portable generator manufactured or imported on or after that date.
Warning Label Information Required on Both the Product and Package
CPSC states that the required warning label, which is required for both the product and the package of the product, informs purchasers that: "Using a generator indoors CAN KILL YOU IN MINUTES;" "Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide. This is a poison you cannot see or smell;" "NEVER use inside a home or garage, EVEN IF doors and windows are open;" "Only use OUTSIDE and far away from windows, doors, and vents." The warning label also includes pictograms.
CPSC states that the required warning label must be used on the product and its package as follows:
Location of label on the product. CPSC states that the on-product hazard label shall be located (a) on a part of the portable generator that cannot be removed without the use of tools, 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. The on-product hazard label 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.
Location of label on the package. CPSC states that the label 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) 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 the 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.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/30/06 news, 06083025, for BP summary of the proposed rule.
See ITT's Online Archives or 12/14/06 news, 06121425, for BP summary of CPSC's advanced notice of proposed rulemaking which considers mandatory performance standards for portable generators.)
CPSC Contact - Timothy Smith (301) 504-7691
CPSC final rule (FR Pub 01/12/07) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-80.pdf