Final Rule: Amendments to Fireworks Regulations
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The contents of this document will be discussed at a Commission Briefing scheduled for October 3, 2018. UNITED STATES CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION 4330 EAST WEST HIGHWAY This document has been electronically BETHESDA, MD 20814 approved and signed. DATE: September 26, 2018 THIS MATTER IS NOT SCHEDULED FOR A BALLOT VOTE. A DECISIONAL MEETING FOR THIS MATTER IS SCHEDULED ON: October 17, 2018 TO: The Commission Alberta E. Mills, Secretary THROUGH: Patricia M. Hanz, General Counsel Mary T. Boyle, Acting Executive Director FROM: Patricia M. Pollitzer, Assistant General Counsel, Regulatory Affairs Meridith L. Kelsch, Attorney, Regulatory Affairs SUBJECT: Final Rule: Amendments to Fireworks Regulations Staff is forwarding to the Commission a briefing package recommending that the Commission amend the regulations regarding fireworks in 16 C.F.R. parts 1500 and 1507 under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1261-1278) and direct staff to prepare a final rule Federal Register notice. The recommended final rule would: • incorporate by reference sections of APA Standard 87-1, Standard for Construction and Approval for Transportation of Fireworks, Novelties, and Theatrical Pyrotechnics, to define terms used in the regulations; • clarify requirements by eliminating inconsistencies and revising terminology; • prohibit fireworks with a burst charge that contains metallic powder less than 100 mesh in particle size if the burst charge is produced by a charge of more than 2 grains of pyrotechnic composition; • prohibit aerial devices that exceed device-specific chemical composition and pyrotechnic weight limits; and • require bases on upright devices to remain attached during storage, handling, and normal operation. If the Commission votes to issue a final rule, the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) will prepare and submit for Commission approval a Federal Register notice for the final rule. CPSC Hotline: 1-800-638-CPSC(2772) CPSC's Web Site: http://www.cpsc.gov Page 1 of 2 THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OR ACCEPTED BY THE COMMISSION. UNDER CPSA 6(b)(1) Please indicate your vote on the following options: I. Approve the final rule, as recommended in staff’s briefing package, and direct OGC to prepare a Federal Register notice accordingly. (Signature) (Date) II. Approve issuance of a final fireworks rule with the following specified changes, and direct OGC to prepare a Federal Register notice accordingly. (Signature) (Date) III. Do not approve issuance of a final fireworks rule. (Signature) (Date) IV. Take other action specified below. (Signature) (Date) Attachment: Fireworks Final Rule Briefing Package: Final Rule to Revise Current Fireworks Regulations Page 2 of 2 THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OR ACCEPTED BY THE COMMISSION. UNDER CPSA 6(b)(1) Fireworks Final Rule Briefing Package Final Rule to Revise Current Fireworks Regulations September 26, 2018 For Additional Information, Contact Rodney Valliere, Ph.D., Project Manager Division of Chemistry Directorate for Laboratory Sciences Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 5 Research Place Rockville, MD 20850 301-987-2526, [email protected] THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OR ACCEPTED BY THE COMMISSION. UNDER CPSA 6(b)(1) Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Briefing Memorandum .................................................................................................................... 4 I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 II. Background ...................................................................................................................... 5 III. Incident Data .................................................................................................................... 8 IV. Staff’s Recommendations for Final Rule on Fireworks ................................................... 9 A. 16 CFR § 1507.1(b) Definitions .................................................................................. 10 B. 16 CFR § 1500.17 Banned hazardous substances ....................................................... 11 C. 16 CFR § 1500.83 Exemptions for small packages, minor hazards, and special circumstances .............................................................................................................. 24 D. 16 CFR § 1500.85 Exemptions from classification as banned hazardous substances 25 E. 16 CFR part 1507 (Requirements for Fireworks Devices Not Otherwise Banned) .... 25 F. Requirements Proposed in the NPR that Are Not in the Recommended Final Rule .. 30 V. Summary of Recommended Final Rule ......................................................................... 31 VI. Effective Date ................................................................................................................. 32 VII. Economic Analysis ......................................................................................................... 32 VIII. Small Business Impacts .................................................................................................. 33 IX. Alternatives .................................................................................................................... 34 X. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 37 Tab A – NPR Comment Responses .............................................................................................. 38 Tab B – Final Regulatory Analyses .............................................................................................. 90 Tab C –Regulatory Flexibility Analysis ...................................................................................... 124 Tab D – LSC Memorandum ........................................................................................................ 148 ii THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OR ACCEPTED BY THE COMMISSION. UNDER CPSA 6(b)(1) Executive Summary Since 1973, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has regulated fireworks devices under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).1 The Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) on February 2, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 9012). As directed by the CPSC Fiscal Year 2018 Operating Plan, staff prepared this final rule briefing package. CPSC staff reviewed and considered written comments submitted in response to the NPR, along with input from industry members, and also oral and written information submitted as part of an open hearing the Commission held on March 7, 2018. After considering this input, as well as conducting additional testing and analyses, staff developed recommendations for a final rule that is generally consistent with the NPR. However, the final rule recommendations do not include some of the proposed revisions, as delineated in Section F of this document. Staff believes that updating the current regulations provides a more straightforward means of ensuring safety, reduces some testing burdens by clarifying requirements, aligns requirements with existing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations and American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) industry standards, and imposes some additional requirements that address hazards indicated in fireworks incident data. This memorandum presents staff’s recommendation for a final rule revising 16 CFR §§ 1500.17(a)(3), (8), and (14); 1500.83(a)(27); 1500.85(a)(2); and part 1507. Staff recommends three substantive changes to the fireworks regulations: • Identify the highly explosive devices that are limited to 2 grains of pyrotechnic composition, by replacing the phrase “devices intended to produce audible effects,” in § 1500.17(a)(3), with a quantifiable method of identifying these devices. The proposed method states that devices with a burst charge containing metallic fuels less than 100- mesh in particle size are limited to 2 grains. Staff recommends that the Commission exercise enforcement discretion to allow up to 1 percent metal to account for inadvertent contamination and testing variability; • Adopt limits on chemical composition, pyrotechnic weight, and the ratio of break charge- to-effects for specific types of fireworks devices in § 1500.17(a)(14); and • Require the base of a fireworks device to remain attached during storage, handling, and normal operation in § 1507.4. Staff also recommends revisions that would clarify and streamline the fireworks regulations, but would not establish new requirements. Table 1 summarizes these changes, which are consistent with the rule changes presented in the NPR. 1 15 U.S.C. §§ 1261-1278. 1 THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OR ACCEPTED BY THE COMMISSION. UNDER CPSA 6(b)(1) TABLE 1. Summary of Changes to the Existing Fireworks Regulations Section Recommendations for Final Rule Requirements 1507.1(b) • Add APA definitions of relevant terms, including “burst charge,” Definitions “expelling charge,” “break charge,” “chemical composition,” “pyrotechnic composition,” “explosive composition,” “lift charge,” and “firecracker” (APA 87-1, Sections 2.5, 2.6, 2.6.1, 2.6.2, 2.10, and 3.1.3.1) • Define "aerial bomb” 1500.17(a)(3) • Adopt a quantifiable method of identifying devices