The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of death and injury associated with consumer products. To achieve this goal, the Commission:
¤ Participates in the development or revision of voluntary product safety standards;
¤ Develops mandatory product safety standards or banning rules when other, less restrictive, efforts are inadequate to address a safety hazard;
¤ Obtains repair, replacement, or refund of the purchase price for defective products that present a substantial product hazard; and
¤ Develops information and education campaigns about the safety of consumer products.
When deciding which of these approaches to take in any specific case, the Commission gathers the best available data about the nature and extent of the hazard presented by the product. The Commission then analyzes this information to determine the best way to reduce the hazard in each case. The Commission's rules require the Commission to consider, among other factors, the following criteria when deciding the level of priority for any particular project:
¤ Frequency and severity of injury;
¤ Causality of injury;
¤ Chronic illness and future injuries;
¤ Cost and benefits of Commission action;
¤ Unforeseen nature of the risk;
¤ Vulnerability of the population at risk; and
¤ Probability of exposure to the hazard.
Additionally, if the Commission proposes a mandatory safety standard for a particular product, the Commission is generally required to make statutory cost-benefit findings and adopt the least burdensome requirements that adequately protect the public.
The Commission's statutory authority requires it to rely on voluntary standards rather than mandatory standards whenever a voluntary standard is likely to result in the elimination or adequate reduction of the risk of injury and it is likely that there will be substantial compliance with the voluntary standard. As a result, much of the Commission's work involves cooperative efforts with other participants in the voluntary standard-setting process rather than promulgating mandatory standards.
In fiscal year 1999, the Commission's significant rulemaking activities will involve development of options to address risks of fire associated with upholstered furniture and development of a proposed standard for multi-purpose lighters to make those products resistant to operation by young children. These projects are described in detail below.
Both of the rulemaking proceedings in the Commission's 1999 regulatory plan are related to protection of vulnerable populations. Upholstered furniture fires kill and injure children, the elderly, and families and individuals with lower incomes disproportionately to the representation of these persons in the population. With regard to multi-purpose lighters, children younger than 5 years of age usually are incapable of dealing with a fire once it has started. Consequently, they and their families are at special risk of injury from fires started by children playing with multi-purpose lighters. Most fatalities from the fires resulting from children playing with multi-purpose lighters reported to the Commission were the children who started the fires.
The emphasis on these two rulemaking activities in the Commission's 1999 regulatory plan is consistent with the Commission's statutory mandate and its criteria for setting priorities. Additionally, the Commission's 1999 regulatory plan supports the President's goal to reduce costs of health care by preventing injuries to individuals who are among the most vulnerable to being injured in accidents associated with the use of consumer products.