Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule Materials

In 2016, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed a new rule for carbon monoxide safety with respect to portable electric generators. I testified in March of 2017 with respect to that rule. The first Trump administration killed that proposed rule but then a water downed version of that rule was once again set in motion during the Biden Adminstration. A current search of the CPSC.gov website does not show that such rule is still being considered. I am not sure of the current status but the information contained in the 2016 proposed rule is important so I decide to upload it here.

The Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule for Portable Electric Generators would have required a combination of electronic fuel injection (which reduced CO emission by 90%) and a catalytic converter (like on cars) to lower it to a total of a 99% reduction.

The Process of Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule

This rule is a microcosm of the good and the bad of use the Federal Government to create and enforce safety regulations. In 2002, the CPSC had identified that too many people were dying from generator related carbon monoxide poisonings. They started with surveillance. That took them 10 years to complete and the results of this are all published in this Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule. Along the way, The Kohler Company realized that their marine generators were unsafe and they added similar safety mechanisms to their generators, in 2005.

Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule had been in process from 2002 until I testified on its behalf in 2017. It started with a study in 2002. In 2009, the generator manufacturers created a manufacturers association to try to head off this rule, the PGMA. 

The balance of manufacturers of the portable electric generators, instead of following Kohler’s lead, decided to fight the regulations. In 2009, they formed a trade association for that purpose. By the time I testified in 2017, the PGMA was openly admitting the danger, but wanted cheaper solutions. As a result of the change in presidential administrations, neither the proposed rule, or its water downed alternative, were ever adopted. Every fall, we will hear more stories of generator deaths.

Attorney Gordon Johnson

Proposed_Rule_Safety_Standard_for_Portable_Generators_October_5_2016

Attorney Gordon Johnson who has negotiated multiple large carbon monoxide settlements is shown here testifying to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Click here for that testimony.