PART 1204—SAFETY STANDARD FOR OMNIDIRECTIONAL CITIZENS BAND BASE STATION ANTENNAS Authority: Secs. 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, 16, 19, 25, Pub. L. 92-573, 86 Stat. 1207, 1208, 1211-17, 1220, as amended Pub. L. 95-319, sec. 1, 92 Stat. 386, Pub. L. 94-284, 90 Stat. 503; 15 U.S.C. 2051, 2052, 2054, 2056, 2058, 2063, 2065, 2068, 2074. Source: 47 FR 36201, Aug. 19, 1982, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—The Standard § 1204.1 Scope of the standard. (a) General. (b) Description of the standard Performance tests. (i) First, there is an Insulating Material Effectiveness Test (§ 1204.4(d) of this subpart) in which a high voltage electrode or test rod is brought into contact with the antenna at any point within the protection zone established by § 1204.2(k) of this subpart to ensure that the insulation can withstand the voltage for 5 minutes without transmitting more than 5 milliamperes (mA) root-mean-square (rms) of electric current. (ii) The other test is an Antenna-Mast System Test (§ 1204.4(e) of this subpart) which is intended to determine whether the means provided to protect against electrocution will withstand the stress imposed when an antenna-mast system falls onto a power line. This test consists of mounting the antenna to be tested on a specified mast and allowing the assembled antenna and mast to fall onto a power line of 14,500 volts rms phase to ground. (2) Recommended materials. (ii) Although other materials may also be suitable, materials meeting the following criteria should be reasonably weather resistant: (A) Material composition includes an ultraviolet stabilizer or screen. (B) Heat resistance of 212 °F (100 °C) without loss of elasticity (ANSI/ASTM D 746-79). (C) Moisture absorption of not more than 0.2 percent (ANSI/ASTM D 570-77). (D) For heat shrinkable sleeving, temperature flexibility to −40 °F (−40 °C) with no cracks (Mil Spec. MIL-I-23053C, 20 May 1976). (3) Warning: (c) Scope. (2) The Commission may extend the effective date of the standard for as long as an additional 90 days for any firm which has 750 employees or fewer and, is not a subsidiary or division of a firm having more than 750 employees, and which manufactures or imports products subject to the standard, upon written application, addressed to the Associate Executive Director for Compliance and Administrative litigation, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207, received not later than January 17, 1983. An application for extension of the effective date shall: (i) Identify the requesting firm as a manufacturer or importer of products subject to the standard. (ii) State the total number of employees of the firm, including all employees of any subsidiary or division, and all employees of any firm of which the requesting firm is a subsidiary or division. (iii) Request extension of the effective date to a specific date not later than May 27, 1983. (iv) Explain why the requested extension of the effective date is needed. (v) Describe all activities undertaken by the requesting firm to achieve compliance with the requirements of the standard. (vi) State that the requesting firm will market complying products after the extended effective date. (3) The Associate Executive Director for Compliance and Administrative Litigation will evaluate each request for extension of the effective date. The following criteria will be used in determining whether to grant an application for extension of the effective date: (i) Does the application demonstrate that the requesting firm cannot meet the general effective date, (ii) Does the application demonstrate that the requesting firm has made a good faith effort to achieve compliance with the requirements of the standard by the general effective date. (iii) Does the application demonstrate that the firm is likely to produce or market complying products if the requested extension is granted. (4) The Associate Executive Director will advise each requesting firm in writing if the requested extension is granted or denied. If the Associate Executive Director for Compliance and Administrative Litigation denies a request for extension of the effective date, the firm may request the Commission to reconsider the denial. (5) Section 3(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(1) defines the term consumer product (d) Prohibited acts. (Sec. 9(h), Pub. L. 92-573, 86 Stat. 1207, as amended, Pub. L. 95-319, 92 Stat. 386, Pub. L. 95-631, 92 Stat. 3742, Pub. L. 96-373, 94 Stat. 1366, Pub. L. 97-35, 95 Stat. 703, 15 U.S.C. 2058(h)) [47 FR 36201, Aug. 19, 1982, as amended at 48 FR 29683, June 28, 1983] § 1204.2 Definitions. In addition to the definitions given in section 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052), the following definitions apply for the purposes of this standard. (a) Antenna system (b) Antenna-mast system (c) Base station (d) Citizens Band (CB) (e) Current (f) Electrical breakdown (g) Feed cable (h) Field joint (i) Insulating material and insulation (j) Omnidirectional antenna (k) Protection zone (l) Voltage, phase to ground, § 1204.3 Requirements. All omnidirectional CB base station antennas are required to comply with the following requirements. (a) Field joints. (b) Feed cable. (c) Electrical protection. § 1204.4 Electric shock protection tests. (a) Safety precautions. (1) At least one test operator and one test observer (preferably one with cardiopulmonary resusitation (CPR) training) should be present at every test. (2) The test area (outdoors or indoors) should secure against accidental intrusion by other persons during tests. (3) Test areas located indoors should be ventilated to avoid buildup of potentially hazardous concentrations of gaseous byproducts which may result from the tests. (4) Fire extinguishers should be easily accessible in case materials on the test specimen ignite. (5) “High Voltage Test” warning devices should be activated before start of a test. (6) Emergency phone numbers should be posted. (b) Test conditions Specimens. (2) Temperature. (3) Relative humidity. (4) Voltage. (5) Conditioning. (c) Test equipment. (2) Instrumentation to measure the rms voltage applied to the antenna system. (3) Current monitoring device to indicate hazardous components of the total rms current flowing to ground through the mast. One configuration of the circuitry for the current monitoring device (shown in Figure 1) consists of three parallel branches as follows. One branch consists of a resistor in series with a true-rms milliammeter with a maximum error of 5% of the reading in the frequency range of 50Hz to 10MHz (the total of the resistor and the internal resistance of the milliammeter is to be 1000 ohms). A parallel branch consists of a 1000 ohm resistor in series with a 0.08 microfarad capacitor. Another parallel branch should consist of a spark gap rated at 50 to 100 volts as a meter protection device. A different current monitoring device may be used if the measured value of the rms current corresponds to that indicated by the configuration described above. (4) For the Insulating Material Effectiveness Test: (i) High voltage electrode or test rod consisting of 1/4 (ii) Support jig, structure, or hanger made of insulating material which is capable of holding antenna system test specimens electrically isolated from all surrounding structures or ground. (5) For the Antenna-Mast System Test, a high voltage test facility, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, which includes a single power line spanning between two poles 95 to 105 feet (29 to 32 meters) apart, a tensioning device to adjust the cable sag to from 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm), and a pivot fixture (Figure 2), for holding the base of an antenna-mast system, which can be moved horizontally to adjust the distance to the cable. The cable consists of 1/4 (d) Insulating Material Effectiveness Test procedure. (2) If a feed cable is provided with the antenna system, it shall be used in the test. If no cable is provided with the antenna system, a RG-213 cable shall be used in the test (Mil Spec. MIL-C-17/75C, 15 March 1977). In either case, the cable shall be connected to the antenna system, installed parallel to the mast, and secured by taping or similar means at one point on the mast. The side of the bottom end of the cable also shall be secured to the mast. (3) With the antenna system properly supported and isolated from ground and with the current monitoring device connected to the mast, the test rod shall be connected to the high voltage source and brought into contact with the antenna system at any point within the protection zone (see § 1204.2(k) of this subpart). For each contact point, the voltage shall be increased from 0 to 14.5 kV at a rate of at least 2 kV per second and held at 14.5 kV for 5.0 minutes. Current shall be monitored and the maximum recorded. (e) Antenna-Mast System Test procedure. 1/4 (2) If a feed cable is provided with the antenna system, it shall be used in the test. If no cable is provided with the antenna system, a RG-213 feed cable shall be used in the test for specification of an RG-213 cable see (Mil. Spec. MIL-C-17/75C, 15 March 1977). In either case, the cable shall be connected to the antenna system, installed parallel to the mast, and secured by taping or similar means every two feet along the length of the mast. The side of the bottom end of the cable also shall be secured to the mast. (3) The antenna-mast system shall be mounted in the pivot fixture. The pivot fixture shall be adjusted so that the point of impact between the antenna and the power line takes place at any desired point within the antenna's protection zone. The antenna-mast system shall then be erected to a position of up to 5° from the vertical, leaning toward the simulated power line (see Figure 4). The antenna-mast system shall then be released and allowed to fall against the power line. The test may be performed with different test positions such that the antenna system flexes after impact and slides off the power line and or so that it remains in contact with the power line for 5.0 minutes. Current flow from the antenna-mast system to ground shall be monitored and recorded for each test. (f) Interpretation of Results. § 1204.5 Manufacturer's instructions. (a) For all antennas covered under this part 1204, the following statement shall be included in the manufacturer's instructions, in addition to the material required by 16 CFR 1402.4(a)(1)(ii): Under some conditions, this antenna may not prevent electrocution. Users should keep antenna away from any overhead wires. If antenna contacts a power line, any initial protection could fail at any time. IF ANTENNA NEARS ANY OVERHEAD WIRES, IMMEDIATELY LET GO, STAY AWAY, AND CALL UTILITY COMPANY. (b) This warning statement shall be in a separate paragraph immediately following the warning statement required by 16 CFR 1402.4(a)(1)(ii)(A). (c) This warning statement shall be legible and conspicuous and shall be in type that is at least as large as the largest type used on the remainder of the page, with the exception of the logo and any identification of the manufacturer, brand, model, or similar designations, and that is preferably no smaller than 10 point type. § 1204.6 Findings. As required by section 9 (b) and (c) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2058 (b) and (c), the Commission makes the following findings: (a) The degree and nature of the risk of injury the rule is designed to reduce. (2) About 175 fatalities were estimated to be associated with omnidirectional CB antennas in 1976. The estimated number of fatalities declined to about 125 in 1977 and to about 55 in 1978. Since then, the number of fatalities appears to have leveled off at about 45-50 each year. In addition to the 45-50 deaths, it is estimated that a somewhat greater number of injuries occur annually and that about half of them are serious enough to require surgery, amputation, skin grafts, etc. It is common for multiple deaths or injuries to occur in a single accident. (3) The Commission's staff has estimated that since 1979 about 20 percent of the accidents involved antennas less than a year old, resulting in about 8 deaths in 1980. (4) Since a substantial portion of the accidents associated with these antennas occur when the antenna is being taken down after it has been installed in an outdoor environment for a number of years, the standard recommends that materials selected to provide protection from shock be weather resistant. (5) The standard specifies that protection shall be provided against voltages of 14,500 volts phase-to-ground. Voltages of this level or less are involved in 98 percent of the accidents and 95 percent of the total circuit mileage of distribution circuits. (b) The approximate number of consumer products, or types or classes thereof, subject to the rule. (2) [Reserved] (c)(1) The need of the public for the consumer products subject to the rule. (2) CB stations are used by individuals as a communications device for both practical and personal enjoyment purposes. Some operators volunteer to monitor the commonly used and/or emergency channels for distress calls and summon aid where appropriate, relay messages, and aid local authorities and motorists in monitoring traffic conditions and accidents. (3) Although operators can fabricate their own antennas, and antennas made for other purposes can be adapted for CB use, for most operators there is no adequate substitute for the commercial CB base station antennas subject to this rule. (d) The probable effect of the rule upon the utility, cost, and availability of the product Utility. (2) Cost. (3) Availability. (e) Means of achieving the objective of the order while minimizing adverse effects on competition or disruption or dislocation of manufacturing and other commercial practices consistent with the public health and safety. (2) Concentration of sales among the two largest manufacturers will probably increase as a result of the standard. However, the shrinking size of the market itself may prompt some major firms to drop this product line. Companies currently making antennas that substantially comply with the standard will probably gain a significant short-run competitive advantage over other producers whose products do not already comply with the standard's basic provisions. (3) Compliance with the standard may be relatively more burdensome for the smaller firms in the producing industry. Several small firms which entered the market in the early- and mid-1970's have already left the market due to the overall decrease in demand for the product. Those that remain account for less than 10 percent of annual unit shipments. None of these small firms is expected to go out of business as a result of issuance of the standard because most also produce directional CB and other base and mobile communications antennas and equipment. However, the Commission anticipates that most of these small firms will probably discontinue omnidirectional CB base station antenna production, at least temporarily, until a supplier of complying components is found, or until a decision can be made about long-term prospects. (4) In order to minimize the adverse effects on competition and manufacturing and other commercial practices, the standard is a performance standard defined in terms of the factors the Commission determined to be significant for the protection of consumers. Thus, manufacturers have a maximum degree of flexibility in how to meet the standard, since the standard does not specify how the protection performance is to be obtained. (5) The Commission also considered alternative technical approaches to reducing or eliminating unreasonable risks of injury associated with omnidirectional CB base station antennas, including incorporation of provisions in the standard which would allow the antenna to meet its requirements by grounding. The Commission rejected this approach because of the absence of any practical means for a consumer to ensure that the ground system will be adequate to dissipate the large amounts of power involved in a powerline contact accident. Additionally, the Commission considered the possibility that the standard might require CB base station antennas to incorporate a device to sense the electromagnetic field of a powerline. The Commission rejected this alternative because of the cost involved in such an approach, and because consumers could install an antenna even though the presence of a powerline is indicated. (6) The Commission considered making the provisions of the standard less stringent and eliminating requirements applicable to the antenna's feed cable, in order to lessen the adverse impact of the standard on competition and manufacturing practices. However, it was determined that such changes to the standard would reduce the effectiveness of the standard and thus were not consistent with the public health and safety. Furthermore, these changes would not significantly reduce the adverse effects on competition and manufacturing practices. The elimination of requirements applicable to the feed cable would, with known technology, result in almost completely negating the benefits of the standard and is thus not consistent with the public health and safety. (7) The Commission also considered the possibility of issuing the requirements of the standard as a voluntary test method rather than as a mandatory standard. The Commission estimated that if the provisions of the standard were issued as a voluntary test method, the total cost of such a voluntary test method to consumers during the first year after issuance would be about 30 percent of the total cost to consumers expected to result from promulgation of a mandatory standard. However, the Commission estimated that a voluntary test method would prevent only about 25 percent of the deaths and injuries which may be avoided by issuance of a mandatory standard. The Commission declined to issue the provisions of the standard as a voluntary test method because it concluded that such an approach would not only prevent fewer deaths and injuries each year than a mandatory standard, but would also have a less favorable ratio of benefits to costs than a mandatory standard. (8) The Commission also considered the possibility of undertaking a joint effort with a trade association to inform all users of CB antennas of the dangers which can result from contact with overhead powerlines as an alternative to issuance of a mandatory standard. The Commission observed that this alternative would have a relatively small economic impact on the industry. The Commission also observed that extensive efforts to promote public awareness of the dangers of contacting overhead powerlines have been conducted in the past by the Commission, antenna manufacturers, and utility companies, and that electrocutions and serious injuries continue to occur during installation and removal of CB base station antennas. For this reason, the Commission concluded that a public information campaign would prevent fewer deaths and injuries than issuance of a mandatory standard, and rejected such a campaign as an alternative to issuance of the standard. (f) The rule, including its effective date, is reasonably necessary to eliminate or reduce an unreasonable risk of injury associated with the product. (2) The Commission estimates that increased retail prices due to the standard will cost consumers up to about $750,000 per year. The Commission also estimates that the standard will prevent approximately 8 deaths and 8 or more injuries during the first year the standard is in effect. Thus, if the standard saves 8 lives per year, the cost of the standard will be about $94,000 for each life saved. 1 1 (3) As to the benefits from reduced injuries, the Commission estimates that, if 8 injuries are prevented during the first year the standard is in effect, the actual costs saved by the accidents prevented by the standard will amount to up to $21,000 to $37,000, exclusive of pain, suffering, or disability. If a monetary factor for these less quantifiable components is included, annual injury reduction benefits could be about $288,000 to $1,680,000. (4) The effective date of the standard was selected after balancing the increased costs to manufacturers and consumers that are associated with shorter effective dates against the benefits to the public that would be caused by having the effective date as soon as possible. (5) The requirement for the cautionary statement in the instructions for the antenna is intended to ensure the effectiveness of the standard by discouraging any relaxation of present safety practices involving staying away from powerlines. Since instructions for this product are already required by 16 CFR part 1402, the additional statement should have little or no adverse economic impact. (6) After considering the costs and benefits associated with the standard, the Commission concludes that the standard, including its effective date, is reasonably necessary to eliminate or reduce an unreasonable risk of electric shock injury associated with omnidirectional CB base station antennas and that promulgation of the rule is in the public interest. Subpart B—Certification § 1204.11 General. Section 14(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (“the act”), 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), requires each manufacturer, private labeler, or importer of a product which is subject to a Consumer Product Safety Standard and which is distributed in commerce to issue a certificate of compliance with the applicable standard and to base that certificate upon a test of each item or upon a reasonable testing program. The purpose of this subpart B of part 1204 is to establish requirements that manufacturers and importers must follow to certify that their products comply with the Safety Standard for Omnidirectional CB base Station Antennas (16 CFR part 1204, subpart A). Private labelers of CB antennas subject to the standard need not issue a certificate of compliance if they have been furnished a certificate issued by the manufacturer or importer of the antennas. This subpart B describes the minimum features of a reasonable testing program and includes requirements for recordkeeping. § 1204.12 Definitions. In addition to the definitions set forth in section 3 of the act, and in § 1204.2 of the standard, the following definitions shall apply to this subpart B of part 1204: (a) Private labeler (b) Production interval § 1204.13 Certificate of compliance. (a) The manufacturer or importer of any product subject to the standard must issue the certificate of compliance required by section 14(a) of the act. If the testing required by this subpart B of part 1204 has been performed by or for the foreign manufacturer of a product, the importer may rely on such tests to support the certificate of compliance if the importer is a resident of the United States or has a resident agent in the U.S., and the records are maintained in the U.S. The importer is responsible for ensuring that the foreign manufacturer's records show that all testing used to support the certificate of compliance has been performed properly with passing or acceptable results and that the records provide a reasonable assurance that all antennas imported comply with the standard. (b) A certificate of compliance must accompany each product or otherwise be furnished to any distributor or retailer to whom the product is delivered by the manufacturer or importer. (c) The certificate shall state: (1) That the product “complies with all applicable consumer product safety standards (16 CFR part 1204)”, (2) The name and address of the manufacturer or importer issuing the certificate, and (3) The date of manufacture and, if different from the address in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the place of manufacture. § 1204.14 Certification tests. (a) General. (b) Tests of each item. (c) Reasonable testing programs Requirements. (ii) All reasonable testing programs shall include qualification tests, which must be performed on one or more samples of the CB antennas representative of each model produced, or to be produced, to demonstrate that the product is capable of passing the tests prescribed by the standard and shall also include production tests, which must be performed during appropriate production intervals as long as the product is being manufactured. (iii) Corrective action and/or additional testing must be performed whenever certification tests of samples of the product give results that do not provide a high degree of assurance that all antennas manufactured during the applicable production interval will pass the tests of the standard. (2) Testing by third parties. § 1204.15 Qualification testing. (a) Testing. (b) Product modifications. § 1204.16 Production testing. (a) General. (b) Types and frequency of testing. (c) Test failure Sale of antennas. (2) Corrective actions. § 1204.17 Records. Each manufacturer or importer of CB antennas subject to the standard shall maintain the following records, which shall be maintained for 3 years after the creation of the records and shall be available to any designated officer or employee of the Commission in accordance with section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2065(b)): (a) Records of the qualification and production testing required by this subpart B, including a description of the types of tests conducted, the dates and results of the tests, and the production interval selected for the performance of the production testing. (b) Records of all corrective actions taken, including the specific actions taken to improve the design or manufacture and to correct any noncomplying antenna produced during the period, the date the action was taken, and the test failure which necessitated the action. (Information collection requirements contained in paragraph (a) were approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 3041-0006) Figures 1 and 2 to Part 1204—Suggested Instrumentation for Current Monitoring Device and High Voltage Facility Figures 3 and 4 to Part 1204—High Voltage Test Facility and Antenna System Test Setup [47 FR 36201, Aug. 19, 1982; 48 FR 57125, Dec. 28, 1983]