90TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session

REPORT No. 1166

RADIATION CONTROL FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT OF 1968

MARCH 12, 1968.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. STAGGERS, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 10790]

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 10790) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the protection of the public health from radiation emissions from electronic products, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SHORT TITLE

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968".

AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT

SEC. 2. Part F of title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended(1) by striking out the heading for such part and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"PART F-LICENSING OF BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS AND CLINICAL LABORATORIES AND CONTROL OF RADIATION

"SUBPART 1-BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS";

(2) by inserting immediately above the section heading of section 353 the following:

"SUBPART 2-CLINICAL LABORATORIES"; and

(3) by adding at the end of such part F the following new subpart:

"SUBPART 3-ELECTRONIC PRODUCT RADIATION CONTROL

"DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

"SEC. 354. The Congress hereby declares that the public health and safety must be protected from the dangers of electronic product radiation. Thus, it is the purpose of this subpart to provide for the establishment by the Secretary of an electronic product radiation control program which shall include the development and administration of performance standards to control the emission of electronic product radiation from electronic products and the undertaking by public and private organizations of research and investigation into the effects and control of such radiation emissions.

"DEFINITIONS

"SEC. 355. As used in this subpart

"(1) the term 'electronic product radiation' means

"(A) any ionizing or non-ionizing electromagnetic or particulate radiation, or

"(B) any sonic or ultrasonic wave,

which is emitted from an electronic product as the result of the operation of an electronic circuit in such product;

"(2) the term 'electronic product' means any manufactured or assembled product which contains an electronic circuit and which emits electronic product radiation;

"(3) the term 'manufacturer' means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembling, or importing of electronic products;

"(4) the term 'commerce' means (A) commerce between any place in any State and any place outside thereof; and (B) commerce wholly within the District of Columbia; and

"(5) the term 'State' includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

"ELECTRONIC PRODUCT RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM

"SEC. 356. (a) The Secretary shall establish and carry out an electronic product radiation control program designed to protect the public health and safety from electronic product radiation. As a part of such program, he shall―

to

"(1) pursuant to section 357, develop and administer performance standards for electronic products;

"(2) plan, conduct, coordinate, and support research, development, training, and operational activities to minimize the emissions of, and the exposure of people to, electronic product radiation;

(3) maintain liaison with and receive information from industry, industry associations, and other organizations on present and future potential electronic product radiation;

"(4) study and evaluate emissions of, and conditions of exposure to, electronic product radiation;

"(5) develop, test, and evaluate the effectiveness of procedures and techniques for minimizing exposure to electronic product radiation; and

"(6) consult and maintain liaison with the Secretary of Commerce on (A) techniques, equipment, and programs for testing and evaluating electronic product radiation, and (B) the development of performance standards pursuant to section 357 to control such radiation emissions.

"(b) In carrying out the purposes of subsection (a), the Secretary is authorized

“(1)(A) collect and make available, through publications and other appropriate means, the results of, and other information concerning, research and studies relating to the nature and extent of the hazards and control of electronic product radiation; and (B) make such recommendations relating to such hazards and control as he considers appropriate;

"(2) make grants to public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions, and to individuals for the purposes stated in paragraphs (2), (4), and (5) of subsection (a) of this section;

"(3) contract with public or private agencies, institutions, and organizations, and with individuals, without regard to sections 3648 and 3709 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31 U.S.C. 529, 41 U.S.C. 5); and

“(4) procure (by negotiation or otherwise) electronic products for research and testing purposes, and sell or otherwise dispose of such products.

"PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

"SEC. 357. (a) (1) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe performance standards for electronic products to control the emission of electronic product radiation from such products if he determines that such standards are necessary for the protection of the public health and safety. In the development of such standards, the Secretary shall consult with appropriate interested persons, including representatives of industries which would be affected by such standards, and shall give consideration to

"(A) the latest available scientific and medical data in the field of electronic product radiation;

"(B) the standards currently recommended by (i) other Federal agencies having responsibilities relating to the control and measurement of electronic product radiation, and (ii) public or private groups having an expertise in the field of electronic product radiation;

"(C) the technical and economic feasibility of such standards as applied to a particular electronic product; and

"(D)_the_adaptability of such standards to the need for uniformity and reliability of testing and measuring procedures and equipment.

"(2) The Secretary may prescribe different and individual performance standards, to the extent appropriate and feasible, for different electronic products so as to recognize their different operating characteristics and uses.

“(3) The performance standards prescribed under this section shall not apply to any electronic product which is intended solely for export if (A) such product and the outside of any shipping container used in the export of such product are labeled or tagged to show that such product is intended for export, and (B) such product meets all the applicable requirements of the country to which such product is intended for export.

"(4) The Secretary may by regulation amend or revoke any performance standard prescribed under this section.

"(b) The provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 of the United States Code (relating to the administrative procedure for rulemaking), and of chapter 7 of such title (relating to judicial review), shall apply with respect to any regulation prescribing, amending, or revoking any standard prescribed under this section.

"(c) Each regulation prescribing, amending, or revoking a standard shall specify the date on which it shall take effect which, in the case of any regulation prescribing, or amending any standard, may not be sooner than one year or not later than two years after the date on which such regulation is issued, unless the Secretary finds, for good cause shown, that an earlier or later effective date is in the public interest and publishes in the Federal Register his reason for such finding, in which case such earlier or later date shall apply.

"(d) (1) In a case of actual controversy as to the validity of any regulation issued under this section prescribing, amending, or revoking a performance standard, any person who will be adversely affected by such regulation when it is effective may at any time prior to the sixtieth day after such regulation is issued file a petition with the United States court of appeals for the circuit wherein such person resides or has his principal place of business, for a judicial review of such regulation. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Secretary or other officer designated by him for that purpose. The Secretary thereupon shall file in the court the record of the proceedings on which the Secretary based the regulation, as provided in section 2112 of title 28 of the United States Code.

"(2) If the petitioner applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shows to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the Secretary, the court may order such additional evidence (and evidence in rebuttal thereof) to be taken before the Secretary, and to be adduced upon the hearing, in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as to the court may seem proper. The Secretary may modify his findings, or make new findings, by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and he shall file such modified or new findings, and his recommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside of his original regulation, with the return of such additional evidence.

"(3) Upon the filing of the petition referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the court shall have juridsiction to review the regulation in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5 of the United States Code and to grant appropriate relief as provided in such chapter.

"(4) The judgment of the court affirming or setting aside, in whole or in part, any such regulation of the Secretary shall be final, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon certiorari or certification as provided in section 1254 of title 28 of the United States Code.

"(5) Any action instituted under this subsection shall survive, notwithstanding any change in the person occupying the office of Secretary or any vacancy in such office.

"(6) The remedies provided for in this subsection shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies provided by law.

"(e) A certified copy of the transcript of the record and administrative proceedings under this section shall be furnished by the Secretary to any interested party at his request, and payment of the costs thereof, and shall be admissible in any criminal, exclusion of imports, or other proceeding arising under or in respect of this subpart, irrespective of whether proceedings with respect to the regulation have previously been initiated or become final under this section.

"(f) (1) The Secretary shall appoint a National Adyisory Committee on Electronic Product Radiation Standards (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the 'Committee') which he shall consult before prescribing any performance standard under this section. The Committee shall be composed of not less than 9 members who shall be fairly representative of (A) industries manufacturing electronic products to which such standards may apply, (B) independent testing laboratory personnel, (C) public and private nonprofit scientific and professional organizations expert on electronic product radiation safety, and (D) the general public. Each member appointed by the Secretary shall hold office for not more than two years, except that any member may be reappointed.

"(2) Members of the Committee who are not officers or employees of the United States shall, while attending meetings or conferences of the Committee or otherwise engaged in the business of the Committee, be entitled to receive compensation at a rate fixed by the Secretary, but not exceeding $100 per diem (including traveltime), and while away from their homes or regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized in section 5703 of title 5 of the United States Code for persons in the Government service employed intermittently. Payments under this subsection shall not render members of the Committee officers or employees of the United States for any purpose.

"(g) The Secretary shall review and evaluate on a continuing basis testing programs carried out by industry which are intended to assure that electronic products comply with standards prescribed under this section.

"NOTIFICATION OF DEFECTS IN ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

"SEC. 358. (a) Every manufacturer of electronic products shall, within a reasonable time after discovering that an electronic product produced, assembled, or imported by him has a defect which relates to the safety of use of such product by reason of the emission of electronic product radiation, or that an electronic product produced, assembled, or imported by him on or after the effective date of an applicable standard prescribed pursuant to section 357 fails to comply with such standard, furnish notification of such defect or failure to comply to the persons (where known to the manufacturer) specified in subsection (b) of this section. "(b) The notification required by subsection (a) of this section shall be accomplished

"(1) by certified mail to the first purchaser of such product for purposes other than resale, and to any subsequent transferee of such product who is the holder of any manufacturer's warranty on such product; and

"(2) by certified mail or other more expeditious means to the dealers or distributors of such manufacturer to whom such product was delivered. "(c) The notification required by subsection (a) of this section shall contain a clear description of such defect or failure to comply with an applicable standard, an evaluation of the hazard reasonably related to such defect or failure to comply, and a statement of the measures to be taken to repair such defect.

"(d) Every manufacturer of electronic products shall furnish to the Secretary a true or representative copy of all notices, bulletins, and other communications to the dealers or distributors of such manufacturer or to purchasers (or subsequent transferees) of electronic products of such manufacturer regarding any such defect in such product or any such failure to comply with a standard applicable to such product. The Secretary shall disclose to the public so much of the information contained in such notice or other information obtained under section 360(a) as he deems will assist in carrying out the purposes of this subpart, but he