Document NqY1roVknOr32NbGL3K03OjV

FILE NAME: Asbestos in Hair Dryers (HD) DATE: 1979 Apr 20 DOC#: HD043 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter to General Electric from CPSC RE Corrective Actions Necessary for Hair Dryers Containing Asbestos * U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT S A FET Y COMMISSION a i . WASHINGTON, D.C. 20 20 7 . ' . Afcril 20, 1979 r > Vx sa APR 2 i 1973 b - s '>lu> i*1)o !. r-. Reginald H. Jones hairman 4 President of the Board eneral Electric Corporation 135 East Turnpike . airfield, Connecticut 06*131 H CPSC ID 79-109 Kair Dryers Containing Asbestos ear Mr Jones : As you knovi, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ! raff has been investigating electric hair dryers which con ain asbestos materials exposed to> the a:i rstream of" the ' ryer (hair dryers containing asbesttooss)),. The staff has ; ale a preliminary determination t:hat you, have manu faetu: .-.ported, and/or distributed hair dryers containing asbe .r.d that these hair dryers present a substantial product azard within the meaning of section 15 of the Consumer redact Safety Act, as amended (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2064). As . result, we have ooeried an identification file in your name ID 79-109) in the Product Defect Correction Division, .trachea is a memorandum"summarising the staff analysis that .ad to this preliminary determination. L By this letter we are requesting that you undertake lertain actions, requiring you to furnish the Consumer P1 I $ A :roducfc Safety Commission staff with specific, information, Ltd informing you of the views of the Federal Trade Com- rd.ssicn in this matter. . i i i EXHIBIT K i GEGIE 00023 r , , Page 2 > Corrective actions necessary to protect the public. Based on information presently available, we believe that certain corrective actions should be undertaken voluntarily and immediately by you in order to protect the public'. If you do not undertake these actions, we will recommend that the Commission institute proceedings to compel notice and corrective action. Therefore, we ask that you: ' 1. Identify all models of hair dryers which contain asbestos materials exposed to the airstream. Based on information supplied by you we believe the following models contain asbestos: SEE PAGE 2A 2. Halt distribution, manufacture and importation of hair dryers containing asbestos that is exposed to the airstream. ' . 3. Provide notice of the controversy concerning presence of asbestos in hair dryers, identify ^ models containing asbestos to distribution chain, and order your divisions and urge your customers to halt sales. ' . Provide notice to the public of the identified models, of the controversy or hazard, and of any offer detailed in 5, below. . 5. Institute recall of the hair dryers containing asbestos materials either by: (a) Repairing them to eliminate the hazard; (b) Replacing them with products that do not present the hazard; or . (c) Refunding to owners the purchase price. GEGIE 00024 Page 2A Fro Pistol PRO-1/5105-013 - Power Pro Pro Pistol PRO-2/5108-005 - Super Pro Pro Pistol PRO-3/5107-011 ~ Pistol Dryer Pro Pistol . PRO-V5109-001 - Pro Dryer Pro Pistol . PRO-5/5110-013 - Power Pro Pro Pistol PR0-6/5112-005 - Super Pro Pro Pistol PRO-lO/5115-013 - Power Turbo Pro Pistol . PR0-11/5116-G05 - Super Turbo Power Brush PB-1/5113-00'5 - Power Brush Styling Dryer SD-1 - Styling Dryer SD-2 - Styling Dryer . . Styling Dryer SD-V 5 1 01-013 - Styling Dryer. Styling Comb' . STC-1 - Styling Dryer STC-1A - Styling Dryer Styling Comb STC-2 - Mist Styling Comb GEGIE 00025 Page 3 'B. Information that must be supplied the Commission. Because the Commission staff is not now adequately informed within the meaning of section 15(b) of CPSA with respect to your products you are required to inform the Commission staff further. If you do n o t _ immediately furnish the additional information required under section 15(b) of CPSA, we will recommend that _ the Commission.compel the submission of the infor mation under section 27 of CPSA and assess civil penalties under section 20 of CPSA. Please furnish the information required.under s e c t i o n - 15(b) of CPSA as interpreted in sectionlll5.13(d) Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part. 1115> 43 F e d . R e g . 35001-2 (August 7 3 1978) (copy enclosed). Information which has already been supplied in your response to the Commission's Special Order need not be repeated .here but must be referenced._ As part of your response to section 15(b) of CPSA, please answer the following questions immediately about hair dryers that you manufacture(d ) , import(ed), and/or distribute(d). 1. Have you identified all hair dryers containing . ! asbestos? Please supply us with any information you have not already given as to models, date codes, etc. of hair dryers. ' 2. Have you stopped distributing, manufacturing, and/or importing hair dryers containing asbestos? If the answer is yes, please furnish the dates on which you stopped distributing, manufacturing, and/or importing. If the answer is no, please furnish a list of persons to whom these hair dryers have been distributed and identify the places where hair dryers are being manufactured or imported. This list must be updated weekly- 3. (a) Have you notified your customers that there is a controversy concerning the safety of hair dryers containing asbestos? (b) Have you informed your customers as to which hair dryers contain asbestos? (c) Have you urged your customers to stop selling hair dryers containing asbestos? . (d) Have you urged your customers to inform their customers of the controversy? GEGIE 00026 g 4 fe*' If the answer to (a), (b), (c) or (d) is no, please indicate whether and when you intend to notify, inform, and/or urge. If you do not intend im mediately to notify, inform, and urge, please name every person to whom you distributed or to whom you know a hair dryer containing asbestos was distributed. If the answer to (a), (b)., (c), or (d) is yes, please give us a copy of any written notification. ' . 4. Have you notified consumers who may have a hair dryer containing asbestos of the controversy or hazard? If the answer is yes, please give details of your notification. Please supply a copy of any written notification. 5. Do.you have names and addresses of consumers who may have a hair dryer containing asbestos that.you distributed, manufactured, or imported? If the I answer is yes, please describe the form in which i you have these names and addresses and your means of access to them. . 6. Are you repairing or replacing or refunding the purchase price of hair dryers containing asbestos? If the answer Is yes, please indicate whether, and how you are communicating this information .to your customers and/or to consumers. Briefly describe what you are doing. Views of the staff of the Federal Trade Commission. As a result of consultation with the staff of the Federal Trade.Commission, we believe that failure to disclose to your customers information concerning all models that contain asbestos exposed to the air stream may con stitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. ' . The. staff of the Federal Trade Commission has .informed us as follows r . Necessary action on your part includes: (1) notifying all of your customers which models shipped currently or in the past . contain asbestos exposed to the air stream; (2) GEGIE 00032 .. / Page 5 . ; [Continuation of information received from Federal Trade Commission.I indicating that these models may emit asbestos particles that may be respirable during ordinary use; (3) indicating that respiration of asbestos particles is believed by reliable authorities to be linked to increased risk of cancer; (4) providing suitable retail point of sales materials to disclose the information referred to in (l)-(3) above to ultimate purchasers in conjunction with sales of hair dryers already shipped by the company, and not returned; and (5) labeling all models currently being sold containing asbestos exposed to the air stream with the information referred to in (l)-(3) above. Manufacturers or importers who do not sell at the retail level should ^ provide the required information and point of sales materials to their distributors and request that such information and materials be forwarded to retailers. ^ Retailers who manufacture or import hair dryers directly should provide point of . sale disclosure to ultimate purchasers as soon as practicable. In addition to disclosure of the infor mation referred to above, the company may also state its position on whether its hair dryers emit respirable asbestos particles and whether this constitutes a risk to health or safety, if such claims are adequately substantiated. Your sub stantiation for such claims may be subject to challenge. Depending on the degree of risk to users of these products, you may have additional duties under the Federal Trade Commission Act to notify current owners of hair dryers containing asbestos exposed to the air stream of the facts mentioned above. GEGIE 00028 6 ! j If you desire confidential treatment of information that may legally be withheld from the. public, please read carefully the enclosed Federal Register notice of February 22, 1977> concerning the Freedom of Information Act, paying close attention to section 1015-18 (see page 10119*0- In addition, please read carefully the enclosed Federal Register notice of August 7, 1978, especially section 1115-15 con cerning confidentiality and disclosure of data (see page 3tO03) and the discussion of confidentiality in the preamble to the regulation (see pages 34995-96). FAILURE TO REQUEST-- EITHER AT THE TIME OF THE SUBMISSION OR WITHIN TEN (10) WORKING DAYS OF THE SUBMISSION-- THAT THE INFORMATION BE CON SIDERED EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE WILL BE CONSIDERED AN ACKNOWLEDG- ' KENT THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO CLAIM EXEMPT STATUS. THE INFORMATION WILL BE RELEASED IF YOU DO NOT MAKE A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 1015-18. We also believe that corrective action should he under taken voluntarily and immediately by you in order to protect the public with regard to your non-hand held hair dryers which contain asbestos materials. Based on the information supplied I by you we believe the following non-hand held hair dryers i contain asbestos: . . : i {i Salon Dryer 1 i Portable Professional Salon Style Speed UH--20 HD-55 HD-30/UH31 Salon Style HD-56 I HD-54 ` HD-52 HD-51 Salon Style Mist HD-63/633S ' Super-Speed Salon Style Mist HD-63SS/5063-008 Salon Style Mist HD-53 Bonnet Portable Bonnet HD-20 In addition, it has been reported to the Commission that not all General Electric service centers know of General Electric's policy of retrofitting with a non-asbestos liner all GE hair dryers which are asbestos insulated after the dryers are brought in by concerned consumers. Let us know ' immediately of General Electric's efforts to inform the public and the service centers of this policy. It has also been reported to the Commission that the GE Pro S-l-5100-00 hair dryer has been identified to certain consumers who reach GE on the toll-free number as a model containing asbestos, although this information has not been uU ail GEGIE 00029 Page 7 provided to the Commission staff. Furthermore, it has been reported that the GE Sl-5112-0 - Super Pro (made in Singapore) hair dryer contains asbestos; however, we have no information as to whether or not this hair dryer contains asbestos. . Finally, please tell us if the' Pro Pistol PRO-6/5112-005 - Super Pro model, number is applicable to any PR0-6-Super Pro Dryer? Please call Marvin Everhart, Eric Stone.or me (301/ 492-6608) within twenty-four hours of receipt of this letter and give information reasonably available to you and requested under B, above. Please follow this oral communication with . a written submission to this division within five working . days and update this submission weekly if. new information becomes available. . . ' Sincerely, ' .jEnclosures Catherine C; Cook, Director Product Defect Correction Division Compliance & Enforcement Directorate . cc: Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection GEGIE 00030