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INDEX

A

Administrative Conference of the United States, 211 , 220 , 244 n.12

Administrative costs, 194 -96

Administrative procedures: of ANSI, 97 -98, 261 n.19

and the "balance" of interests, 10 -11, 15 , 125 , 176 -78, 213 -16

and notice and comment requirements, 213 -14, 216 -18

of public versus private sectors, 212 -18

and quickness of rulemaking by FAA, 66 , 86

and time-consuming nature of rulemaking, 63 , 204.

See also Administrative Procedures Act; Consensus decisionmaking

Administrative Procedures Act (APA), 30 , 211 -12, 216 , 244 n.11

Allied Tube and Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head,189 , 233

American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), 25 , 26 , 137

American Gas Association (AGA): as creation of a trade association, 124

Gas Appliance Information Network (GAIN), 198

as secretariat of ANSI gas standards, 126

split between staff and members of, 178

varied interests of members of, 130 .

See also American Gas Association Laboratories

American Gas Association Laboratories (AGA Labs), 25 , 26 , 36 , 124 , 126

gas space heaters, standard for, 125 -33

procedures for developing standards, 266 n.12

"review and comment" texts, 126

warning labels, disfavored by, 128 .

See also American Gas Association; Gas space heaters

American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 7, 25 , 26

Board of Standards Review, 15 , 98 -99, 126

procedures for certifying standards, 97 -98, 261 n.19

safe work practices task group, 156

Standards Action,98 , 126 , 213

standards affecting the public interest, 22 -23.

See also Consensus decisionmaking

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), 7 , 15 , 24 , 25 , 27

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 7 , 12 , 25 , 26 -27

American Society of Mechanical Engineers v. Hydrolevel Corp.,188 -89, 246 n.35, 248 n.8

Antitrust cases: Allied Tube and Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head,189 , 233

American Society of Mechanical Engineers v. Hydrolevel Corp.,188 -89, 246 n.35, 248 n.8

Radiant Burners v. Peoples Gas,188

Antitrust law: as constraint on private standards, 6 , 187 -90

reform, proposals to, 232 -34

and standardization, 12


292

Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), 16 , 24 , 178 -79

Attorneys. See Lawyers

Aviation fire(s): Air Canada, 69 -71

FAA standard concerning, 67 -79

and household smoke detectors, 72 -74

NFPA standard concerning, 79 -85

Varig Airlines, 68 .

See also Aviation safety; Fire extinguishers, hand-held

Aviation safety: compared to other methods of transportation, 256 -57n.22

"no risk" approach to, 85

politics of, 186 -87

and rareness of accidents, 75 , 76 -77.

See also Aviation fire(s); Federal Aviation; Administration (FAA); National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

B

Bacow, Lawrence, 15

Banner, Adam Paul, petition to CPSC, 109 , 111 , 118

Bardach, Eugene, 205

Benefit-cost analysis. See Cost-benefit analysis

Blau, Peter, 12 -13

Board of Standards Review, ANSI, 15 , 98 -99, 126

Braeutigam, Ronald, 15

Brand, Donald, 13

Breyer, Stephen, 219

Building code(s): organizations, 22 , 25 , 27 -28, 236

requirements of, 9 , 94 , 108 , 124

C

Capture theory, 9 , 11 -12, 212

limits on application to private sector, 40 , 175 -80, 186

Case studies: and normative classification of outcomes, 170 -73

and "overlap" problem, 32 , 150 , 173 -74, 179 -80

selection of, 31 -35

Case studies, summary evaluations: aviation fire safety, 85 -88

gas space heaters, 143 -45

grain elevators, 63 -64

woodstoves, 117 -19

Chubb, John, 8

Civil Aeronautics Board, 11 , 80

Cohen, David, 150

Comparative institutional advantages, private versus public standards-setting, 17 -20, 193 -207, 226 -30

Comparative safety information, 136 , 229 -30

Compliance: CPSC's difficulties with, in woodstove case, 108 -9

with private standards, forces compelling, 9 , 28 , 94 , 108 , 124

with private standards, misconceptions about, 78 , 114 -16, 163 , 224 -25

and product testing, 183 -84

as rationale for public standards, 224 -25

See also Cost-benefit analysis; Professional ethics; Third-party certification

Comprehensive rationality. See Cost-benefit analysis

Consensus decisionmaking, 17 , 24 -25

and actual outcomes, 214 -16

and canvassing by UL, 97 -99

as "lowest common denominator," 9 , 11 , 24 -25, 176 -77.

See also Administrative procedures

Consumer misuse. See Misuse, consumer

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 29 -31, 263 n.44

gas space heaters, standard for, 133 -43

judicial review of, 117 , 190 -91

national injury estimates of, 112 -13, 199 -200, 259 n.4

poor reputation of, 34

private standards-setters, interactions with, 8 , 31 , 89 , 223 -24

regulatory philosophy of, 138 -40, 150 -52

and turnover of commissioners, 110

woodstoves, standard for labeling, 109 -17.

See also specific subject areas of CPSC standards

Consumer's Union, 105 , 151 , 176

Cost-benefit analysis: by CPSC, in woodstove proceedings, 113 -14

differences in public and private approaches to, 165 -67, 218 -20

difficulties in using, 171

by FAA, in fire safety proceedings, 76 -78, 187

and "intuition," 166

mandated by statute, 275 n.4

by OSHA, in grain elevator proceedings, 59 -60

proposal to promote, in private sector, 218

reluctance of NFPA to utilize, 219

UL's single effort at, 274 n.3, 277 n.27

D

Decisional costs, of private and public standards-setting, 194 -96

Delegation of authority: and The End of Liberalism (Lowi), 11 , 13 -14

by FAA, to private sector, 67 -68

through adoption of test methods, 114

through codification of accepted business practices, 102 , 155 -56, 183

Deregulation, 4


293

Design standards: avoidance of, 47 -48

favored by UL, 101 -2

and regulatory philosophy, 153 , 155 -56

"Desk standards." See Underwriters Laboratories (UL): "desk standards" of

Dietz, Thomas, 159

Disclosure: of comparative safety information, 229 -30

minimal impact of, 114

and regulatory philosophy, 156 -57

and warnings, 48 , 97 , 111 , 127 -28

Diver, Colin, 218

Downs, Anthony, 184

Dust control. See Grain elevators

E

Eads, George, 9 , 11 , 31 , 176 , 199 , 231

Economic theory of regulation. See Capture theory

End of Liberalism, The (Lowi), 11

Engineering judgment. See Engineers; Guesswork, educated

Engineers: education of, 236

as "human factors" specialists, 160

"loyal opposition" to, 235

and margins of safety, 82

in private sector, dominance of, 196

professional ethics of, 159 -62.

See also Professional ethics; Regulatory philosophy

Environment, health, and safety regulation. See Protective regulation

Evolution of standards, comparison of public and private sectors, 202 -5

F

Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FM), 7, 22 -23

and hand-held fire extinguishers, 74 , 84

"False sense of security," arguments invoking, 253 n.49, 271 n.2

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): advisory circulars, use of, 67 , 69

airplane cabin protection rule, 70 -79

as Congress's scapegoat, 72

delegation to private sector, through engineers, 67 -68

lack of technical knowledge, 86

quickness of rulemaking, 66 , 86

Regulatory Analysis Group, 76 -77

rush to regulate, 86 .

See also Aviation fire(s)

Aviation safety

Federalism, 141 -42, 226

Federal Trade Commission (FTC), efforts to regulate private standards, 6 , 8 , 10 , 247 n.5

Fieldwork, notes on, 35 -36

Financial Accounting Standards Board, 22

Fire extinguishers, hand-held: flexible nozzles, effectiveness of, 74 , 83

Halon, advantages of, 68 -69, 72 -74, 82

NFPA position on Halon, 82 -83

training for use of, 78 , 84

UL standards for, 74 , 84 , 87 .

See also Aviation fire(s)

Aviation safety

Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FM)

Florman, Samuel, 161

Forestalling government regulation, 179 -80

G

Garvin, David, 179

Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA):

arguments cast in technical terms, 151

petition to revoke CPSC standard, 141 -42

Gas space heaters, 121 -22

and carbon monoxide poisoning, 123 -24

chronic health effects of, 140

consumer misuse of, 151 -52

injuries caused by, 123 -24

legal prohibitions of, 129 -30

and National Fuel Gas Code, 131 , 185

oxygen depletion sensor (ODS) for, 134 -40

safety standards for, 120 -45.

See also American Gas Association Laboratories (AGA Labs)

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Government agencies. See Public standards-setting organizations

names of specific government agencies

Grain dust. See Grain elevators

Grain elevators: "action level" for housekeeping, in OSHA standard, 57 -59

explosions in, 41 -42, 44 , 56

housekeeping strategies for, 45 -46, 48 -49

ignition-control strategies for, 42 -45

and lower explosive limit (LEL), 41 -42

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) studies of, 44 , 56 -57, 200

NFPA standard for, 46 -56

OSHA standard for, 56 -63

pneumatic dust-control in, 45 , 48 , 61

safety standards for, public and private, 39 -64

types of, 40 -41.

See also National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Guesswork, educated, 165

and


294

Guesswork, educated (continued)

judicial review, 191 -92

by NFPA, in aviation fire safety standard, 82

by NFPA, in grain elevator standard, 49

by OSHA, in grain elevator standard, 57 -59

by UL, in woodstove standard, 102 -4

H

Halon. See Fire extinguishers, hand-held

Harter, Philip, 231

Hemenway, David, 6 , 237 , 238

Hirschman, Albert, 8

Hopkins, Thomas, 77

Housekeeping. See Grain elevators

Hunt, Michael, 16

I

"Independent" organizations, 6 , 12 -13, 102 , 126

Indian Head. See Allied Tube and Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head

Industrywide Voluntary Product Standards (Hemenway), 6

Injuries, information about, 198 -200

in case studies, 46 , 106 , 112 -13, 123 , 133 -34

and "mythical numbers," 265 n.7

proposals for improving, 234 -35

as a public good, 199 , 234

Installation codes: as basis for test methods, 151 -52, 181 -82

requiring compliance with private standards, 9 , 94 , 108 , 124

tangled relationship to product standards, 36 , 83 -84, 87 , 99 , 104 , 131 , 236

Insurance companies: National Aircraft Underwriters' Association, 79

participation of, in standards-setting, 47 , 51

role of, in creating UL, 94

role of, in reducing risk, 46 , 80 , 236 -37, 272 n.7

Interaction of public and private standards, 31 , 36 , 89 , 140 , 170 , 227 -28, 230

and the "overlap" problem, 32 , 173 -74.

See also Installation codes; Standards policy

"Interest group model" of administrative law, 212 .

See also Administrative procedures

"Iron law of oligarchy." See Michels, Robert

J

Johnson, Leland, 218 , 275 n.5

Judicial review: as constraint on CPSC, 118 , 191 -92

of CPSC, 117 , 190 -91, 248 n.16

by Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, 54

of OSHA grain elevator safety standard, 62 -63

K

Kagan, Robert, 205

Kelman, Steven, 16

Knowledge. See Injuries, information about

Research and development

Technical knowledge, advantages of, in private sector

Technical knowledge, lack of, in public sector

L

Labels. See Disclosure

Law. See Antitrust law; Judicial review; Liability law

Lawyers: dominance of, in public agencies, 162 , 196 -97

enforcement ethic of, 162 -63.

See also Professional ethics

Layton, Edwin, 235 , 270 n.19

Leone, Robert, 13

Liability law: effect on private standards, 50 , 108 , 144 -45, 183 , 190 -91, 199

and "liability-proof" standards, 50 , 53 -54

proposals to reform, 231 -32

Lindblom, Charles, 150

Literature, on standards-setting, 6 , 17

"Logic of collective action." See Olson, Mancur

Lowi, Theodore, 11 -12, 13 -14

M

McConnell, Grant, 10 , 11 , 12

Merrill, William, 94

Michels, Robert, 10 , 16

Missouri Public Interest Research Group, petition to CPSC, 133

Misuse, consumer: difficulties in "testing for," 107 -8, 181 -83

of gas space heaters, 151 -52

of woodstoves, 104 -6.

See also Liability law; Professional ethics; Regulatory philosophy

Moe, Terry, 8

Mosher, Frederick, 158 -59

Mother Jones , 36

N

National Academy of Sciences (NAS), studies of grain elevator safety, 44 , 56 -57

National Bureau of Standards (NBS): budget of, 278 n.24

cost-benefit analysis by, 166

renamed National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 5 ,243 n.8

research by, 91 , 110 , 137 -38, 200 -201, 227 , 235

"scientific" perspective of, 160

survey of private standards, 5 , 7 , 21 , 25

National Electric Code, 28 , 55 , 166 , 184


295

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 7 , 25 , 28 , 80 , 177 , 244 n.12

accident investigations by, 199

aviation fire extinguishers, standard for, 79 -85

chimneys and venting, standard for, 104 -5

demand for standards of, 24 , 81 , 87 -88, 184 -85

explosion venting, standards for, 54 -55, 251 n.17

Federal Register notices about, 213

grain elevators, standard for, 46 -56

political and institutional forces affecting, 177 , 184 -86

relationship to UL, 83 -84

Standards Council, 81 , 214 , 273 nn.22, 29

time-consuming nature of proceedings, 194 -95.

See also Allied Tube and Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head

Installation codes; National Electric Code; National Fuel Gas Code; specific subject areas of NFPA standards

National Fuel Gas Code, 131 , 185

National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), 48 , 52 , 58 -59, 168 , 186

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). See National Bureau of Standards (NBS)

National Recovery Act, 13

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), 67 -68

influence of, 186 -87, 234 -35

investigations, expansive approach to, 71 .

See also Aviation safety; Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

"Notice and comment" rulemaking. See Administrative procedures

O

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 29 -30, 35

adoption of private standards, 14

citations based on NFPA standard, 48 , 56

effect of explosions on, 56 -57, 61 -62

enforcement strategy, importance of, 58 -59, 63

and "general duty" clause, 56

grain elevator safety, standard for, 56 -63

political opposition to, 57 , 61

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): and Circular A-119, 6 , 8 , 174 , 224 , 224 n.10

lax review of FAA cabin protection standard, 79

opposition to OSHA grain elevator standard, 61 -63

Olson, Mancur,10 , 245 n.26, 272 n.6

"Orphan" drugs, 181

as analogy for standards policy, 228 -29

Owen, Bruce, 15

Oxygen Depletion Sensor (ODS). See Gas space heaters

P

Paternalism: aversion to, by private sector, 104 -6, 151

endorsement of, by CPSC, 150 -51

niche for public emphasis on, 226 -27.

See also Professional ethics; Regulatory philosophy

Private Power and American Government (McConnell), 10

Private standards, 5 -6

affecting public health and safety, 22 -23

appendixes to, 53 -54, 56 , 190

compliance with, 9 , 95 , 115 -16, 130 -31

conventional wisdom about, 8

CPSC "recognition" of, 8 , 245 n.15

evolution of, 202 -5

FTC proposal to regulate, 6 , 8 , 10 , 247 n.5

interaction with public standards, 33

as "lowest common denominator," 9 , 11 , 24 -25, 176 -77

number of, 7 , 21 -22, 25

OSHA adoption of, 14 , 246 nn.42, 43

as prohibitions, 153 -54

proposals to improve, 230 -39

pro-safety influences on, 177 -78

revisions of, 204 -5

and technology-forcing, 154 -55

uniform requirements of, 136

vagueness of, 47 -48, 50 -51.

See also Private standards-setting organizations; Standards policy; specific subject areas of standards

Private standards-setting organizations: and aversion to comparative safety ratings, 229

"independent" nature of, 6 , 12 -13, 102 , 126

organizational interests of, 14 -17, 178 -79

profiles of prominent, 25 -28

research and development efforts of, 201

by size, 7 , 25

and trade associations, 23 , 33

types of, 23 -24.

See also names of specific standards-setting organizations

Problem definition, comparison of public and private approaches to, 150 -52.

See also Professional ethics; Regulatory philosophy

Product testing. See Third-party certification

Professional ethics: and "enforcement ethic" of lawyers, 162 -63, 224 -25

of engineers, 159 -62, 170

in the private sector, for promoting safety, 86 , 177 -78, 272 n.8

of "risk professionals," 159

and


296

Professional ethics (continued)

scientific" perspective, 160 .

See also Engineers; Lawyers; Regulatory philosophy

Protective regulation, 3 -5, 6 , 8 -11

capture theory, limitations of, 11 -17

and number of private compared to public standards, 30 -31

through private standards, 22 -23

through public standards, 29 -31

Public standards: administrative costs of, 194

conventional wisdom about, 3 -5, 6 , 8 -11

effective date of, 157 -58

evolution of, 202 -5

interaction with private standards, 33

niches for, 227 -30

number of, 29 -31

political pressure for, 56 , 71 -72, 85 , 110 , 134

as prohibitions, 153 -54

for technology-forcing, 154 -55.

See also Public standards-setting organizations; Standards policy; specific subject areas of standards

Public standards-setting organizations: approaches to setting standards, 205 -7, 226 -27

credibility problems of, 197 -98

influence of lawyers on, 162 -63

information systems of, 200 , 234 -35

organization of, on issue-by-issue basis, 180

participation in private standards-setting, 223 -24

and protective regulation, 29 -31

requirement to do cost-benefit analysis, 218 -20

research and development by, 201 -2

technical knowledge, lack of, 196 -98.

See also names of specific government agencies

R

Radiant Burners v. Peoples Gas,188

Rating, 136 , 229 -30

Regulation. See Protective regulation

Regulatory negotiation, 217

Regulatory philosophy: about acceptable solutions, 152 -58

and deference to managers, 155 -56

about disclosure and warnings, 48 , 127 -28, 156 -57

normative implications of, 169 -73

and problem definition, 150 -52

about prohibiting products, 131 , 153 -54

relationship to professional ethics, 158 -63

about technology-forcing, 154 -55.

See also Professional ethics

Research and development: comparison of private and public sector capacity for, 200 -202

by National Academy of Sciences, about grain elevators, 44 , 56 -57

by National Bureau of Standards, 91 , 110 , 137 , 200 -201, 227

by private sector, reluctance to engage in, 183

proposal to influence public, 234 -35

Retroactive effect of standards, 157 -58

disagreement about, in NFPA grain elevator proceedings, 47 , 51 -53, 64

Reuter, Peter, 9 , 31 , 176 , 199

Rhoads, Steven, 71

Rulemaking. See Administrative procedures

Rycroft, Robert, 159

S

Safety: degrees of, reluctance of private sector to evaluate, 136

difficulty in measuring improvements in, 106 , 132 -33

language of, 271 n.2

unlikely advocates of, in private sector, 177 -78.

See also Professional ethics; Regulatory philosophy; specific subject areas of safety standards

Salamon, Lester, 5

Scott, Richard, 12 -13

Simon, Herbert, 212

Social regulation. See Protective regulation

Society of Automotive Engineers, 5 , 7 , 23

Standards Action , ANSI, 98 , 126 , 213

Standards policy, 6 , 8 , 193 , 245 n.15, 277 n.1

Administrative Conference of the United States, recommendations concerning, 211 , 220 , 244 n.12

failures of, 223 -26.

See also Interaction of public and private standards

Standards-setting organizations. See Public standards-setting organizations; Private standards-setting organizations; names of specific organizations

Stewart, Richard, 212 , 248 n.10

Stigler, George, 9 , 12

Strictness: of NFPA grain elevator standard, 54 -55

and "patterns of preference" in public and private sectors, 165 -69

of potential public standards, difficulty in predicting, 179 -80

of public and private standards-setters, 171 -73, 205 -7

T

Technical knowledge, advantages of, in private sector, 86 -87, 196 -98


297

Technical knowledge, lack of, in public sector: aviation fire safety, 73 -75, 85 -86

gas space heaters, 133 -34

grain elevators, 56 -57

woodstoves, 111 -12, 118

Technology-forcing, 154 -55, 226 -27

Testing laboratories. See Third-party certification

Third-party certification, 24

and accepted business practice, 183

business considerations in, 104 -5, 180 -84, 201

of gas space heaters, 124

by "nationally recognized" labs, 94 , 95 , 108 , 195

and test results, differences in, 105 -6, 262 n.34

of woodstoves, 103 -5, 108 -9.

See also American Gas Association Laboratories (AGA Labs); Underwriters Laboratories (UL)

Tort law. See Liability law

Trade associations. See Private standards-setting organizations

Transaction costs, of private and public standards-setting, 194 -96

U

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), 7 , 25 , 28 , 34

access to, 36

Aviation Department, 79

canvass process of, 97 -99

comments on FAA proposal, 72 -73

Consumer Advisory Council of, 98

"desk standards" of, 100 , 195 , 261 n.23

Fire Council of, 96 -97

fire extinguishers, standards for, 74 , 83 -84, 87

history of, 79 , 94 -95

Internal Revenue Service, legal challenge by, 12 , 95

metal chimneys, standards for, 106 , 189 , 191 , 262 n.36

precedents, use of, 100 -101

"rationale" statements by, 97

regulatory philosophy of, 104 -6, 151

and relationship to ANSI, 97 -98, 178

reputation of, 34 , 248 -249n.18

Standards Department of, 99 , 157 , 218

study of terminal grain elevators by, 46 , 251 n.18

unpublished standards of, 100 -101

woodstoves, standards for, 95 -109.

See also Third-party certification; specific subject areas of UL standards

Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, 80 , 97 , 260 n.16

Unvented gas-fired space heaters. See Gas space heaters

Use codes. See Installation codes

V

Viscusi, W. Kip, 168

Voluntary standards. See Private standards

W

Warning labels. See Disclosure

Who Profits (Leone), 13

Wildavsky, Aaron, 19 , 202

Wilensky, Harold, 196

Wilson, James Q., 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 158 , 175 , 185 -86

Wolf, Charles, 3

Woodstoves, 90 , 93

catalytic combustors for, 91

CPSC labeling standard for, 109 -17

creosote hazards from, 91 , 99 , 107 -8

and minimum clearance to combustibles, 91 -92, 103 , 111 , 114

and NFPA standard for chimneys and venting, 104

safety problems with, 92 -94

UL standard for, 94 -109

warning labels for, 97 , 111 , 114


298

Compositor:

Braun-Brumfield, Inc.

Text:

10/13 Sabon

Display:

Sabon

Printer:

Braun-Brumfield, Inc.

Binder:

Braun-Brumfield, Inc.


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