Setting Safety Standards
  ABBREVIATIONS
  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 collapse sectionPART ONE  INTRODUCTION
 collapse sectionOne  Protective Regulation and the Impasse Between the Public and Private Sectors
 •The Vast Unknown World of Private Standards
 collapse sectionThe Presumption Against Private Standards
 •The "Voluntary" Nature of Private Standards
 •Private Power and Public Safety
 collapse sectionBeyond "Capture" Theory: Toward an Institutional Perspective
 •Who Benefits from Private Safety Standards?
 •Bringing the Bureaucracy Back In
 •Research Goals and General Findings
 collapse sectionTwo  Background and Research Design
 •Private Standards and Public Interests
 collapse sectionOrganizational Forms of Private Standards-Setting
 •Profiles of Prominent Private Standards-Setters
 •The Universe of Public Safety Standards
 collapse sectionResearch Design
 •Notes on Fieldwork

 collapse sectionPART TWO  CASE STUDIES
 collapse sectionThree  Safety Standards for Grain Elevators
 collapse sectionGrain Elevators and the Explosion Problem
 •The Explosion Problem
 •The Ignition-Control Strategy
 •The Housekeeping Strategy
 collapse sectionThe NFPA Standard for Grain Elevators
 •Housekeeping: A Gentlemen's Agreement
 •The Unspoken Arguments: Liability and Retroactivity
 •The Uneasy Solution: Change the Packaging
 •Technical Arguments, Surprising Results
 collapse sectionThe OSHA Standard
 •Hanging a Number on Dust Control
 •The Battle of the Cost-Benefit Analysts
 •Country Elevators and Distributional Effects
 •The OSHA Standard Prevails (with Minor Improvements)
 •Summary Evaluation
 collapse sectionFour  Standards for Aviation Fire Safety
 collapse sectionFire Extinguishers, Smoke Detectors, and the FAA
 •The Air Canada Fire
 •Political Pressure and a Prompt Proposal
 •Technical Objections and a Final Rule
 •Evaluating the FAA Standard
 collapse sectionA Little-known and Surprisingly Strict Private Standard: NFPA 408
 •The 1980 Revival of NFPA 408
 •Flexible Nozzles and Special Training
 •Summary Evaluation
 collapse sectionFive  Safety Standards and Labeling Requirements for Woodstoves
 collapse sectionAn Overview of Woodstove Safety
 •The Creosote Problem
 •Nearby Combustibles and Other Hazards
 •Are Woodstoves a Serious Problem?
 •Underwriters Laboratories
 collapse sectionUL 1482: Room Heaters, Solid-Fuel Type
 •From Proposal to Publication
 •Canvassing for Consensus
 •The Unofficial Story and UL's Unpublished Standards
 •The Importance of Precedents
 •Design Standards and Delegation
 •Performance Requirements and Educated Guesses
 •Product Certification and the Real World
 •Evaluating UL 1482
 •The Nagging Creosote Problem
 collapse sectionThe CPSC Labeling Rule
 •The Staff Drafts a Rule
 •Analysis or Post Hoc Rationalization?
 •Minimal Costs, Doubtful Benefits
 •Comments, Some Changes, and a Deferred Decision
 •Presumed Benefits, Implementation Problems
 •Summary Evaluation
 collapse sectionSix  Safety Standards for Unvented Gas-Fired Space Heaters
 collapse sectionThe Unvented Gas Space Heater
 •The Invisible Hazard: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
 •AGA Labs: The UL of Gas Appliances
 collapse sectionANSI Z21.11.2
 •Whither the Unvented Heater?
 •The Overhaul of Z21.11.2
 •The CPSC and the ODS
 •Optional Equipment: AGA's Uneasy Solution
 •The CPSC Investigates the ODS
 •Playing Poker with the Private Sector
 •Petitions and Confusion Follow the CPSC Rule
 •Summary Evaluation

 collapse sectionPART THREE  ANALYSIS
 collapse sectionSeven  Public and Private Conceptions of Safety
 •Paternalism and Problem Definition
 collapse sectionDefining the Range of Acceptable Solutions
 •Banning a Product or Process
 •Forcing Technology
 •Work Rules and Other Operational Controls
 •Information Disclosure and Labels
 •When Regulations Take Effect
 collapse sectionRegulatory Philosophy and Professional Ethics
 •The Engineering Ethic
 •The Enforcement Ethic
 collapse sectionEight  Regulatory Decisionmaking:  Public and Private Standards in Action
 •Decision Rules and Routines
 •Measures of Overall Performance
 •Accounting for Regulatory Overlap
 collapse sectionNine  Explaining Regulatory Behavior
 collapse sectionThe Political Economy of Safety Regulation
 •The Path of Least Resistance
 •Forestalling Government Regulation
 •The Business of Product Testing
 •NFPA Standards: Economics, Politics, and Process
 •Risk and Culture: The Peculiar Fear of Flying
 collapse sectionLegal Constraints on Standards-Setting
 •Antitrust Law
 •Liability Law
 •The Burden of Justification
 collapse sectionTen  Comparative Institutional Advantages
 •Decisional Costs
 collapse sectionInstitutional Knowledge
 •Technical Know-How
 •Information about Real-World Experience
 •Applied Research and Development
 collapse sectionThe Evolutionary Perspective
 •The Timing of Regulatory Interventions
 •Adapting Standards over Time
 •Comparative Summary

 collapse sectionPART FOUR  POLICY IMPLICATIONS
 collapse sectionEleven  Reforming Standards-Setting: The Procedural Perspective
 collapse sectionRules of Participation
 •Notice Requirements and "Openness"
 •The Importance of Being "Balanced"
 •Appearances Can Be Deceiving
 •The Opportunity to Comment
 •Rules of Analysis
 •Summary
 collapse sectionTwelve  Interactive Strategies and Alternative Policy Instruments
 •The Failure of "Standards Policy"
 collapse sectionDefining a Role for Public Standards
 •Promoting "Public" Values
 •Niches for Public Standards
 collapse sectionAlternative Policy Instruments and Institutions
 •Reforming Liability Law
 •Loosening Antitrust Law
 •Public Information Systems
 •Engineering Schools, Insurance Companies, and Other Influential Institutions
 •Conclusions

  APPENDIX:  LIST OF INTERVIEWS
 collapse sectionNotes
 •One Protective Regulation and the Impasse Between the Public and Private Sectors
 •Two Background and Research Design
 •Three Safety Standards for Grain Elevators
 •Four Standards for Aviation Fire Safety
 •Five Safety Standards and Labeling Requirements for Woodstoves
 •Six Safety Standards for Unvented Gas-Fired Space Heaters
 •Seven Public and Private Conceptions of Safety
 •Eight Regulatory Decisionmaking: Public and Private Standards in Action
 •Nine Explaining Regulatory Behavior
 •Ten Comparative Institutional Advantages
 •Eleven Reforming Standards-Setting: The Procedural Perspective
 •Twelve Interactive Strategies and Alternative Policy Instruments
 collapse sectionBIBLIOGRAPHIES
 •Grain Elevators
 •Aviation Fire Safety
 •Woodstoves
 •Gas Space Heaters
 collapse sectionINDEX
 •A
 •B
 •C
 •D
 •E
 •F
 •G
 •H
 •I
 •J
 •K
 •L
 •M
 •N
 •O
 •P
 •R
 •S
 •T
 •U
 •V
 •W
collapse section Collapse All | Expand All expand section