PRINTER'S NO. 486
No. 435 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY STAIRS, MELIO, BATTISTO, TRELLO, KING,
E. Z. TAYLOR, PETRARCA, GEIST AND CIVERA, MARCH 15, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, MARCH 15, 1993
AN ACT
1 Providing for the regulation of portable kerosene-fueled
2 heaters.
3 The General Assembly declares that only safety-tested and
4 listed portable kerosene-fueled heaters should be offered for
5 sale, sold and used in this Commonwealth. Fire hazards and other
6 dangers to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of
7 this Commonwealth exist in the absence of legislation designed
8 to ensure that portable kerosene-fueled heaters offered for sale
9 to, sold to and used by Pennsylvanians are safety-tested and
10 listed. It is the intent of the General Assembly to hereinafter
11 set forth such legislation.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Short title.
15 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Kerosene
16 Heater Safety Act.
17 Section 2. Definitions.
18 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
1 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2 context clearly indicates otherwise:
3 "Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
4 Commonwealth.
5 "Kerosene heater" or "heater." Any portable, nonflue-
6 connected, self-contained, self-supporting, kerosene-fueled
7 heating appliance equipped with an integral reservoir, designed
8 to be carried from one location to another, but excluding any
9 heater designed to be used solely for agricultural purposes.
10 "Listed." Any kerosene heater which has been evaluated and
11 approved, with respect to reasonably foreseeable hazards to life
12 and property, by Underwriter's Laboratory or such other testing
13 laboratories as approved by the Industrial Board of the
14 department. Such heater shall be authorized by the department,
15 shown in a list published by the department and bear the mark of
16 the department as an indication that it has been so authorized.
17 Section 3. Duties of departments.
18 (a) Departments of Labor and Industry and Agriculture.--The
19 Department of Labor and Industry shall administrate and enforce
20 this act, except for section 6, the enforcement of which shall
21 be the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture. The
22 Department of Agriculture, in enforcing section 6, shall have
23 the authority to recommend the institution of penalties in
24 accordance with section 7.
25 (b) Rules and regulations.--The Department of Labor and
26 Industry shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to
27 carry out this act and to prescribe means, methods and practices
28 to enforce such rules and regulations.
29 (c) Inspections.--All places where kerosene heaters are
30 offered for sale or lease, or where there is possession with
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1 intent to sell or lease, shall be subject to inspection by
2 authorized representatives of the department to ascertain
3 whether the requirements of this act and of regulations of the
4 department have been met.
5 (d) Samples for evidence.--The department, through its
6 officers and employees, is hereby empowered to take samples of
7 materials under the authority of this act and to hold for
8 evidence at a trial for the violation of this act any kerosene
9 heater offered for sale or lease in violation of this act.
10 (e) Removal from sale.--Properly accredited representatives
11 of the department shall have the authority to remove from sale
12 any kerosene heater which is offered for sale or lease, or found
13 in the possession of any person with intent to sell or lease in
14 violation of any of the provisions of law herein set forth. When
15 kerosene heaters are removed from sale, they shall be so tagged,
16 and such tags shall not be removed except by an authorized
17 representative of the department, after satisfactory proof of
18 compliance with all requirements of this act and of regulations
19 of the department.
20 Section 4. Design and labeling requirements.
21 Listed kerosene heaters must adhere to the following design
22 and labeling requirements:
23 (1) Heaters must have labeling permanently affixed
24 thereto so as to caution and inform consumers concerning:
25 (i) Provision of an adequate source of ventilation
26 when the heater is in operation.
27 (ii) Use of only suitable fuel for the heater.
28 (iii) Proper manner of refueling.
29 (iv) Proper placement and handling of the heater
30 when in operation.
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1 (v) Proper procedures for lighting, flame regulation
2 and extinguishing the heater.
3 (2) Heaters must be packaged with instructions to inform
4 consumers concerning proper maintenance and operation.
5 Section 5. Sale or lease of heaters.
6 Only listed kerosene heaters shall be offered for sale or
7 lease in this Commonwealth.
8 Section 6. Posting of notice.
9 (a) General rule.--Any person who offers kerosene for sale
10 in this Commonwealth shall post a conspicuous notice in letters
11 at least three inches in height, visible to all purchasers at
12 the place of sale and the dispensing unit, stating whether the
13 kerosene being sold from the storage facility is 1-K or 2-K as
14 defined by the American Society of Testing Materials.
15 (b) Grade 2-K kerosene.--All persons who offer kerosene
16 graded 2-K for sale within this Commonwealth must post
17 conspicuously the following notice, in letters at least three
18 inches in height, at the dispensing unit, and next to or
19 immediately below any listing of prices for the kerosene:
20 "This is grade 2-K Kerosene and is not to be used in
21 portable kerosene heaters."
22 Section 7. Penalty.
23 Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of
24 this act commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction,
25 be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than
26 $300 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. Any
27 subsequent offense shall constitute a misdemeanor of the third
28 degree.
29 Section 8. Application of act.
30 This act shall apply only to those portable kerosene-fueled
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1 heaters sold on or after the effective date of this act.
2 Section 9. Effective date.
3 This act shall take effect on July 1, 1993.
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