[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1212.4]
[Page 343-348]
TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
PART 1212--Safety Standard for Multi-Purpose Lighters--Table of Contents
Subpart A--Requirements for Child-Resistance
Sec. 1212.4 Test protocol.
(a) Child test panel. (1) The test to determine if a multi-purpose
lighter is resistant to successful operation by children uses a panel of
children to test a surrogate multi-purpose lighter representing the
production multi-purpose lighter. Written informed consent shall be
obtained from a parent or legal guardian of a child before the child
participates in the test.
(2) The test shall be conducted using at least one, but no more than
two, 100-child test panels in accordance with the provisions of Sec.
1212.4(f).
(3) The children for the test panel shall live within the United
States.
(4) The age and sex distribution of each 100-child panel shall be:
(i) 302 children (20 1
males; 101 females) 42 through 44 months old;
(ii) 402 children (261
males; 141 females) 45 through 48 months old;
(iii) 302 children (201
males; 101 females) 49 through 51 months old.
Note to paragraph (a)(4): To calculate a child's age in months:
Subtract the child's birth date from the test date. The following
calculation shows how to determine the age of the child at the time of
the test. Both dates are expressed numerically as Month-Day-Year.
Example: Test Date (e.g., 8/3/94) minus Birth Date--(e.g., 6/23/90).
Subtract the number for the year of birth from the number for the year
of the test (i.e., 94 minus 90 = 4). Multiply the difference in years by
12 months (i.e., 4 years x 12 months = 48 months). Subtract the number
for the month of the birth date from the number of the month of the test
date (i.e., 8 minus 6 = 2 months). Add the difference in months obtained
above to the number of months represented by the difference in years
described above (48 months + 2 months = 50 months). If the difference in
days is greater than 15 (e.g., 16, 17 . . .), add
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1 month. If the difference in days is less than -15 (e.g., -16, -17),
subtract 1 month (e.g., 50 months-1 month = 49 months). If the
difference in days is between -15 and 15 (e.g., -15, -14, . . . 14, 15),
do not add or subtract a month.
(5) No child with a permanent or temporary illness, injury, or
handicap that would interfere with the child's ability to operate the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall participate.
(6) Two children at a time shall participate in testing of surrogate
multi-purpose lighters. Extra children whose results will not be counted
in the test may be used if necessary to provide the required partner for
test subjects, if the extra children are within the required age range
and a parent or guardian of each such child has signed a consent form.
(7) No child shall participate in more than one test panel or test
more than one surrogate multi-purpose lighter. No child shall
participate in both surrogate multi-purpose lighter testing and either
surrogate cigarette lighter testing or child-resistant package testing
on the same day.
(b) Test sites, environment, and adult testers. (1) Surrogate multi-
purpose lighters shall be tested within the United States at 5 or more
test sites throughout the geographical area for each 100-child panel if
the sites are the customary nursery schools or day care centers of the
participating children. No more than 20 children shall be tested at each
site. In the alternative, surrogate multi-purpose lighters may be tested
within the United States at one or more central locations, provided the
participating children are drawn from a variety of geographical
locations.
(2) Testing of surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall be conducted
in a room that is familiar to the children on the test panel (for
example, a room the children frequent at their customary nursery school
or day care center). If the testing is conducted in a room that
initially is unfamiliar to the children (for example, a room at a
central location), the tester shall allow at least 5 minutes for the
children to become accustomed to the new environment before starting the
test. The area in which the testing is conducted shall be well-lighted
and isolated from distractions. The children shall be allowed freedom of
movement to work with their surrogate multi-purpose lighters, as long as
the tester can watch both children at the same time. Two children at a
time shall participate in testing of surrogate multi-purpose lighters.
The children shall be seated side by side in chairs approximately 6
inches apart, across a table from the tester. The table shall be normal
table height for the children, so that they can sit up at the table with
their legs underneath and so that their arms will be at a comfortable
height when on top of the table. The children's chairs shall be ``child
size.''
(3) Each tester shall be at least 18 years old. Five or 6 adult
testers shall be used for each 100-child test panel. Each tester shall
test an approximately equal number of children from the 100-child test
panel (202 children each for 5 testers and
172 children each for 6 testers).
Note: When a test is initiated with five testers and one tester
drops out, a sixth tester may be added to complete the testing. When a
test is initiated with six testers and one tester drops out, the test
shall be completed using the five remaining testers. When a tester drops
out, the requirement for each tester to test an approximately equal
number of children does not apply to that tester. When testing is
initiated with five testers, no tester shall test more than 19 children
until it is certain that the test can be completed with five testers.
(c) Surrogate multi-purpose lighters. (1) Six surrogate multi-
purpose lighters shall be used for each 100-child panel. The six multi-
purpose lighters shall represent the range of forces required for
operation of multi-purpose lighters intended for use. All of these
surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall have the same visual appearance,
including color. The surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall be labeled
with sequential numbers beginning with the number one. The same six
surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall be used for the entire 100-child
panel. The surrogate multi-purpose lighters may be used in more than one
100-child panel test. The surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall not be
damaged or jarred during storage or transportation. The surrogate
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multi-purpose lighters shall not be exposed to extreme heat or cold. The
surrogate multi-purpose lighters shall be tested at room temperature. No
surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall be left unattended.
(2) Each surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall be tested by an
approximately equal number of children in a 100-child test panel
(172 children).
Note: If a surrogate multi-purpose lighter is permanently damaged,
testing shall continue with the remaining multi-purpose lighters. When a
multi-purpose lighter is dropped out, the requirement that each multi-
purpose lighter be tested by an approximately equal number of children
does not apply to that lighter.
(3) Before each 100-child panel is tested, each surrogate multi-
purpose lighter shall be examined to verify that it approximates the
appearance, size, shape, and weight of a production multi-purpose
lighter intended for use.
(4) Before and after each 100-child panel is tested, force
measurements shall be taken on all operating components that could
affect child resistance to verify that they are within reasonable
operating tolerances for the corresponding production multi-purpose
lighter.
(5) Before and after testing surrogate multi-purpose lighters with
each child, each surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall be operated
outside the presence of any child participating in the test to verify
that it produces a signal. If the surrogate multi-purpose lighter will
not produce a signal before the test, it shall be repaired before it is
used in testing. If the surrogate multi-purpose lighter does not produce
a signal when it is operated after the test, the results for the
preceding test with that multi-purpose lighter shall be eliminated. An
explanation shall be recorded on the data collection record. The multi-
purpose lighter shall be repaired and tested with another eligible child
(as one of a pair of children) to complete the test panel.
(d) Encouragement. (1) Prior to the test, the tester shall talk to
the children in a normal and friendly tone to make them feel at ease and
to gain their confidence.
(2) The tester shall tell the children that he or she needs their
help for a special job. The children shall not be promised a reward of
any kind for participating, and shall not be told that the test is a
game or contest or that it is fun.
(3) The tester shall not discourage a child from attempting to
operate the surrogate multi-purpose lighter at any time (either verbally
or with body language such as facial expressions), unless a child is in
danger of hurting himself or another child. The tester shall not discuss
the dangers of multi-purpose lighters or matches with the children to be
tested prior to the end of the 10-minute test.
(4) Whenever a child has stopped attempting to operate the surrogate
multi-purpose lighter for a period of approximately one minute, the
tester shall encourage the child to try by saying ``keep trying for just
a little longer.''
(5) Whenever a child says that his or her parent, grandparent,
guardian, etc., said never to touch lighters, say ``that's right--never
touch a real lighter--but your [parent, etc.] said it was OK for you to
try to make a noise with this special lighter because it can't hurt
you.''
(6) The children in a pair being tested may encourage each other to
operate the surrogate multi-purpose lighter and may tell or show each
other how to operate it. (This interaction is not considered to be
disruption as described in paragraph (e)(2) of this section.) However,
neither child shall be allowed to touch or operate the other child's
multi-purpose lighter. If one child takes the other child's surrogate
multi-purpose lighter, that surrogate lighter shall be immediately
returned to the proper child. If this occurs, the tester shall say ``No.
He (she) has to try to do it himself (herself).''
(e) Children who refuse to participate. (1) If a child becomes upset
or afraid, and cannot be reassured before the test starts, select
another eligible child for participation in that pair.
(2) If a child disrupts the participation of another child for more
than 1 minute during the test, the test shall be stopped and both
children eliminated from the results. An explanation shall be recorded
on the data collection record. These two children should be
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replaced with other eligible children to complete the test panel.
(3) If a child is not disruptive but refuses to attempt to operate
the surrogate multi-purpose lighter throughout the entire test period,
that child shall be eliminated from the test results and an explanation
shall be recorded on the data collection record. The child shall be
replaced with another eligible child (as one of a pair of children) to
complete the test panel.
(f) Test procedure. (1) To begin the test, the tester shall say ``I
have a special lighter that will not make a flame. It makes a noise like
this.'' Except where doing so would block the child's view of a visual
signal, the adult tester shall place a 8\1/2\ by 11 inch sheet of
cardboard or other rigid opaque material upright on the table in front
of the surrogate multi-purpose lighter, so that the surrogate multi-
purpose lighter cannot be seen by the child, and shall operate the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter once to produce its signal. The tester
shall say ``Your parents said it is OK for you to try to make that noise
with your lighter.'' The tester shall place a surrogate multi-purpose
lighter in each child's hand and say ``now you try to make a noise with
your lighter. Keep trying until I tell you to stop.''
Note: For multi-purpose lighters with an ``off/on'' switch, the
surrogate lighter shall be given to the child with the switch in the
``on,'' or unlocked, position.
(2) The adult tester shall observe the children for 5 minutes to
determine if either or both of the children can successfully operate the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter by producing one signal of any duration.
If a child achieves a spark without defeating the child-resistant
feature, say ``that's a spark--it won't hurt you--try to make a noise
with your lighter.'' If any child successfully operates the surrogate
multi-purpose lighter during this first 5-minute period, the lighter
shall be taken from that child and the child shall not be asked to try
to operate the lighter again. The tester shall ask the successful child
to remain until the other child is finished.
(3) If either or both of the children are unable to successfully
operate the surrogate multi-purpose lighter during the 5-minute period
specified in Sec. 1212.4(f) (3), the adult tester shall demonstrate the
operation of the surrogate multi-purpose lighter. To conduct the
demonstration, secure the children's full attention by saying ``Okay,
give me your lighter(s) now.'' Take the surrogate multi-purpose lighters
and place them on the table in front of you out of the children's reach.
Then say, ``I'll show you how to make the noise with your lighters.
First I'll show you with (child's name) lighter and then I'll show you
with (child's name) lighter.'' Pick up the first child's surrogate
multi-purpose lighter. Hold the lighter approximately 2 feet in front of
the children at their eye level. Hold the surrogate multi-purpose
lighter in a comfortable operating position in one hand so both children
can see the operation of the child-resistant mechanism and the ignition
mechanism during each demonstration. Say ``now watch the lighter.'' Look
at each child to verify that they are both looking at the lighter.
Operate the multi-purpose lighter one time in a normal manner according
to the manufacturer's instructions. Do not exaggerate operating
movements. Do not verbally describe the lighter's operation. Place the
first child's lighter back on the table in front of you and pick up the
second child's lighter. Say, ``Okay, now watch this lighter.'' Repeat
the demonstration as described above using the second child's multi-
purpose lighter.
Note to paragraph (f)(3): The demonstration is conducted with each
child's lighter, even if one child has successfully operated the
lighter. Testers shall conduct the demonstration in a uniform manner,
including the words spoken to the children, the way the multi-purpose
lighter is held and operated, and how the tester's hand and body is
oriented to the children. All testers must be able to operate the
surrogate multi-purpose lighters using only appropriate operating
movements in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. If any of
these requirements are not met during the demonstration for any pair of
children, the results for that pair of children shall be eliminated from
the test. Another pair of eligible children shall be used to complete
the test panel.
(4) Each child who fails to successfully operate the surrogate
multi-purpose lighter in the first 5 minutes is then given another 5
minutes in which
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to attempt to complete the successful operation of the surrogate multi-
purpose lighter. After the demonstrations, give the same surrogate
multi-purpose lighter back to each child who did not successfully
operate the surrogate multi-purpose lighter in the first 5 minutes by
placing the multi-purpose lighter in the child's hand. Say ``Okay, now
you try to make the noise with your lighter(s)--keep trying until I tell
you to stop.'' If any child successfully operates the surrogate multi-
purpose lighter during this period, the surrogate multi-purpose lighter
shall be taken from that child and the child shall not be asked to try
to operate the lighter again. If the other child has not yet
successfully operated the surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the tester
shall ask the successful child to remain until the other child is
finished.
Note: Multi-purpose lighters with an on/off switch shall have the
switch returned to the position the child left it at the end of the
first 5-minute test period before returning the lighter to the child.
(5) At the end of the second 5-minute test period, take the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter from any child who has not successfully
operated it.
(6) After the test is over, ask the children to stand next to you.
Look at the children's faces and say: ``These are special lighters that
don't make fire. Real lighters can burn you. Will you both promise me
that if you find a real lighter you won't touch it and that you'll tell
a grownup right away?'' Wait for an affirmative response from each
child; then thank the children for helping.
(7) Escort the children out of the room used for testing.
(8) After a child has participated in the testing of a surrogate
multi-purpose lighter, and on the same day, provide written notice of
that fact to the child's parent or guardian. This notification may be in
the form of a letter provided to the school to be given to a parent or
guardian of each child. The notification shall state that the child
participated, shall ask the parent or guardian to warn the child not to
play with lighters or matches, and shall remind the parent or guardian
to keep all lighters and matches, whether child-resistant or not, out of
the reach of children. For children who operated the surrogate multi-
purpose lighter, the notification shall state that the child was able to
operate the child-resistant multi-purpose lighter. For children who do
not defeat the child-resistant feature, the notification shall state
that, although the child did not defeat the child-resistant feature, the
child may be able to do so in the future.
(g) Data collection and recording. Except for recording the times
required for the children to activate the signal, recording of data
should be avoided while the children are trying to operate the multi-
purpose lighters, so that the tester's full attention is on the children
during the test period. If actual testing is videotaped, the camera
shall be stationary and shall be operated remotely in order to avoid
distracting the children. Any photographs shall be taken after actual
testing and shall simulate actual test procedure(s) (for example, the
demonstration). The following data shall be collected and recorded for
each child in the 100-child test panel:
(1) Sex (male or female).
(2) Date of birth (month, day, year).
(3) Age (in months, to the nearest month).
(4) The number of the multi-purpose lighter tested by that child.
(5) Date of participation in the test (month, day, year).
(6) Location where the test was given (city, state, and the name of
the site).
(7) The name of the tester who conducted the test.
(8) The elapsed time at which the child achieved any operation of
the surrogate signal in the first 5-minute test period.
(9) The elapsed time at which the child achieved any operation of
the surrogate signal in the second 5-minute test period.
(10) For a single pair of children from each 100-child test panel,
photograph(s) or video tape to show how the multi-purpose lighter was
held in the tester's hand, and the orientation of the tester's body and
hand to the children, during the demonstration.
(h) Evaluation of test results and acceptance criterion. To
determine whether a surrogate multi-purpose lighter resists operation by
at least 85% of the
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children, sequential panels of 100 children each, up to a maximum of 2
panels, shall be tested as prescribed below.
(1) If no more than 10 children in the first 100-child test panel
successfully operated the surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the multi-
purpose lighter represented by the surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall
be considered to be resistant to successful operation by at least 85% of
the child test panel, and no further testing is conducted. If 11 through
18 children in the first 100-child test panel successfully operate the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the test results are inconclusive, and
the surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall be tested with a second 100-
child test panel in accordance with this Sec. 1212.4. If 19 or more of
the children in the first 100-child test panel successfully operated the
surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the lighter represented by the
surrogate shall be considered not resistant to successful operation by
at least 85% of the child test panel, and no further testing is
conducted. (2)(i) If additional testing of the surrogate multi-purpose
lighter is required by paragraph (h)(1) of this section, conduct the
test specified by this Sec. 1212.4 using a second 100-child test panel
and record the results. If a total of no more than 30 of the children in
the combined first and second 100-child test panels successfully
operated the surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the multi-purpose lighter
represented by the surrogate multi-purpose lighter shall be considered
resistant to successful operation by at least 85% of the child test
panel, and no further testing is performed. If a total of 31 or more
children in the combined first and second 100-child test panels
successfully operate the surrogate multi-purpose lighter, the multi-
purpose lighter represented by the surrogate shall be considered not
resistant to successful operation by 85% of the child test panel, and no
further testing is conducted.
(ii) Thus, for the first panel of 100 children, the surrogate passes
if there are 0-10 successful operations by the children; the surrogate
fails if there are 19 or greater successful operations; and testing is
continued if there are 11-18 successes. If testing is continued with a
second panel of children, the surrogate passes if the combined total of
the successful operations of the two panels is 30 or less, and it fails
if there are 31 or more.