DHS arrests 1000s of hair dryers at border

[Robert Neville]

Nor would I. What I was refering to was someone choosing to use an electrical application while standing in a shower, sitting in a bath, standing on a wet floor or any other unsafe manner.

[HeyBub]

No, I gave your post all the attention it deserved. You stated you were glad the government stepped in without a scintilla of a reason why you thought the government stepping in was a good idea.

[trader4]

You're right. I just looked at the 2008 NEC and it says hand-held hair dryers need to provide protection from electrocution when immersed whether the switch is on or off. For all practical puposes that means they need a GFCI.

[krw]

What power does the NEC have in this area, though? It's *not* federal law.

[diy savant]

No shit, Captain Obvious! DUH!

From wikipedia:

The National Electrical Code (NEC), or NFPA 70, is a regionally adoptable standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment in the United States. The NEC, while having no legally binding regulation as written, can be and often is adopted by states, municipalities and cities in an effort to standardize their enforcement of safe electrical practices within their respective jurisdiction. In some cases, the NEC is amended, altered and may even be rejected in lieu of regional regulations as voted on by the governing bodies of any given locale.

The NEC codifies the requirements for safe electrical installations into a single, standardized source. It is part of the National Fire Codes series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and while not itself a U.S. law, NEC use is commonly mandated by state or local law.[1]

The "authority having jurisdiction" inspects for compliance with these minimum standards.

[krw]

Oh, Pvt. Dullard, on what basis were these things confiscated? It certainly wasn't the NEC. What is the NEC doing with plug-in appliances, anyway. It's not their bailiwick.

[HeyBub]

It's useful to note that heat guns do not have GFI protection.

[Hugh Jass]

It's also useful to note:

1. Most safety devices are designed to protect the abnormally stupid.

1. Heat guns are used mostly by the adult male.

2. The largest user of hair dryers are teenage girls.

Draw your own conclusions. ;)

[krw]

...and they'll sure curl your hair!

[trader4]

I didn't think the NEC was involved with hair dryers either, but per Mr. Burns citation, they are. You on the other hand have another good point, which is that whatever the NEC says, it's not federal law and you would not think it had anything to do with shipments of products coming into the country. I guess state XYZ or city ABC could adopt the NEC without that part, in which case those dryers would be OK there. My guess would be that there is some other law involved that lead to the confiscation, but I don't know.

[The Daring Dufas]

Years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to make products as dangerous as possible. The purpose would be to thin the heard of of the stupid humans. I wanted to see vehicles made to explode and burn to a pile of ash that would blow away with the wind except for a small indestructible tag to identify the destroyed vehicle and its owner so the records could be updated. No protective safeties on power equipment for industrial and consumer use so the stupid and inattentive would be maimed or killed. The only problem for me is when it comes to children whom I'm very protective of. Stupid people don't need to reproduce but it's usually the intelligent and curious children who get hurt. Many parents are inattentive and don't properly supervise their offspring who in many cases wind up injured or killed and that's tragic on so many levels. Heck, stupid parents might have a child who might grow up to be a great scientist, a hero or President.... OH HELL. ^_^

TDD

[krw]

Even in the jurisdictions where the NEC is codified, it's as a building code, which wouldn't cover plug-ins either. If anyone has an article that actually makes any sense out of this, I'd like to see it. OTOH, if they had UL (or such) tables on them, they could have been confiscated as counterfeits.

[Robert Neville]

They appear to be using authority granted under the Consumer Products Safety Act. This is the same agency that banned lawn darts a few years ago. The relevent text comes from Section 17 - Imported Goods:

(a) Any consumer product offered for importation into the customs territory of the United States (as defined in general note 2 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) shall be refused admission into such customs territory if such product?

(1) fails to comply with an applicable consumer product safety rule;

Link to a copy of a letter from the CPSC follows:

[krw]

Which I've never seen cited.

So in other words, they just one day decided that UK/NEC was some sort of law. Note that they didn't cite any CPSC "rule" on this, which they certainly would have, if they could. Typical Obamaists.