New regs for Wednesday: E-cigs, compressors, open records

In Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register, the Food and Drug Administration announced a two-day workshop to discuss concerns about electronic cigarette batteries exploding, the Energy Department finalized new test procedures for compressors and the Department of Justice made changes to its open records regulations. 

Here’s what to look for:

E-cigs: The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products is planning to hold a two-day public workshop to discuss concerns about the safety of the batteries used in electronic cigarettes.

The workshops, which will consist or presentations and panel discussions, will also address how potential safety risks are being communicated to consumers and the general public. The announcement follows reports over the last year of devices exploding and catching fire, causing serious injuries.   

The workshops will be held on April 19 and 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, Md.

Compressors: The Department of Energy has created new test procedures manufactures must follow to check the energy efficiency of certain compressors.

The final rule establishes package isentropic efficiency as the applicable energy metric, which compares the actual performance of a device to the performance that would be achieved under ideal circumstances. 

The rule also establishes test methods to measure the inlet and discharge pressures, actual volume flow rate and packaged compressor power input, as well as calculations of the theoretical power necessary for compression.

The rule will take effect in 30 days.

Open records: The Department of Justice is finalizing a rule to update its open records regulations under the Freedom of Information Act.

The rules are also being altered to reflect a 2016 change in the federal law that prohibits agencies from charging a search fee or duplication fees for news media or educational institutions when the agency fails to comply with the law’s time limits.

The rule also narrows the factors that require an agency to waive the fees for records requests to information that sheds light on the activities and operations of the government; is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of those operations and activities; and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

The interim final rule will take effect in 30 days, but the DOJ will accept public comments for the next 60 days. 

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