Prohibited Items; New Enforcement Policy Regarding Lighters, 40262-40263 [07-3630]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Transportation Security Administration

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40262-40263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-3630]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

49 CFR Part 1540

RIN 1652-ZA13


Prohibited Items; New Enforcement Policy Regarding Lighters

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.

ACTION: Notice of enforcement policy.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is providing 
notice that, in accordance with section 530 of Public Law 109-295, TSA 
will not enforce the prohibition on bringing lighters onboard 
commercial aircraft. The effect of the new enforcement policy will be 
to allow passengers to carry a lighter onboard commercial aircraft. 
This action is being taken to enable Transportation Security Officers 
(TSOs) to concentrate on more effectively confronting the threat of 
concealed explosives and improvised explosive devices being brought 
into the cabin of an aircraft.

DATES: Effective August 4, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Donovan, Office of Security 
Operations, TSA-29, Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 
12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220; telephone (571) 227-3230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
    (1) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at https://
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/; or
    (2) Visiting TSA's Security Regulations Web page at https://
www.tsa.gov and accessing the link for ``Research Center'' at the top 
of the page.
    In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the 
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Statutory and Regulatory Background

    TSA is responsible for security in all modes of transportation, 
including aviation. See 49 U.S.C. 114(d). TSA restricts what passengers 
may carry into the sterile areas of airports and into the cabins of air 
carrier aircraft. Under TSA's regulation for acceptance and screening 
of individuals and accessible property, 49 CFR 1540.111, an individual 
(other than a law enforcement or other authorized individual) may not 
have a weapon, explosive, or incendiary, on or about the individual's 
person or accessible property--
     When performance has begun of the inspection of the 
individual's person or accessible property before entering a sterile 
area, or before boarding an aircraft for which screening is conducted 
under Sec.  1544.201 or Sec.  1546.201;
     When the individual is entering or in a sterile area; or
     When the individual is attempting to board or onboard an 
aircraft for which screening is conducted under Sec.  1544.201 or Sec.  
1546.201.
    On March 1, 2005 (70 FR 9877), TSA announced, via a notice in the 
Federal Register, a prohibition on passengers' ability to bring 
lighters onboard the cabin of an aircraft consistent with sec. 4025 of 
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) 
(Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3710, Dec. 13, 2004), which required TSA to 
add butane lighters to the prohibited items list and to make any other 
modifications that TSA deemed appropriate. Specifically, TSA prohibited 
passengers from carrying any type of lighter on their person or in 
accessible property in airport sterile areas or on board an aircraft 
for which screening is conducted.
    Through this notice, TSA is changing its enforcement policy with 
respect to lighters. Under the new policy, TSA will no longer enforce 
the prohibition on lighters. The effect of this change in policy is to 
allow passengers to carry a lighter through a passenger screening 
checkpoint and into the cabin of an

[[Page 40263]]

aircraft. Micro-torches and gas torches will continue to be prohibited.

New Enforcement Policy Regarding Lighters

    In sec. 530 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act, 2007 (Pub. L. 109-295, 120 Stat. 1355, Oct. 4, 2006), Congress 
provided TSA with the authority to refrain from enforcing the statutory 
butane lighter ban, if the Assistant Secretary determines that butane 
lighters are not a significant threat to civil aviation security. If 
the Assistant Secretary determines that butane lighters are not a 
significant threat, the Assistant Secretary must notify the 
Appropriations Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives 15 
days in advance of the determination and include a report on whether 
the effectiveness of screening operations is enhanced by suspending 
enforcement of the prohibition.
    In accordance with this authority granted by Congress, TSA has 
determined, based on intelligence-driven threat assessments, that the 
carriage of butane and other types of lighters by passengers on board 
commercial aircraft does not pose a significant threat to civil 
aviation security. TSA has further determined that aviation security is 
better served if TSOs focus their efforts on detecting improvised 
explosive devices, firearms, and other deadly devices rather than 
searching for butane and other types of lighters. The search for 
lighters at screening checkpoints is a time consuming process that 
ultimately distracts TSOs from efforts to detect the type of deadly 
weapons likely to be used by terrorists and which could be used to 
inflict catastrophic damage to an aircraft and loss of lives.
    Since TSA prohibited lighters on March 1, 2005, TSA continues to 
intercept more than 22,000 lighters each day at screening checkpoints 
across the country. Lighters represent approximately 85 percent of 
prohibited items discovered by TSA and abandoned by passengers at 
screening checkpoints. The number of lighters discovered at checkpoints 
and the time and effort dedicated to positively identifying them is 
clearly disproportionate to any threat they may pose.
    Results from field surveys indicate that the greater the numbers of 
items TSOs are required to identify and evaluate, the more difficult it 
is to detect any one item. Accordingly, TSA has determined that 
aviation security is better served if TSOs are focused on detecting 
improvised explosive devices, firearms, and other deadly devices 
instead of employing resources in the search for lesser threats, such 
as lighters. Shifting attention from lower security risks to address 
markedly higher security risks is fundamental to a risk-based approach. 
TSA believes the effectiveness of screening operations will be enhanced 
if the time and resources devoted to detecting, collecting, and 
disposing of lighters is shifted to the search for higher threat items. 
Freeing TSOs from searching for lighters will not only enable them to 
focus on finding explosives, it will also enhance their ability to use 
behavior recognition, conduct random screening procedures, and deploy 
other measures that increase complexity in the security system and make 
its security protocols less transparent and predictable to potential 
terrorists.
    It is noteworthy that the United States is currently the only 
country that bans lighters. Permitting passengers to carry lighters 
will align the United States with the international security standards 
on lighters. This will serve as another step in our efforts to 
harmonize security measures with international partners. Further, this 
change will better harmonize TSA's regulations with current Department 
of Transportation (DOT) regulations regarding the carriage of hazardous 
materials on board aircraft. Under the DOT regulations (49 CFR 175.10), 
a passenger may carry one lighter for the individual's use on his or 
her person or in carry-on baggage.

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on July 19, 2007.
Kip Hawley,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 07-3630 Filed 7-20-07; 1:37 pm]
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