Document ID: FAA-2012-0714-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Bleed Air Cleaning and Monitoring Equipment and Technology
Posted Date: 2012-07-17T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 17, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41930-41931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17368]

 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 137 / Tuesday, July 17, 2012 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 41930]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2012-0714]

Bleed Air Cleaning and Monitoring Equipment and Technology

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FAA seeks information from industry developers, 
manufacturers, and the public related to effective air cleaning 
technology and sensor technology for the engine and auxiliary power 
unit bleed air supplied to the passenger cabin and flight deck of a 
pressurized aircraft. The information obtained will inform the agency 
of potential research and development plans.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 17, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2012-0714 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the 
docket web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all 
comments received into any FAA dockets, including the name of the 
individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an 
association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the 
West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this action, 
contact Jim Knight, Research Planning Division, AVP-300, Office of 
Accident Investigation and Prevention, Federal Aviation Administration, 
800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 493-
5634, email james.knight@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 917 of the approved FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 
2012, H.R. Bill 658, requires the FAA to identify bleed air 
purification technology. Specifically, the FAA seeks information about 
bleed air cleaning, and contaminant detection and recording 
technologies which are capable of removing oil-based contaminants from 
the bleed air supplied to the passenger cabin and flight deck, and 
detecting and recording oil-based contaminants in the total air 
supplied to the passenger cabin and flight deck from bleed air.
    The FAA recognizes there are various design concepts used by both 
developers and manufacturers of cabin air environmental control units. 
Given the design and performance variation in these technologies, the 
FAA seeks information from the industry to assist in its evaluation of 
the types of air cleaning and monitoring technology that will 
successfully detect, remove and report on engine-produced, oil-based 
cabin air contaminants.

Request for Information

    The FAA requests that the comments specifically address the 
following areas to this notice:

 Design and operational description
 Physical dimensions of the device(s), including weight
 Power, interconnect, and other installation requirements
 Operational dimensions for the technology/system
 Maintenance needs to assure system performance
 Safety mechanisms designed into the technology/system to 
minimize or mitigate anticipated hazards

    For detection technologies, please identify:

 Contaminants the device can detect and sensitivity for each
 Location of the detection device placed in the air 
distribution system

    For air cleaning technologies, please identify:

 Contaminants the device can remove
 Overall system capacity
 Cleaning effectiveness for each contaminant
Again, this information must be submitted by September 17, 2012.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to submit written comments, 
data, or views. The most helpful comments reference a specific area of 
concern, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include 
supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate 
comments, commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or 
if comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit only one 
time.
    The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well 
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA 
personnel concerning this notice. The FAA will consider all comments it 
receives on or before the closing date for comments. The FAA will 
consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is 
possible to do so without incurring expense or delay.
    Proprietary or Confidential Business Information: Commenters should 
not file proprietary or confidential business information in the 
docket. Such information must be sent or delivered directly to the 
person identified in the

[[Page 41931]]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document, and marked as 
proprietary or confidential. If submitting information on a disk or CD-
ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM, and identify 
electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that 
is proprietary or confidential.
    Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), if the FAA is aware of proprietary 
information filed with a comment, the agency does not place it in the 
docket. It is held in a separate file to which the public does not have 
access, and the FAA places a note in the docket that it has received 
it. If the FAA receives a request to examine or copy this information, 
it treats it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act 
(5 U.S.C. 552). The FAA processes such a request under Department of 
Transportation procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2012.
Wendell L. Griffin,
Deputy Director, Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-17368 Filed 7-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P