CPSC offers uph. FR reg
Sources: Proposal looks workable
By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, March 10, 2008
Greensboro, N.C. — A proposed federal standard on upholstered furniture flammability issued last week should be effective in preventing fires and not too difficult or costly for manufacturers to comply with, industry sources said.
The proposal from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission details how upholstered furniture manufacturers must protect their products from catching fire, caused mainly by cigarettes.
"Our initial response is positive," said Andy Counts, CEO of the American Home Furnishings Alliance, the trade group of furniture manufacturers, importers and suppliers. "It's smolder-focused and addresses 90% of the problem, which is cigarette ignition of furniture."
Hugh Talley, a chemist and owner of Hugh Talley Consulting, Morristown, Tenn., and an expert on furniture flammability issues, called the proposal "the only workable document the CPSC has issued (on this subject) in over 15 years."
He said that complying with the new proposal will cost manufacturers about 10% more than what it costs to meet the industry's current, widely followed voluntary standard under UFAC, the Upholstered Furniture Action Council.
Talley said the CPSC proposal places the focus where it should be, on cigarettes. "The largest problem related to loss of life from furniture fires is caused by smoking materials. The CPSC used its head and attacked this problem first," he said.
Another cause of furniture fires — small open flames from matches, candles or the like — is a much smaller risk in comparison and a more complicated issue to resolve, he said.
The CPSC has asked for comments by May 19 on the proposed flammability standard. To read a copy of the rule, published in the Federal Register, look online at http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/frnotices/fr08/furnflamm.pdf.
CPSC officials released the flammability proposal just five weeks after they said they were moving closer to adopting a standard aimed at slowing or preventing the spread and intensity of upholstered furniture fires.
Under the proposal, manufacturers could use smolder-resistant cover fabrics or interior fire-resistant barriers to protect the furniture's filling material, the primary fuel in a fire.
CPSC officials said earlier that their objective was to reduce the risk of upholstered furniture fire without requiring the use of fire-retardant chemicals. They estimated that once fully effective, the proposed standard would prevent an estimated 100 deaths each year.
Counts said it's good the proposed rule doesn't rely heavily on FR chemicals.
"This is beneficial to the industry and the consumer in the long run because the flame retardant chemicals we have been using historically have been banned in several states and Europe," he said.
"We have to do some testing to see what impact this will have on fabrics, as well as what barriers are out there that we can utilize cost effectively," Counts said. "Our next step will be to work with raw material suppliers on studies and get some testing.
"We have a few months to get comments together and move quickly on the impact this will have," he added. "They have been working on this for several years because there is no easy answer to this issue. They have found a resolution that makes sense from both the technical end and the cost points."
Under the proposed standard, manufacturers and importers of upholstered furniture would be required to certify and record that their upholstered products are in compliance.
