- Author
-
Bunten, E. D.
|
Donaldson, J. L.
|
McDowell, E. C.
- Title
- Hazard Assessment of Aluminum Electrical Wiring in Residential Use. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 75-677,
December 1974,
56 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
electric wire
|
electrical fires
|
fire hazards
- Abstract
- In the mid-1960s, aluminum wire began to be used in significant quantities for residential branch-circuit wiring. Reports of problems from various localities in the U.S. raised serious concern and controversy as to the safety of this application. An official determination on this matter is within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This report reviews the history of the use of aluminum in residential wiring and describes the characteristics essential to data to be used to evaluate the performance of aluminum wiring in the field. The examination of existing field data shows that no available data have the characteristics necessary to develop a reliable estimate of the level of risk to consumers associated with aluminum wiring. Neither can the available data be used to establish the relative risk of aluminum compared to copper wiring. There is only a gross estimate of the extent to which aluminum wiring is now in use in U.S. residences. Statistically sound estimates of risk would be possible only after data collection on a large scale.