- Author
- Katz, R. G.
- Title
- United States and Canadian Fabric Flammability Standards. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NBS TN 742, October 1972, 59 p.
- Distribution
- Available from Government Printing Office Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- blankets | carpets | clothing | fabric flammability testing | fabrics | flammable fabrics act | mattresses | sleepwear | standards | 45 degree tests
- Abstract
- Current fabric flammability standards of the United States and Canada are described. The 1967 amendment to the Flammable Fabrics Act of 1953 gave impetus to basic and applied research in the United States and to the development of new test methods and standards for fabric products. Commercial Standard 191-53, the 45-degree angle test, applies to most clothing items, but a new stringent vertical test was developed for children's sleepwear. A small flame source, i.e. a standard methenamine tablet, is used to test carpets and rugs, while a smoldering cigarette is the ignition source for a mattress standard. The test methods attempt to simulate actual conditions. In 1970, Canada amended the Hazardous Product Act of 1969 to (a) ban from sale those products already declared dangerously flammable by the United States, and (b) ban from sale some berets and sweatshirts that did not meet the 45-degree angle test. Later amendments (971) deleted the 1970 amendments and established a basic minimum flammability standard covering all textile products for consumer use. A more stringent standard was established for children's sleepwear and bedding (excluding mattresses, mattress pads and pillows) that uses the same 45-degree angle test but with a time of flame spread of 7 seconds or less.