Mattress FR proposal OK'd
CPSC process could lead to rules in 2006
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 17, 2005
Washington — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted shortly before Christmas to formally propose a national open-flame mattress standard that is similar to one that's just gone on the books in California.
CPSC said the standard is intended to "reduce deaths and injuries from fires involving mattresses." It did not specify when a federal standard would take effect. Industry sources expect that to occur no later than the summer of 2006.
CPSC also voted to issue an advance notice of proposed rule-making to develop a separate safety standard to address the flammability of bedclothes such as blankets, comforters and pillows.
The two CPSC commissioners approved a draft mattress flammability standard recommended by the CPSC staff in early November.
CPSC is proposing a 30-minute burn test and a maximum heat release rate of 200 kilowatts — key elements in the California standard, which became law Jan. 1. But CPSC proposes a stricter standard on the total heat release rate in the first 10 minutes of the test: 15 megajoules, compared with the 25 specified in California.
"This is a significant step toward reducing deaths and injuries from mattress fires," said CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton. "This is a top priority at CPSC. Voting for this proposed mattress standard means we are pretty far down the road toward a final standard."
CPSC Commissioner Thomas Moore said, "This proposed standard will lead to mattresses that are a dramatic improvement, in terms of fire resistance and lives saved, over most mattresses currently on the market."
The proposed standard will be published in the Federal Register, requesting public comment for a period of 75 days. An opportunity for oral testimony also will be scheduled.
CPSC said that from 1995 through 1999, mattresses and bedding were the first items to ignite in an estimated 19,400 residential fires each year. Those fires resulted in an estimated 440 deaths, 2,230 injuries and $273.9 million in property losses annually. "CPSC staff estimates that most of these deaths and injuries would be addressed by the proposed standard," the commission said in a press release.
It said that fires involving mattresses of traditional constructions can reach flashover (when the entire contents of the room ignite) in less than five minutes. The proposed mattress standard would limit the size of the fire and prevent or delay the time to flashover, CPSC said. That would allow people more time to discover and escape the fire, thus reducing deaths and injuries.
The commission said its staff believes that materials are commercially available that can be used to produce comfortable, practical and reasonably priced mattresses "with significantly improved fire performance."
In its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the flammability of bedclothes, CPSC said that bedclothes "are the first item to ignite in about 80% of mattress and bedding fires and can contribute substantially to the risks associated with mattress/bedding fires."
