Health & Consumer Protection Directorate General

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Health Consumer Protection Directorate General

• EU initiatives to increase
• consumer fire safety
• 6th EFA Roundtable
• Paris, 1 February 2008
• Gwenn Straszburger/ Antonella Correra
• Product and Service Safety unit

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Presentation

• Fire Safety in Hotel
• Other fire-safety initiatives
• RIP cigarettes
• Flammability of upholstered furniture
• Flammability of nightwear
• Child-resistant lighters

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The EU regulatory context

• Council Recommandation 1986
• Defines minimum safety standards for all hotels
  in the Community (of a capacity of at least 20
  guests) and
• Recommends that MS take all appropriate measures
  to guarantee safety standards when existing laws
  are not sufficient
• Technical guidelines availability and
  accessibility of escape routes, structural
  stability of the building, flammability of the
  materials used, safe operation of technical
  equipment and appliances, alarms, safety
  instructions and plans of the premises, emergency
  fire-fighting equipment and staff training

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The EU regulatory context ctd

• Construction Product Directive
• sets up specific requirements in the event of an
  outbreak of fire for all construction works,
  including hotels
• decisions on the means of achieving safety in
  case of fire are exclusive MS competence
• Low Voltage Directive
• requirements of the Council Recommendation
  addressing the risks linked to electrical
  lighting have been implemented by the LVD

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Where do we stand at EU level?

• 2001 Report on the application of the
  Recommendation in MS
• contributed to increase the level of safety in
  hotels across the EU,
• minimum safety standards were not fully achieved,
  certain MS have restricted its application to new
  hotels or new work on existing hotels
• 20 years discussion on the issue of hotel safety
  in particular as regards fire safety with the
  MS and stakeholders
• To date no evidence supporting the case for
  action at EU level rather than for effective
  enforcement of national rules
• No EU wide data and statistics

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EU Wide Data Collection

• Critical point absence of statistical
  homogeneity in the way fire accidents are
  registered in the MS makes comparability a very
  difficult and inaccurate exercise

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EU Wide Data Collection

• Nibra Nb. of fatalities per millions inhabitants
  per year 10.8 in UK, 6 in Spain, 11.8 in France,
  15.7 in Sweden and 7.3 in Germany
• IDB
• 500.000 hospitalisations following injuries due
  to fire / burns in the EU
• 111 "burn/scald" accidents in hotels leading to
  hospitalisation
• extrapolation to EU27 level would yield approx.
  6.000 "burn/scald" accidents in hotels leading to
  hospitalisation occurred in the period 2002-2005
  in the EU27 area, about 600 cases of which are
  related to "open fire and flames".

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RAPEX- types of notified risks
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Next Steps at EU level

• Meeting M. Kuneva/Hotel representatives
• Points to be discussed
• Fire safety in hotels identified pbs
• Co-regulatory approach? Performance-based
  approach?
• Other safety matters (swimming pool, fitness,
  etc.)
• Consumer-related issues, e.g. complaints, use of
  the internet for booking, satisfaction, etc.
• Quality- star rating system?
• Experts Working Group?

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Other EU Fire Safety Initiatives
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Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes (RIP)

• The issue
• 1.000 fatalities/year in the EU as a result of
  fires caused by carelessly unattended cigarettes
  igniting upholstery or textiles in homes
• Victimes are also non-smokers including children
  and fire-fighters

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Situation in the Member States, Norway and Iceland
RIP cigarettes

• Information to SANCO from 2005 to 2007
• Cigarette-related fires registered in some Member
  States only - no data from several large Member
  States
• Detailed fire cause not always entirely clear
  Cigarette left alone or cigarette stub thrown
  away?

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Situation in the Member States, Norway and
Iceland (contd)
RIP cigarettes

• Every year (14MS Norway, Iceland)
• 11,000 fires
• 520 deaths and 1,600 injuries
• 14 million material damage
• Benefits of RIP cigarettes prevention/year of
• 14,000 fires
• 700 fatalities and 2,500 injuries
• 50 million damage

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Situation in the Member States, Norway and
Iceland (contd)
RIP cigarettes

• EU Fire Safety Network strongly favours RIP
  cigarettes
• Athens1 27.11.07   the Commissions proposals
  will therefore undoubtedly have a measurable
  impact on improving fire safety for EUs citizens
  in a way that has not been possible through
  education and advice alone over many decades. 

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Economic and health impact
RIP cigarettes

• Price  increase  of cigarettes of 0.2 maximum
• No change in consumers purchasing behaviour
• Special  speed bump  paper available within 3
  to 5 years
• Not more toxic than conventional cigarettes

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Fire safety requirements for the EU
RIP cigarettes

• 29.11.07 MS approved a Commission proposal for a
  Directive to allow tobacco producers to sell only
  Reduced Ignition Propensity cigarettes.
• COM adoption March/April 2008
• Safety requirement No more than 25 of the
  cigarettes in the batch of cigarette specimens to
  be tested may burn through their whole length (
  fail the test)
• Ref. to ASTM E2187-04 in a recital

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Mandate to CEN
RIP cigarettes

• Draft Mandate reflecting the fire safety
  requirements
• Advisory procedure in Directive 98/34/CE
  Committee
• Reference to ASTM E2187-04 will be underlined
  when passing the mandate to CEN
• Standard then provides the presumption of safety

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Child-resistant/novelty lighters

• All cigarette lighters placed on the market must
  be child-resistant and Novelty lighters can no
  longer be placed on the EU market as from 11
  March 2007
• On 12 April 2007, the Commission adopted Decision
  2007/231/EC extending its validity until 11 May
  2008 and adding the requirement that non-child
  resistant lighters and novelty lighters can no
  longer be sold to consumers from 11 March 2008
  onwards.

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Lighters (Ctd)

• Why this Decision on lighters?
• Cigarette lighters are consumer products which
  are inherently hazardous, since they produce a
  flame or heat, and contain a fuel. They pose a
  serious risk when misused by children.
• 1500 and 1900 injuries and 34 to 40 fatalities
  per year in the EU are due to fire-related
  accidents caused by children playing with
  lighters. The introduction of child-resistance
  requirements in the US brought about a 60
  reduction in the number of such accidents.

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Novelty lighters examples
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Child-Resistant Lighters Revised Standard

• EN 13869 requirements for determining whether a
  lighter is child resistant
• COM is working on a revision of the standard to
  minimise the need for child panel testing of
  lighters

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THANK YOU!

• Fire Safety in Hotels / Data collection
• Gwenn.Straszburger_at_ec.europa.eu
• Standardisation- Flame retardants
• Antonella.Correra_at_ec.europa.eu