Safe Public Places thro

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Safe Public Places thro FR Textiles
Safe Public Places thro FR Textiles Suggestio
n from Ministry of Textiles to Ministry of Home
Affairs Government of India
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• they would have been with us.
• had there been FR Textiles

83 children killed in school fire in
Kumbakonam
Victims of Uphaar Tragedy
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Protective Fabrics Introduction to Flame
Retardant Fabrics International standards
regulatory measures BIS standards Recommendatio
ns
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• Fabric flammability is an important issue,
  especially for
• stage drapery that will be used in a public space
  such as a
• school, theatre or special event venue.
• Although all fabrics will burn, some are
  naturally more
• resistant to fire than others. Those that are
  more flammable
• can have their fire resistance drastically
  improved by treatment
• with fire retardant chemicals.

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Importance of FR Textiles For Public Safety

• Recent studies have revealed that in 24 of fire
  accidents, the first item to catch fire is
  textiles
• 28 casualties were due to burns
• 48 due to smoke/gas
• 13 due to combined effects of burns, gas and
  smoke
• 11 due to other causes.
• These emphasize the role of textiles in limiting
  the spread of fire and casualties due to it.

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Importance of FR Textiles For Public Safety

• Heavy damage to property and loss to valuable
  lives due to fire
• Fire safety in public places/buildings has
  assumed paramount importance
• Fires in exhibition (Meerut), marriage pandal
  (Hissar), Uphar Cinema are living examples
• Record loss of life due to fires in India is
  amongst the worst in the world
• Fires are second largest cause of unnatural
  deaths in India
• In terms of insurance claim also, fires account
  for losses of Rs. 1 Crore and above
• In view of violation of public safety norms in
  India, fire safety legislation is the need of the
  hour
• Strong need to implement latest standards on fire
  retardant textiles by enacting and enforcing fire
  safety legislation and guidelines specially for
  the public places/buildings and for children
  wears.

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Standards- Protective Textiles
L I F E S A V I N G S E C O N D S.
AFTER 5 SECS
AFTER 15 SECS
AFTER 30 SECS

• Compiled by Pawan Sharma

SYNTHETIC BLENDED FABRIC
COTTON BLENDED FABRIC
COTTON BLENDED FABRIC
SYNTHETIC BLENDED FABRIC
SYNTHETIC BLENDED FABRIC
COTTON BLENDED FABRIC
PYROGUARD FABRIC
PYROGUARD FABRIC
PYROGUARD FABRIC
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Technology of FR Textiles

• Specialty fibers
• not manufactured in India expensive
• Chemical finishing on conventional fibers
• less expensive
• Additional cost of Rs 30 to 100 per mt depending
  upon the quality requirement

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Fire Terminologies
Flame Retardant A substance applied to or
incorporated in a combustible material to reduce
or eliminate its ability to ignite when exposed
to a low energy flame resource (i.e. match or
cigarette). Flame Proof A material which is
totally resistant to fire or flame (i.e.
asbestos). Flame Resistant A material which
does not continue to burn or glow once the
ignition source has been removed. After
Glow Smouldering ambers present when primary
ignition source has been removed.
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Evaluation Parameters for FR Textiles

• Ease of Ignition
• After Glow Time
• Extent of After Glow
• Char Length
• Flame Spread Time, Debris or Drips
• Smoldering Time
• Limiting Oxygen Index
• Heat Transmission Factor
• Heat Transfer Index
• Molten Metal Splash Index
• Smoke Opacity
• Toxicity

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Standardization

• Why Standardization Required
• The users need to be certain that they are
  sufficiently protected.
• The manufacturers want to show to the users that
  their product fulfils their needs of protection.
• The test laboratories want to have approved and
  standardized test methods in order to get
  reproducible results and standardized performance
  requirements as a guideline for the certification
  of products.

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• The problem of standardized tests is that the
  test conditions are far away from the conditions
  in real use (Zimmerli, 1996). In the last few
  years due to better understanding of the subject,
  it is said that the complete protective clothing
  has to be tested, either in a practice test with
  test persons or with an instrumented mannequin
  (Zimmerli, 2000).
• In addition, it will be necessary to assess the
  protective and the comfort properties
  simultaneously, because in most cases there is a
  strong interaction between the two properties.

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Organizations to set standards

• ISO standard-setting body composed of
  representatives from various national standards
  organizations.
• CEN- The European Committee for Standardization
  it's 30 National Members work together to develop
  voluntary European Standards (ENs)
• ASTM- American Society for Standardisation and
  Materials, in US it develops standards on
  protective clothing
• NFPA - The National Fire Protection Association
  (NFPA) writes performance standards for fire
  fighters clothing, based on test methods
  standardized by ASTM.
• BIS is the Official National Standards Body of
  India covers product quality certification,
  consumer affairs and development of technical
  standards .

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US Regulations onFR Fabrics
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US Flammable Fabrics Act(codified at 15 U.S.C
1191-1204)

• Legislation is to keep away the use of
  dangerously inflammable textiles out of commerce
  in USA
• The act covers trading of fabrics meant for
  wearing apparel or interior furnishing when they
  are traded with importers in USA
• Manufacture, sale, importation into USA,
  introduction of flammable fabrics shall be
  prohibited
• Importers are advised to buy from a supplier
  issuing a guarantee and a test report
• Consumer Products Safety Commission is vested
  with the powers of determination of authority
  to test, testing standards prosecution powers

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USA Flammable Fabrics Act

• Enforcement mechanism
• Consumer Products Safety Commission administers
  the enforcement mechanism
• Imported fabrics are not allowed to be cleared
  out of customs warehouse unless it is FR
• In case imported fabrics are released against
  bond by customs ware house, they can order for
  return to customs warehouse
• Can seize and send for testing
• File civil suit based on lab report
• Levy fine up to 100,000
• Penalty is based on gravity of injury that would
  have caused or likely to have caused
• In the event of misrepresentation, the merchant
  is liable for imprisonment up to 5 years.

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National Standards (Test methods)

• Developed by the National Fire Protection
  Association
• (NFPA), titled NFPA 701 Standard Methods of Fire
  
• Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and
  Films. 
• There are no official federal regulations
  regarding FR
• of drapery fabrics used in public spaces.
  However,
• Under NFPA 701, drapery fabric is tested by
  burning a
• small sample and measuring the flame, char length
  
• flaming residue
• if a fabric meets these three areas, it is
  considered as flame retardant.

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State and Local Regulations

• Though NFPA 701 is the national standard, it is
  not a law or regulation in itself. 
• Authority to make and enforce laws and
  regulations in this area is granted to state and
  local governments.
• Many state and local governments have not
  developed their own standards.  Instead, they
  require that draperies used in public spaces meet
  the NFPA 701 standard.
• The 2005 Florida Fire Prevention Code, for
  example, specifies in Chapter 20 that fabric used
  in places of assembly must meet NFPA 701
  standards.

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State and Local Regulations

• Some states and cities, however, have developed
  their own standards and/or procedures. These
  requirements are separate and distinct from NFPA
  701 standards.  

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State and Local Regulations

• In California, for example, drapery used in
  public spaces must be made of fabric that has
  been registered with the State Fire Marshal,
  documenting compliance with Title 19 (Division 1,
  Chapter 8) of
• California Code of Regulations. 

While the State of New York and the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts both accept NFPA 701
certification, New York City requires
certification that fabrics meet requirements
outlined in Title 27 (Chapters 1 and 4) of the
New York Administrative Code,
while the City of Boston requires that end users
submit an application for a use permit, in
advance, for each fabric to be used in a public
space.
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State and Local Regulations

• Venue Requirements
• Even specific venues have developed their own
  requirements for drapery to be utilized within
  the venue.  Radio City Music Hall, in addition to
  requiring that all fabrics be certified compliant
  with New York City regulations, also requires the
  Certificate of Flame Retardancy include not just
  basic information on the fabric utilized, but
  specific information about each sewn drapery
  piece, including quantity and size.

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• European Standards
• Guide list web site

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Protection Function Standard Code
Protective Clothing
Against Heat Flame EN 531
For use in welding and allied processes EN 470-1
Against mechanical impact EN 510
For users of hand-held chainsaws EN 381- series
Firemens Protective clothing EN 469
Against cold EN 342
Against foul weather (Moisture, wind, cold) EN 343
Against radioactive contamination EN 1073
Against electric hazards/electrostatic charges EN 1149
Against thermal hazards of an electric arc (technical specs) CLC/TS 50354
High visibility warning clothing EN 471
For working in environment of machines EN 510
Against chemical hazards EN 465,, EN 466, EN 467
http//www.cen.eu/cenorm/standards_drafts/onlinecataloguewithlinkstomembers/index.asp http//www.cen.eu/cenorm/standards_drafts/onlinecataloguewithlinkstomembers/index.asp
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Great Britain

• The Consumer Protection Act (1987), the
  Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety)
  Regulations 1988, 1989 1993 set levels of fire
  resistance for upholstered products.
• Standards Mentioned BS 5852, BS 7177, BS EN
  1021-2, BS 7176

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Italy

• The first Regulation in Italy concerning fire
  behaviour of Textiles e.g. Furnishings, had come
  in the existence in 1984 for the public assembly
  places like cinema halls, theaters etc.
• Then restrictions for schools, fairs and hotels
  followed

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FRANCE

• Upholstered Furniture in French public buildings
  has to meet ERP Article AM 18 which, since 2006,
  requires a finished testing as per the standard
  EN 1021 and French Standards NF D60 013 NF
  D60 015.

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(No Transcript)
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JAPAN

• Fire Service Law of Japan requires that Flame
  Retardant items e.g. Carpets, Curtains etc.
  should have flame retarding treatment before
  going to the end users.

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BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDSBIS standardson FR
Textiles
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Standardization of FR Textiles

• BIS has brought out a series of standards for FR
  textiles - curtains, drapes, upholstered
  furniture materials, protective clothing for
  industrial workers and fire fighters etc along
  with test methods for evaluation of the above
  items.
• These standards are for 3 hazard categories
• low hazard
• moderate hazard
• high hazard categories

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International Scenario
Material Specification Conformance to USA / Britain
Tent fabric - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 701 - British Standard 7157 Mandatory in some States
Carpet Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (MVSS) 302 ASTM D 2859 ASTM E 648 Mandatory
Furnishing materials California Technical Bulletin 116 BS 5852 ( Ignition Source 0,1,57) BS EN 1021 BS 7176 Mandatory
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BIS Standards on Tent Cloth

• IS 12990, IS 7609, IS 8758, IS 7613, IS 12991, IS
  10321 are available on tent cloth

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BIS Standards on Carpet

• IS 12722, IS 10466, IS 2331, IS 7878, IS 4391, IS
  5641, IS 5884, IS 10921, IS 7877, IS 13188, IS
  15764 are on textile floor coverings.

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BIS Standards on Upholstered Furniture

• IS 12467 Pt.12 ,IS 577, IS 7864 deal with
  testing of upholstered furniture .
• Out of these, two mention ignitability test
  wherein ignition sources are smouldering
  cigarette and match flame equivalent.

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Common FR Test Methods
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BS 5852 Part 1 "Match - test" (on finished /
unfinished CO - fabric)
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Flame retardant against burning cigarettes
Length 68mm Diameter 8mm Mass 1g
nominal igniting not less than 5mm not more than
8mm smouldering rate 12 3min / 50mm pass if
not more than 50mm damage within 60min no
flaming, smoke, heat, glowing
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Flame retardant for upholstery fabric
Flame Length 35mm (vertical) Ignition Time
20s Pass if Flaming max. 2min after removal
of the burner, Smoke, heat, glowing max. 15min
after removal, Max. 100mm damage ??
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German Railway - "Upholstery - Test"
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Work ClothesEN 533

• Flame length 40mm (vertical) Ignition time
  10s
• Criteria -after flame time afterglow time not
  charred area formation hole molten / flaming
  debris borders reached

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CarpetASTMD 5859-76

• Methenamine tablet
• Steel plate Æ 205mm
• Pass if
• charred area
• lt 25.4mmfrom inner edge OK

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NF P 92-504
Rate of spread of flame test Flame length 35mm
(vertical) Ignition 30 times 5s with 3s
intervals M1 if - after flame time max. 1s no
flaming debris burning speed max. 2mm/s
NF P 92-503
Criteria formation hole lt20 if yes NF P
90-504 M1 if After flame time max.5 - damage
afterglow max. 250mm no molten / flaming debris
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Center of Excellence
To provide infrastructure support at one
place for the technical textile manufacturer the
government has set up four Centers of
Excellence(COE) in the thrust areas of technical
textiles. The details are given below
The four COEs have been sanctioned
Rs.43.31 crore by the MOT
Segment Agency
Meditech SITRA with AC college of technology,Chenai
Protech NITRA with IIT delhi
Geotech BTRA with ATIRA
Agrotech SASMIRA with MANTRA and Navsari agriculture University
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Centre of Excellence Protech
NITRA has been sanctioned Rs. 10.95 crore for
setting up of COE for Protech. So far an amount
of Rs 4.318 crores has been released to the COE
NITRA.
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Centre of Excellence

• The NITRA-COE Protech is in the process of
  creating the following facilities
• Facilities for testing and evaluation of products
  of segments of technical textiles.
• Develop as a national and international
  accreditation center
• Development of Resource Centre with I.T.
  infrastructure
• Facilities for training of core personnel and
  regular training of personnel from the industry

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Centre of Excellence
The NITRA-COE Protech has already purchased
following equipments

Sr.No. Name of Item Purpose
1 Toxicity Tester To test toxicity in flame resistance fabric in protech
2 Snagging Tester To determine pullout tendency of yarn
3 Water cooled Xenontest ( weather meter) For evaluation of colour change due to weathering
4 Abrasion Resistance Tester To assess the surface change on the fabric due to abrasion
5 DSC TGA To analyse Raw Materials
NITRA also purchased Books and Standards related
to Protective Textiles.
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Recommendations

• In view of public safety and property loss as
  well as high environmental pollution involved in
  fires, it is necessary that relevant Indian
  standards are made mandatory for textiles used in
  public places / buildings - hospitals, schools,
  airports, theaters, shopping complexes, railways,
  civil aviation, automobiles etc.
• Legislation for FR textiles are already in force
  in many of the developed countries of the world
  and India should be no exception to this.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Standards on FR textiles - IS157412007,
  IS157422007, IS157482007 IS157682007could be
  made mandatory under the BIS Act.
• Subsequently, standard for resistance to ignition
  of mattresses, divans and bed bases to be made
  mandatory after publication.
• Standards developed by BIS on FR textiles need to
  be included in National Building Code of India
  2005 immediately as a separate chapter.
• In order to prevent the import of sub-standard
  and hazardous FR textiles, the relevant Indian
  standards could be made mandatory for imports
  also.

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CONCLUSION

• All out efforts by all stake holders required to
  minimize fire hazards by use of FR textiles and
  enforcing suitable fire safety legislation for
  safety in public places/buildings.
• Role of standards in minimizing fire losses is of
  paramount importance.
• Awareness of latest developments at International
  level is required.
• With the pace of globalization, infra structural
  growth and changing public safety concepts, any
  neglect in public safety including use of FR
  textiles shall cost us dearly.
• The opportunities thrown open by the growing
  market for FR fabrics need to be thoroughly
  exploited by India.

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Thank you