NEWS
Tomorrow’s fire safety applications
Brian Lattimer, Jensen Hughes (now with Virginia Tech), USA, summarised challenges for fire safety requirements in railways in the USA.
READ MOREEnvironment and health challenges for fire fighters
Margaret Macnamee, Lund University, presented the Fire Impact Tool (developed from the ENVECO tool), to provide decision support and training information to firefighters on LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) and ERA (local Environmental Risk Assessment) related to different fire interventions.
READ MOREInterview / vision – Colleen Wade, best paper award
The predictability of heavy timber (or mass timber) structures in fire is often given as a benefit, and while this is generally true in relation to standard fire resistance tests, it is not necessarily the case in real fire events.
READ MORENew fire safety challenges for wood products
Presentations noted the strong growth potential of wood-based materials, as a sustainable and ‘desirable’ construction material, but also the specific fire safety challenges to address.
READ MORENeed for integrated approach to fire safety
Patrick Van Hees, Lund University, underlined that fire safety is increasingly complex, with new materials and evolving building design, so that reliance on past fire scenarios is inadequate.
READ MOREFaçade fires and consequences of Grenfell
A recurrent theme at Interflam was follow-up from the Grenfell Tower fire catastrophe. (14 June 2017). Despite previous occurrences of fires in high-rise building exterior cladding, it seems this disaster was necessary for regulators to take action.
READ MOREInterflam 2019
The 40th “Interflam” conference (organiser: Interscience) was organised at the Royal Holloway College campus, University of London, UK, 1st – 3rd July 2019.
READ MOREEU RoHS Directive consultation
The European Commission has opened (to 6 December 2019) a public consultation on “evaluation of restrictions” on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC).
READ MOREEU consultation on POPs
The European Commission has opened a public consultation, to 11th November 2019, on the EU Implementation Plan under the Stockholm Convention (POPs – Persistent Organic Pollutants).
READ MORECanada Government assessment of trixylyl phosphate
Canada’s federal Department of the Environment submitted for public consultation (closed 11th September 2019) an assessment of three phosphorus chemicals, including trixylyl phosphate which can be used as a flame retardant in e.g. lubricants, plastics, wires and cables, and two other phosphorus chemicals used in cosmetics and food packaging plastics.
READ MOREEU consultation on microplastics restriction
The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) launched a public consultation, closed 20th September 2019, on a proposed restriction on “intentionally added microplastics”.
READ MOREEU tender for facade fire performance testing
The European Commission has opened a tender, to 8th November 2019 (16h), to finalise the European harmonised fire test (“alternative method” of assessment) for building façade products.
READ MOREpinfa will join panel on recycling at FRiP 2019
pinfa and Flame Retardants Europe will participate in the special panel discussion on recycling and recyclability of flame retardant containing plastics, at the annual AMI ‘Flame Retardants in Plastics’ (FRiP) Conference, Cologne, Germany, 3-5 December 2019.
READ MORENew French regulations for tall building fire safety
The French Government has promulgated two decrees updating fire safety requirements for façade materials used in residential buildings of < 50 m height.
READ MOREData base of hazardous chemicals in articles
ECHA (European Chemical Agency) has published the information requirements for the data base of articles containing chemicals on the REACH “Candidate List” of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC).
READ MOREICC rejects push for non fire safe foams in foundations
The (North American) International Code Council, meeting in August in Albuquerque, rejected a proposal to allow non flame retarded polystyrene foam in foundations, where it is underneath a concrete slab of at least 3 ½ inches.
READ MOREEU Court rejects industry appeal on endocrine disruptor
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected an action brought by Plastics Europe attempting to reverse the designation by ECHA of the plastic additive / monomer BPA (Bisphenol A) as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), requiring Plastics Europe to pay the costs of ECHA and of the NGO ClientEarth.
READ MOREVideo – Swedish FR chemical tax meeting
A five minute video summarises a stakeholder meeting on the Swedish chemicals ecotax on flame retardants, Stockholm, 17th September 2019, where Henrik Edin (IT Telekomföretagen) and Hans Wendschlag (Hewlett Packard) presented the case for a revision of the tax.
READ MOREpinfa brings stakeholders to meet firefighters and fire
pinfa’s Advisory Board regularly brings together interested stakeholders (GOs, regulators, fire experts, professionals …) to discuss issues around fire safety and flame retardants, in an open but non-public dialogue.
READ MOREModern Buildings Alliance “Fire Safety Guide”
The alliance of trade associations and companies representing the plastics industry in the construction sector, Modern Buildings Alliance, has published a 20 page brochure titled “EU Fire Safety Guide”.
READ MOREAirbnb promotes fire safety in the UK
Working with the UK National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Airbnb has produce a two page guide sent to over 100 000 hosts across Britain.
READ MOREUS NTSB presses for better road vehicle fire safety
The US National Transport Safety Board has reiterated its recommendation to revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 302 to require more rigorous materials flammability and smoke emission requirements.
READ MOREFire code failures cost developer $ 10M
US$ 10 million damages and costs were awarded in 2017 to purchasers of residential property in the Grandview Riverwalk, Port Imperial development, New York State. A court has now decided that this must be paid entirely by the developer, a subsidiary of Hovnanian Enterprises, not by the architects RTKL.
READ MOREFRETWORK textile FR code of practice moves forward
The Flame Retarded Textiles Network, UK (FRETWORK) has launched a Primary Authority partnership with Nottingham County Council Trading Standards to enable participating companies to benefit from formally assured advice.
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