CPSC Staff Recommends Safety Standard for Flammable Upholstered Furniture

The views here are those of CPSC staff, which has recommended a proposed safety standard to regulate the flammability of upholstered furniture. The statements do not necessarily reflect beliefs of individual Commissioners.

The staff of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission today released its recommendation for a proposed mandatory flammability standard for upholstered furniture. The proposal was forwarded to the Commissioners for their review.

The staff will brief the Commissioners on the proposal in a public session on December 6,1978. On December 20, representatives from the furniture industry and other interested people will present their views on the proposal to the Commissioners. No date for Commission action on the proposal has been set. If the Commission does vote to propose the standard, the staff has recommended a 90-day period for public comment. Following is a discussion of the highlights of the staff's recommendations for a proposed standard.

Background

Deaths and injuries due to upholstered furniture have concerned the Commission since it was established in 1973. The Commission staff, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards, developed a draft flammability standard to address the major hazard-- ignition by cigarettes. In September 1977, the Commissioners reviewed the draft standard and agreed that a mandatory standard for upholstered furniture would be necessary. However, the Commissioners also expressed concern about the possible economic effects of the draft standard, and asked the staff to:

-- review the test method to determine if the economic burden could be reduced;

-- consider various options for implementing a mandatory standard;

-- consider the adequacy of voluntary industry action;

-- consider a petition from California to adopt their state standard nationally.

Risk Of Injury

Each year 3,200 people are injured and 800 people die in upholstered furniture fires. Of these, a minimum of 1,700 injuries and 500 deaths can be traced directly to cigarette ignition.

Proposed Standard

The proposed standard consists of two tests--one to classify fabrics, and the other to eliminate flammable combinations of fabric, filing materials and construction. -Upholstery fabrics would be classified into one of four categories (A,B,C,D), with Class A fabrics the most resistant to ignition by cigarettes and Class D, the least resistant. Typical examples of fabrics falling into the classes follow:

-- Class A-40-15 percent of the market) wools, wool blends, vinyl plastics, and heavy synthetics such as nylon, olefin, polyester and acrylic:

-- Class B-425-30 percent of the market) medium-weight synthetics and some lightweight cottons, rayons and linens;

-- Class C-420-25 percent of the market) medium-weight cottons, rayons and linens;

-- Class D--(25-35 percent of the market) heavyweight cottons, rayons and linens.

- Because the flammability of upholstered furniture is affected not only by the materials used, but also by the way it is constructed, simulated furniture using the same filling material, fabric and construction as the actual furniture to be made would be tested using lighted cigarettes as the ignition source. Testing of simulated furniture rather than the full-size article, is used because it is less expensive.

Economic Impact

- Economic losses from ignition of upholstered residential furniture are estimated to average $540 million annually from death, injury and property damage.

- The estimated cost to industry of compliance with the proposed standard is $57- $87 million a year, or 2-3 percent of the wholesale value of upholstered furniture. This is a reduction from the cost estimates made in the 1977 draft which ranged from $311-$656 million per year, a 13-27 percent increase in the wholesale value. The reduction in compliance costs is due to reduced testing requirements and to technological innovations in the fabric and furniture industries which have provided less expensive ways to comply with the standard.

- On a per-piece basis, consumers might expect to pay from $3.50-$5.30 extra for a chair because of the draft standard, and from $6.60-$10.00 more for a sofa. The estimated total cost of the safety rule to the public would be $114-$174 million a year.

Impact On Availability Of Fabrics And Furniture

The CPSC staff estimates that up to 75 percent of the fabrics now used in upholstered furniture, primarily A,B, and C fabrics will not be adversely affected. Synthetic fibers are usually among the least flammable and are used in the majority of fabrics sold today. Most synthetic fabrics would be classified as A,B, or C. These fabrics could be used in most constructions and filling materials.

-Natural fibers are among the most flammable. If the Commission mandates the draft standard, some natural fiber fabrics (mainly in Class D) may be eliminated from the market in certain constructions. However, there are a number of ways to either upgrade those fabrics or modify the furniture construction to permit the continued use of the more flammable fabrics. Among the options are additions of synthetics to natural fibers, use of flame retardant treatment on fabrics, use of treated cotton batting to reduce flammability, use of metallized backings (to act as a barrier), and the use of flame-retardant backcoatings.

In addition, the fabric industry in recent years has developed man-made fiber fabrics which very closely resemble certain natural fiber fabrics. Examples of popular fabric styles now available in the man-made fibers are Jacquards (matelasse, brocade, tapestry), velvets and the Haitian cottons. Use of these new fabrics will help to maintain consumers' choices within the requirements of the draft standard.

Voluntary Action

The Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC), High Point, N.C., has developed a voluntary plan to classify fabrics depending on the percentage of synthetic material in the fabric, and to require that certain constructions be used only with certain types of fabrics.

At present, the CPSC staff believes that the industry voluntary program is not adequate because it does not require fabric or simulated furniture testing. According to the staff, testing is essential to provide assurance that furniture will be resistant to cigarette ignition. The staff is also concerned that the industry would not be able to ensure compliance with the voluntary plan.

Options For Implementing Mandatory Standard

-The staff recommends that the standard become effective in one year. However, noncomplying furniture could be manufactured for an additional two years if it bore a label stating that it does not meet the CPSC standard. Furniture that does comply with the standard would be required to be so labeled.

-The staff recommends that the standard apply to:
residential furniture;
business and institutional furniture; and
juvenile furniture.

California Petition

In May 1977, the Chief of California's Bureau of Home Furnishings petitioned the Commission to adopt California's regulation for the flammability of upholstered furniture as the national standard. The California regulation consists of two parts: 1) mandatory testing of the components (such as the filling material and the fabric) of upholstered furniture for both open-flame and cigarette ignition resistance, and 2) voluntary testing of a mock-up for cigarette ignition resistance.

CPSC staff has numerous technical objections to the California approach. Chief among these is the fact that the California standard requires testing of components only. The staff believes that testing of simulated furniture, as well as testing of individual components, is essential to assure that furniture will not ignite.