Comparison the european and national certification of textiles that qualify as building material

Abstract

Flammability testing is arguably one of the most important testing procedures within the textile industry because it has crucial safety implications in the event of a fire. It has been statistically shown that the major cause of fatalities in fire can be directly attributed to the accidental ignition of upholstery and textiles, so it is only sensible that proper flammability standards should be in place. Different countries across the globe have very different fire retardant regulations. Unfortunately, there is no single flammability standard for upholstery or vertical surface fabrics which has been adopted as the norm throughout the world and the plethora of different standards in force internationally reflects the different ways of approaching the whole flammability issue. A single standard has been brought in which is acceptable throughout the European Union, EN 1021 : 1994, but this only covers cigarette and match tests - nothing more rigorous . This paper looks at some of the most important international and EU standards and test methods which apply to texti fabrics.