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Teciinoiogy R gulatory Update New York Combustion Toxicity Data Bank Nears Approval By a vote of 8-0, with one abstention, the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Council Toxicity Subcommittee sent a proposal calling for a combustion toxic ity testing/data bank to the full Council for passage. If the proposal is passed, and SPI spokesmen say it's likely to, New York will become the first state to collect information on the combustion toxicity of construction materials used in build ings. And while not explicitly targeted on banning plastic materials, such as PVC pipe and conduit, one of the per ceived purposes of the data bank is to allow architects and designers of buildings to choose "safe" construction materi als. Implicit in this thinking is that failure to select "safe" materials, as determined by a rating system, could be con strued as negligence in the design of a building. Where PVC pipe and conduit might fall in the ratings compared with metal pipe and conduit seems a foregone conclusion. What the code's passage means to you Assuming the pro posal is passed, it will become part of the New York state building-code law. The new code would require all manufac turers or sellers of building products in New York to have combustion toxicity testing performed on their products, us ing the University of Pittsburgh small-scale test, and submit the findings of those tests to Albany, where a data base would be maintained. By "building products" the new code means pipe, conduit, flooring, panels, walls, materials be tween walls, and carpeting; however, the new code does not include furnishings. SPI estimates each such test would cost manufacturers or sellers $2500. Continued on page 132 Also in This Update: USDA on radiation and packaging FDA finds benzoyl peroxide safe Correction on MDA use -- -that means QUALITY MOULD MAKING IFW-M. Otte GmbH Co. KG 4563 Micheldorf/Austria Box 2 Tel. 07582 2556, Tlx. 23325 Fax 07582 4753 full automatic working Molds for Return-Bend with clean-out Our range of production includes FITTING-MOULDS for all kinds of Plastics like PVC, ABS, PP, PE and Nylon. Especially Moulds for-- -SEWER-FITTINGS--Inside of buildings --DRAINAGE-FITTINGS for underground lines --Fittings for WATER-SUPPLY, for GUTTERS, for GAS-LINES, ELECTRICAL-LINES, Irrigation as well as Fittings for Plastic Furnitures Due to our experience we are able to offer first class technology and best quality--achieved with specially trained experts, us ing high grade material and most modem machinery Expert advice oifraw-m'aterial selection, optimum Mould-lay out, special equipment of Injection-Moulding-Machines is a matter of course for us, also training of customer's technicians and starting-up of his production and last but not least a world wide after-sales-service FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 217 READERS' SERVICE CARD CTL016324 PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 1986 /131 Regulatory Update Continued from page 131 After testing and submitting data, suppliers will have met their obligation--there is no toxicity standard that a material or product could pass or fail, a fact that particularly rankles SPI, considering that an estimated $325 million worth of testing will be required just to create a data base. Within that data base, each material will then be assigned a "lethal concentration" number, based on how the products of com bustion affect lab mice. That number would, effectively, rank the material's toxicity against other building materials. SPI's objections Roger Bernstein, SPI director of state gov ernment affairs, notes several fundamental problems with the proposed code. For one, since it does not include furnish ings, it eliminates from consideration the major component of the "fire-load" that generates much of the fire and smoke in the first place. Second, some plastic materials will be unfairly rated highly toxic, despite the fact that they may withstand very high temperatures before combustion. "Fluoropolymers are some of the most fire-safe plastics around," Bern stein says, "but if you can get them to burn--at somewhere over 1300 F--they would have a high toxicity rating." Another concern is the relevance of data on combustion toxicity alone. According to Bernstein, such tests do not tell the whole fire-safety story since they overlook such factors as the amount of smoke and heat a material generates upon combustion, as well as the flammability of a given material. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association (N'FPA), Boston, a voluntary standards-making organization^^ found that no current tests of combustion toxicity ar^^Wquate for regulatory purposes. Furthermore, many sni^, including California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Maryland, Massa chusetts, Indiana, and Maine, have "considered legislation that would call for toxicity testing," says Bernstein, "but haven't moved any further because no test has scientific credibility." Despite that, New York has adopted the Uni versity of Pittsburgh test protocol based in part on a recom mendation from Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., which also happens to be one of only two independent labora tories (the other, is Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in San Antonio, Texas) equipped wih apparatus to run the test. SPI has questioned the validity of the University of Pitts burgh test claiming that, among other reasons, results are not reproducible, it does not represent actual fire exposures, and that the test is methodologically unsound. Familiar antagonists The iron and steel industry is far from a disinterested observer at the Council Code hearings. One of the companies said to be working behind the scenes to push the proposed code into law is Allied Tube & Conduit Corp., Harvey, 111., reportedly the nation's largest manufacturer of steel electrical conduit. This is the same company that last year was found guilty of engaging in anti-trust activities in an effort to exclude PVC conduit from NFPA's National Elec- Continued on page 135 The end of stick-ups for timid molders. A lot of good guys are held up and held back by being too timid. Too timid to try something new. Like a mold release or internal lubricant that does much better than just get you out of the mold. The exactly right formulation could give you easier, faster releasing with improved product quality and appearance. And a perfectly clean product ready for secondary operations. Axel can make it easy for you to get the right formulation. We make every type and variety. For samples and help call (718) 672-8300 or write Box 855, Woodside, N.Y. 11377. We've got ways to make life easier for you. MOLD KELUSIS AMO IMTtftMAl LUOMCAMTS FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLI 288 READERS' SERVICE CARD 132/ PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 1986 FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 289 READERS' SERVICE CARD CTL016325 Reg Update Continued from page 132 trical Code (see PT, June '85, p. 135). Now, according to Bernstein, Allied Tube has successfully interested fire fighters, who are perceived as "more credible and formidable proponents of toxicity testing" to "take the lead" in the New York Code Council hearings. Firefighters have their motives too, says Bernstein. "If they can prove that the firefighting environment is more dangerous now than 10 or 25 years ago, they could get more health and wage benefits. So it also becomes a union issue." Finally, New York Governor Mario Cuomo reportedly is another proponent of the new code. What's next? A Code Council meeting to promulgate the law was scheduled for August 20, with an alternative date of September 17 set if a quorum could not be assembled. In the meantime, suppliers of plastic building products in New York can only brace themselves against the predictable back lash of objections to the use of plastics in buildings by suppli ers of competing products should the proposed code become law. Other notes: New York has added PVC to a "toxic tort" bill, which allows lawsuits for personal injury and property damage to be filed up to three years from the initial discovery of harmful exposure to certain substances or materials--as opposed to the date of actual exposure. According to SPI, PVC was added to a list that also contains tungsten carbide, asbestos, and the pesticide chlordane at the urging of fire fighters, who claim that health problems have surfaced as a result of fighting a Bell Telephone Co. switching fire in New York City in the mid-seventies. Meanwhile, on the plus side, SWRI has released the re sults of a study on the behavior of hydrogen chloride (HC1) gas in a fire environment. According to the study, HC1, which is released as a byproduct of PVC combustion, and suspected by firefighters and others as being particularly harmful, decays quickly in fire environments by adsorbing onto nearby surfaces. Thus, the substance behaves unlike other combustion gases, such as carbon monoxide, that in stead escape to other portions of the building away from the fire, and thereby place persons on floors uninvolved in the fire in jeopardy. In particular, the SWRI study found that three variables affect the rate of HC1 decay: air circulation, humidity, and surface area. In general, increasing each variable will in crease the rate of HC1 decay. Therefore, according to SWRI, fires between walls will have low HC1 content, since there is a greater amount of surface area in proportion to the volume of air. Also, in a plenum ceiling, according to the Vinyl Insti tute (V.I.), Wayne, N.J., "thermal stirring" of the fire gases brings HC1 in contact with a large amount of surface area, again in proportion to the volume of air. Furthermore, the ceiling acts as a "filter," which, according to V.I., decreases "the likelihood of incapacitation or unconsciousness caused by inhalation of HC1." Continued on page 137 IJECTOR PINS Best Quality/Price Anywhere! There's a new knight in the lists: Royal's Kmghtride Hotwork Ejector Pins, pnced to win every time! Heads are hot-forged and stress- relieved to prevent breakage Pins are heat- treated and precision-ground . then mi nded to a hardness of Rc 65-74 and honed for ' armorplate'' toughness and long life. Best at all, savings up to 24%! A rV x 6" pm is only 1.74 .... 1 65 ea far as few as 300 pcs.! Straight or shoulder types. Call your industrial distrib utor, or ask us for V . literature. # DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTS. INC. 285 Marital St Warrari, l 02885 ^ PllOfi* (4011245-6900 Wost Const Warehouse- (213)841-5560 FREE SAMPLES on letterhead or phone requests. FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 291 READERS' SERVICE CARD REVOLUTIONIZING CORE PULLING/ Stilson's Wedge Lock Actuator Positions, Locks and Ptdls Cores and Inserts Ths Stilson "Wedge Lock Actu- A quick look at the advantages will tor" is a pneumatically or hydrau tell you why the "Wedge Lock licallyoperated mechanical device Actuator" is a must consideration that positions, locks and pulls for all plastic or die cast mold cores and inserts in plastic or die designers! cast molds. Its ability to resist Eliminates complex core pulling tremendous "shot forces" in its mechanisms, i.e. racks, pinions locked position, by employing the and slides. patented wedge-lock principle Allows greater die and mold eliminates the need for other design flexibility. costly, space consuming com Permits cores to be pulled at ponents. any angle. Extends die and mold life. Increases productivity. Quality engineered and manu factured to exact specifications. S*rvd tv**r >or poor copy of # ~w#*9# Production proven. Reduces design and build costs Several standard models are Lock Actuator" 8/ocftur# fita o*i* sn##r. readily available Special configurations quoted upon request. Division of Stockor A Yals, Inc. 34775 Commorco Rend Frasor, Michigan 48026 Tolox: 6102267231 FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 292 READERS' SERVICE CARD CTL016326 PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 1986 /135 You can't find a metal replacement as tough, stiffand good-looking as new Zytel* 826 nylon ZYTEL 82G nylon opens new avenues to metal replacement with a combination of strength, stiffness and high gloss no other thermo plastic can offer. Which means you can bring superior toughness, stiffness, heat deflection temperature, elongation, chemical resistance and light weight to a broad range of con sumer products--lawnmowers, window frames and parts, furniture and power tools, to name a few. All without sacrificing appearance. You'll enjoy manufacturing advantages, too. Molding one plas tic part instead of making several metal pieces. Doing away with painting, deburring and a host of costly secondary operations. There's an easy way to find out more about ZYTEL 82G nylon and all its advantages: write DuPont Company, ZYTEL, Room X50350, Wilmington, DE 19898. Dial Du Pont first (3021 999-4592 ALCRYM* melt processible rubber DELR1N* acetal resin HYTREL* polyester elastomer RYNITE' thermoplastic polyester ZYTEL* nylon resin atupjMb tC. u* tFOR MORI INFORMATION CIRCLE 293 REAOERS' SERVICE CAF