Fire Safety & Building Codes
Polyurethane materials are organic and—like other organic materials such as wood, paper, cotton, wool, and many others—can ignite and burn if exposed to a sufficient heat source. Organic foam insulation, regardless of whether the foam contains fire retardants, should be considered combustible and handled accordingly. Precautions should be taken to minimize any potential for fire through accidental ignition in handling, storage and use. How polyurethane or polyisocyanurate (polyiso) foams are used ultimately helps determine their fire safety. When used in furniture and bedding, flexible polyurethane foams (FPFs) are generally matched with fabric coverings and liners that may influence the combustibility of the finished article.
In the building and construction industry, polyurethane and polyiso foams are regulated through fire codes, the model building codes and state and local governments. Model and local building codes are used throughout the United States to provide guidance and requirements for the safe use of materials and systems used in buildings. They are considered “living documents” that are updated and changed on a regular basis. Building codes help safeguard life and protect the public welfare by regulating design, construction practices, construction material quality (including fire performance), location, occupancy, and maintenance of buildings and structures. When regulating materials, many of the model building codes refer to consensus standards for products or tests developed by standard-setting organizations such as ASTM International and the National Fire Protection Association. Some building codes and insurance rating organizations also rely on test information from testing laboratories such as Factory Mutual Global and Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
Adopting a National Standard for Residential Upholstered Furniture
CPI supports consumer access to upholstered furniture that is designed to minimize the risk from residential fire hazards. This can be achieved through the development of a technically sound, effective national flammability standard that addresses the following concepts:
- Test and evaluation procedures with appropriate ignition hazards relevant for upholstered furniture.
- Requirements should be performance-based and relevant for upholstered furniture constructions intended for residential use.
- Requirements should apply to all residential upholstered furniture, regardless of the materials used in construction.
- Test procedures and performance criteria should be robust and practical for furniture components, models and finished furnishings.
- Requirements should include appropriate labeling provisions for furniture (or covered items).
To learn more about furnishings flammability and FPF, visit the Polyurethane Foam Association’s Website.
Improving and Promoting Fire Safety
To address fire safety concerns, CPI encourages educational efforts on general fire safety principles for the home including:
- Proper use of fire and smoke detectors;
- Proper use of fire suppression systems; and
- Proper handling of potential ignition sources.
Polyurethanes are essential to many products and have been long used in the upholstered furniture and building and construction market sectors. Whether using fireproofing materials to reduce the flame spread in bedding and mattresses, or thermal insulation to reduce the flow of heat through the thickness of a material, polyurethanes will continue to serve these industries well into the future, and CPI members support fire safety regulations that help reduce the incidences of fire-related injuries and deaths.
During Combustion
As with many common household goods, items containing polyurethane may become involved in a fire. All combustible materials produce toxic smoke when burned. The toxicity of smoke can be relevant as it is one of many factors affecting the ability of people to escape from a fire.
There are misconceptions that smoke from a fire that involves polyurethane products poses a significantly greater health risk than from other synthetic or natural materials because hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is present in the smoke. HCN is produced whenever nitrogen containing materials are burned, including polyurethanes and other common materials such as sheep’s wool. However, in terms of hazard, carbon monoxide (CO) is typically by far the most abundant toxicant in fires under almost all combustion conditions.
Building Codes, Standards, and Test Methods
CPI is dedicated to supporting the highest quality building codes and standards worldwide. CPI members advocate in front of various code groups including ASTM International, ICC, ISO, NFPA and more. Codes and standards for building and construction make enormous contributions to most aspects of our lives—from product quality, reliability, efficiency and safety.
Codes and standards are useful to industrial and business organizations of all types, from governments and other regulatory bodies, to trade officials, to suppliers and customers of products and services in both public and private sectors, and, ultimately, to people in general in their roles as consumers and end users.
Knowledge of codes and standards is essential to companies in the building and construction field. Codes mandate or encourage increased energy efficiency, resulting in the use of more and better insulation. Polyurethane insulation and other building products can help achieve those energy efficiency requirements. Many U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes have adopted the International Codes or “I” codes, which are building codes developed by the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC develops codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools.
Learn More:
Polyurethane-related Codes, Specifications, Standards and Test Methods:
- (ASTM D1621) Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Rigid Cellular Plastics
- (ASTM D1622) Standard Test Method for Apparent Density of Rigid Cellular Plastics
- (ASTM D1623) Standard Test Method for Tensile and Tensile Adhesion Properties of Rigid Cellular Plastics
- (ASTM D2126) Standard Test Method for Response of Rigid Cellular Plastics to Thermal and Humid Aging
- (ASTM D2842) Standard Test Method for Water Absorption of Rigid Cellular Plastics
- (ASTM D2856) Standard Test Method for Open Cell Content of Rigid Cellular Plastics By the Air Pycnometer
- (ASTM D6226) Standard Test Method for Open Cell Content of Rigid Cellular Plastics [Gas Pycnometer]
- (ASTM D3576) Standard Test Method for Cell Size of Rigid Cellular Plastics
Polyurethane Raw Materials Test Methods
- Standard Specification for Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) (ASTM D1786)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Specific Gravity of Isocyanates (ASTM D4659)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of the Isomer Content of Toluenediisocyanate (ASTM D4660)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Total Chlorine in Isocyanates (ASTM D4661)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Hydrolyzable Chlorine of Isocyanates (ASTM D4663) .
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of APHA Color in Isocyanates (ASTM D4877)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Viscosity of Crude or Modified Isocyanates (ASTM D4889)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of the Isocyanate Content of Aromatic Isocyanates (ASTM D5155)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Acidity by Argentometric Determination of Hydrolyzable Chlorine in Monomeric, Aromatic Isocyanates (ASTM D5523)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Acidity in Low-Acidity Aromatic Isocyanates and Polyurethane Prepolymers (ASTM D 5629)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determination of Acidity in Moderate to High Acidity Aromatic Isocyanates (ASTM D6099)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determination of Monomer and Isomers in Isocyanates (ASTM D 7252)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determination of Dimer Ratio in Pure MDI (ASTM D 8036)).
- Determination of Isocyanate Content (ISO 14896)
- Aromatic Isocyanates for Use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Acidity (ISO 14898)
- Aromatic Isocyanates for use in the Production of Polyurethanes—Determination of Hydrolysable Chlorine (ISO 15028)
- Aromatic Isocyanates for Use in the Production of Polyurethanes—Determination of the Isomer Ratio in Toluenediisocyanate (ISO 15064)
- Standard Test Methods for Hydroxyl Groups Using Acetic Anhydride Acetylation (ASTM E222)
- Standard Test Method for Hydroxyl Groups Using Reaction with p-Toluenesulfonyl Isocyanate (TSI) and Potentiometric Titration with Tetrabutylammonium Hydroxide (ASTM E1899)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Primary Hydroxyl Content of Polyether Polyols (ASTM D4273)
- Standard Test Methods for Testing Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Hydroxyl Numbers of Polyols (ASTM D4274)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Acid and Alkalinity Numbers of Polyols (ASTM D4662)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Specific Gravity of Polyols (ASTM D4669)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Suspended Matter In Polyols (ASTM D4670)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Unsaturation of Polyols (ASTM D4671)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Water Content of Polyols (ASTM D4672)
- Standard Test Methods of Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of the Polymerized Ethylene Oxide Content of Polyether Polyols (ASTM D4875)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Viscosity of Polyols (ASTM D4878)
- Standard Test Methods for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Gardner and APHA Color of Polyols (ASTM D4890)
- Standard Practice for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determining Hydroxyl Number of Polyols by Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy (ASTM D6342)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Alkalinity in Low-Alkalinity Polyols (Determination of CPR values of Polyols) (ASTM D6437)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determination of Basicity in Polyols, Expressed as Percent Nitrogen (ASTM D6979)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Determination of Acidity as Acid Number for Polyether Polyols (ASTM D7253)
- Polyols for Use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Water Content (ISO 14897)
- Polyols for Use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Basicity (ISO 14899)
- Polyols for Use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Hydroxyl Number (ISO 14900)
- Polyols for Use in the Production of Polyurethanes—Determination of Hydroxyl Number by NIR Spectroscopy (ISO 15063)
- Polyols For Use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Degree of Unsaturation by Microtitration (ISO 17710)
- Standard Test Method for Isocyanate Groups in Urethane Materials or Prepolymers (ASTM D2572)
- Standard Test Method for Unreacted Toluene Diisocyanates in Urethane Prepolymers and Coating Solutions by Gas Chromatography (ASTM D3432)
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials Determination of Acidity in Low-Acidity Aromatic Isocyanates and Polyurethane Prepolymers (ASTM D5629)
- Aromatic Isocyanates for use in the Production of Polyurethane—Determination of Acidity (ISO 14898)
- Standard Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids (the Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity) (ASTM D445)
- Standard Specifications and Operating Instructions for Glass Capillary Kinematic Viscometers (ASTM D446) -
- Standard Test Method for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Instrumental Measurement of Tristimulus CIELAB Color and Yellowness Index of Liquids (ASTM D7133)
- Standard Practice for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Polyurethane Foam Cup Test (ASTM D7487)
- Standard Practice for Polyurethane Raw Materials: Gel Tests for Polyurethane Non-Foam Formulations (ASTM D7997)