16 C.F.R. § 1610.61 Clarification of flammability standard for clothing textiles (CS 191–53).
Title 16 - Commercial Practices
(a) Background. (1) The Flammable Fabrics Act, which became effective July 1, 1954 (Pub. L. 83–88, 67 Stat. 111–15), adopted Commercial Standard 191–53 as a mandatory flammability standard to be applied under that act (CS 191–53 had been a voluntary commercial standard, entitled “Commercial Standard 191–53, Flammability of Clothing Textiles,” which became effective January 30, 1953). (2) On August 23, 1954, the Flammable Fabrics Act was amended (68 Stat. 770) to reduce the burning time for flame spread as provided in CS 191–53. (3) As amended and revised December 14, 1967 by Public Law 90–189 (81 Stat. 568–74), the Flammable Fabrics Act no longer specifically referred to CS 191–53; however, Public Law 90–189 contained a “savings clause” (section 11), which continued the applicability of any standard effective under the act theretofore until superseded or modified. No such change occurred thereafter to CS 191–53 which, accordingly, continues to be a mandatory flammability standard under the act. (b) Need for clarification. It has been brought to the attention of the Consumer Product Safety Commission that lack of clarity in CS 191–53 regarding (1) the positioning of the stop cord, (2) the technique for brushing fabrics with raised-fiber surface, and (3) the criterion for failure of a fabric with a raised-fiber surface results in variations in the way tests are conducted or results are interpreted under the standard, thereby making both compliance with and enforcement of the standard under the Flammable Fabrics Act needlessly contentious. (c) Clarifying interpretations. To alleviate this situation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission adopts the following interpretations on these subjects for CS 191–53: (1) Stop cord. The stop cord shall be three-eighths of an inch above and parallel to the lower surface of the top plate of the specimen holder. This condition can be achieved easily and reproducibly with the use of L-shaped guides and an additional thread guide popularly referred to as a “sky hook.” The essential condition, however, is the uniform height of three-eighths of an inch for the stop cord and not the number, placement, or design of the thread guides. (2) Brushing. Brushing of a specimen shall be performed with the specimen mounted in a specimen holder. The purpose of the metal plate or “template” on the carriage of the brushing device is to support the specimen during the brushing operation. Accordingly, such template should be one-eighth of an inch thick. (3) Criterion for failure. In the case of those fabrics having a raised-fiber surface for which a flame spread time of less than 4 +seconds occurs and is the result of surface burning (sometimes referred to as “surface flash”), the additional finding of base fabric ignition or fusion that is required to establish a failure shall have to be associated with the propagating surface flame and not the igniting flame. (Sec. 1, et seq., 67 Stat. 111–15, as amended, 68 Stat. 770, 81 Stat. 568–74 (15 U.S.C. 1191–1204, note under 1191))
Title 16: Commercial Practices
PART 1610—STANDARD FOR THE FLAMMABILITY OF CLOTHING TEXTILES
Subpart C—Interpretations and Policies
§ 1610.61 Clarification of flammability standard for clothing textiles (CS 191–53).
