ASTM_E_2187_-_09.pdf

Designation:E218709An American National StandardStandard Test Method forMeasuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2187;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.INTRODUCTIONThe most common initiating event in a fatal fire in the United States is the dropping of a lit cigaretteonto a bed or piece of upholstered furniture.The cigarette coal heats the furnishing materials to thepoint where smoldering combustion begins,perhaps followed by a transition to flaming combustion.Since limiting the frequency of ignitions is a principal approach to reducing fire loss,it is desirableto establish a test method for the propensity of a cigarette to ignite soft furnishings.This test methoduses standard substrates to determine the extent to which,as the substrate draws heat from thecigarette,the cigarette combustion remains strong enough to be capable of initiating a fire.1.Scope1.1 This fire-test-response standard provides a standardmeasure of the capability of a cigarette,positioned on one ofthree standard substrates,to generate sufficient heat to continueburning and thus potentially cause ignition of bedding orupholstered furniture.1.2 This method has value as a predictor of the relativepropensity of a cigarette to ignite upholstered furnishings.1.3 This method is applicable to cigarettes that burn alongthe length of a tobacco column.1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as thestandard.The values given in parentheses are for informationonly.1.5 This standard is used to measure and describe theresponse of materials,products,or assemblies to heat and flameunder controlled conditions,but does not by itself incorporateall factors required for fire hazard or fire risk assessment of thematerials,products,or assemblies under actual fire conditions.1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.For specific hazardstatements,see Section 6.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E176 Terminology of Fire StandardsE691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study toDetermine the Precision of a Test MethodE1352 Test Method for Cigarette Ignition Resistance ofMock-Up Upholstered Furniture AssembliesE1353 Test Methods for Cigarette Ignition Resistance ofComponents of Upholstered Furniture2.2 Other Standard:Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses and MattressPads,16 Code of Federal Regulations,Part 16323.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of terms used in this testmethod refer to Terminology E176.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 full-length burn,nthe outcome of a determination inwhich the cigarette burns to or past the front plane of thetipping paper,which covers the filter and perhaps a shortsection of the tobacco column in a filter tip cigarette,or past thetips of the metal pins(see 7.5)if the cigarette has no filter.4.Summary of Test Method4.1 This test method measures the probability that acigarette,placed on a substrate,will generate sufficient heat tomaintain burning of the tobacco column.Each determinationconsists of placing a lit cigarette on the horizontal surfaceconsisting of a set number of layers of filter paper.Observation1This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E05 on FireStandards and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E05.23 on Combustibil-ity.Current edition approved Dec.15,2009.Published January 2010.Originallyapproved in 2002.Last previous edition approved in 2004 as E218704.DOI:10.1520/E2187-09.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 is made of whether or not the cigarette continues to burn to thebeginning of the tipping paper.Forty determinations(compris-ing a test)are performed to obtain the relative probability thatthe cigarette will continue burning despite heat abstraction bythe substrate.5.Significance and Use5.1 The most common initiating event in a fatal fire is thedropping of a cigarette onto a bed or piece of upholsteredfurniture,causing 20%of the estimated U.S.fire deaths from19921996 in residential structures,according to statisticsprovided by the U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission.Test Methods E1352 and E1353 have been developed toevaluate the susceptibility of upholstered furniture mo