Mattress Industry Supports California Flammability Regulations

Furniture World Magazine

The revised draft mattress flammability standard issued today (TB603) by the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (Bureau) is practical and will substantially reduce casualties from residential fires, according to the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) and the Sleep Products Safety Council (SPSC). Revised TB603 mandates that mattresses manufactured for sale in California after January 1, 2005 must meet open-flame resistance performance requirements. Mattresses made to these demanding rules will be substantially more fire-resistant and slower to burn. As a result, residential consumers should have more time to escape a fire and summon help should a bedroom fire occur. The changes announced today should also allow mattress manufacturers flexibility in designing and producing their products to meet consumers’ increasing demands for comfort, thus promoting sleep and better health. “California and the mattress industry have a strong shared interest in public safety. We have worked very closely with the state to obtain the facts and conduct the scientific research needed to develop science-based, technically-feasible standards that will save lives,” said ISPA President Dick Doyle. “Throughout the development of these regulations, we never lost sight of our mutual goal -- to reduce or prevent residential bedding fire deaths. California should be commended for its leadership in this area,” added Pat Martin, SPSC executive director. The TB603 revisions announced today resulted from the Bureau’s analysis of comments filed by ISPA, the SPSC, and others in response to the initial version of TB603 proposed in February 2003. TB603 and its revisions are based on scientific research that the SPSC and others committed to the advancement of safer products initiated over the past five years. Mattresses produced under the revised TB603 will reduce the size of any resulting fire, and decrease the risk of the burning mattress igniting other combustibles in the bedroom and then “flashing over” from the bedroom to other rooms in the home. In addition to revising TB603, California will soon announce proposed flammability rules for bedclothes (top-of-the-bed filled products, such as comforters, pillows, mattress pads, etc.). Scientific research demonstrates that realistic improvements in bedroom fire safety can be achieved only by reducing the flammability of both categories of products. “This has been a long process. But the industry supports this result for mattresses and California’s decision to address open-flame issues for both mattresses and bedclothing,” said Richard Diamonstein, chairman of ISPA’s Board of Trustees. “The mattress manufacturing industry will continue to build on its 30-year history of responsible product stewardship, working to improve the safety technology of our products,” said Doyle. “Our focus now is to continue working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and to build on California’s accomplishments by incorporating practical and effective performance requirements similar to those in TB603 into a national mattress and bedclothing open-flame resistance standard that would apply to products sold throughout the United States.” Established in 1915, the International Sleep Products Association, www.sleepproducts.org is the trade organization for mattress manufacturers and their component suppliers around the world. ISPA hosts the biennial ISPA EXPO trade shows and publishes BEDtimes and Sleep Savvy magazines. The Sleep Products Safety Council, www.safesleep.org is a non-profit organization established in 1986 by the mattress industry. SPSC’s mission is to provide consumer safety information, support research, and promote activities aimed at reducing hazards associated with mattresses and other sleep products.