Changes to ABI Fire Guidance Technical Briefing
An
Eurisol UK product story
Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team
Sep 12, 2008
Eurisol say there still appears to be scope for misuse of the guidance in relation to sandwich panels with combustible cores.
Much-needed changes to the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) Technical Briefing have still not ruled out the potential for manufacturers to misuse the guidance to claim that the fire properties of plastic foam-filled sandwich panels are in some way equivalent to those of non-combustible materials, Eurisol the mineral wool trade association has warned.
Welcoming the amendments to ABI's Technical Briefing: Fire Performance of Sandwich Panel Systems, Crispin Dunn-Meynell General Secretary of Eurisol said: "This is a significant step forward in removing the opportunity for the guidance to be misinterpreted to endorse inappropriate claims concerning the performance of plastic foam-filled composite building panels.
"However, there still appears to be scope for misuse of the guidance in relation to sandwich panels with combustible cores.
It is paramount that manufacturers are once and for all prevented from incorrectly using ABI Guidance to claim that the reaction-to-fire properties of plastic foams are somehow equivalent to those of non-combustible materials.
"Despite the excellent efforts made so far by the ABI, a further technical note providing unequivocal clarification would help to stop any misuse and help sustain awareness amongst industry and the general public".
The guidance was amended following a concerted lobbying effort from industry supported by the MP Alun Michael.
The ABI Property Committee agreed that the original paragraph was "unclear, could be open to misinterpretation" and that "the guidance is primarily intended for insurance purposes and it is not intended as a substantive commentary on the combustibility of particular products".
Mr Dunn-Meynell continued: "Eurisol will continue to campaign for greater industry awareness of the safety issues surrounding the potentially inappropriate use of plastic foam-filled panels in the built environment.
A growing number of industry voices, including MPs and Fire Officers, are adding weight to the concerns.
But occupiers of thousands of buildings constructed in recent years in the UK are still not aware that their buildings may have been constructed with combustible plastic foam-filled panels.
"Changes to the ABI document are an important step forward in promoting the appropriate specification of non-combustible materials such as mineral wool as the best option where protection against fire is paramount.".
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