While
halogen-free wires and cables have been widely used in Europe for some
time, they’re now starting to gain traction in the United States.
Products containing halogen—such as wires and cables, conduits, routing
ducts and more—are receiving attention domestically due to the negative
effects they impose on both industrial workers and machinery. And the
push to reduce halogen usage is now reflected in UL and other domestic
safety standards.
In the event of a fire, halogenated wires and cables give off toxic fumes that can cause serious health concerns if inhaled, not to mention they also destroy expensive electronic equipment. As industrial companies become more conscious of these problems, they’ve begun taking a closer look at the benefits of halogen-free cables.
Here’s a guide to some places where it makes sense to use halogen-free cables, and why you might want to consider them over halogenated cables in many applications.
A number of industry standards evaluate the cable fume toxicity produced during a fire. Each standard is unique because they approach the subject of determining cable fume toxicity through different evaluation parameters. They’re used to quantify smoke levels, light transmittance, levels of acid gas, concentration levels of toxic gases and halogen content.
While these standards are all different, they’re used to provide some determination concerning halogen-free or low smoke zero halogen cable requirements:
• IEC 60754-1: Details the amount of halogen acid gas measured from a specified amount of raw material. This test isn’t performed in the finished product wire or cable form, and compliance comes from not exceeding the mg/g that’s specified within the standard.
• IEC 60754-2: Shows the ph levels to determine the poisonousness of the gases during a fire. This standard approaches acidic levels that arise when halogenated components are burned and react with the moisture in the air.
• IEC 61034-2: Concerns the amount of light you can transmit while testing to determine the smoke density generated during a fire. High numbers show the effectiveness that a lighted pathway creates in a smoke-filled area.
• NES 713 Part 3: Determines the toxicity index of materials through complete combustion methods and analysis of the emitted gases. Measured in PPM, the gases must follow the highest values indicated, while concentration levels shouldn’t exceed the amounts for the 14 specified gases.
• UL 1685: This standard involves both the flame spread and fire resistance of cables, as well as methods for measuring smoke release. It establishes some pass/fail criteria, especially in the areas of peak and total smoke release. Lower numbers are desirable here, signifying the amount of smoke released.
• MIL-DTL-24643: Approaches the cumulative total contents of halogens in a cable by using X-ray fluorescence to determine amounts, giving an overall amount of concentration of halogen levels in a cable. Levels shouldn’t exceed the critical point of 0.2% under this standard specification for shipboard use.
Click here to download the complete technical whitepaper
In the event of a fire, halogenated wires and cables give off toxic fumes that can cause serious health concerns if inhaled, not to mention they also destroy expensive electronic equipment. As industrial companies become more conscious of these problems, they’ve begun taking a closer look at the benefits of halogen-free cables.
Here’s a guide to some places where it makes sense to use halogen-free cables, and why you might want to consider them over halogenated cables in many applications.
A number of industry standards evaluate the cable fume toxicity produced during a fire. Each standard is unique because they approach the subject of determining cable fume toxicity through different evaluation parameters. They’re used to quantify smoke levels, light transmittance, levels of acid gas, concentration levels of toxic gases and halogen content.
While these standards are all different, they’re used to provide some determination concerning halogen-free or low smoke zero halogen cable requirements:
• IEC 60754-1: Details the amount of halogen acid gas measured from a specified amount of raw material. This test isn’t performed in the finished product wire or cable form, and compliance comes from not exceeding the mg/g that’s specified within the standard.
• IEC 60754-2: Shows the ph levels to determine the poisonousness of the gases during a fire. This standard approaches acidic levels that arise when halogenated components are burned and react with the moisture in the air.
• IEC 61034-2: Concerns the amount of light you can transmit while testing to determine the smoke density generated during a fire. High numbers show the effectiveness that a lighted pathway creates in a smoke-filled area.
• NES 713 Part 3: Determines the toxicity index of materials through complete combustion methods and analysis of the emitted gases. Measured in PPM, the gases must follow the highest values indicated, while concentration levels shouldn’t exceed the amounts for the 14 specified gases.
• UL 1685: This standard involves both the flame spread and fire resistance of cables, as well as methods for measuring smoke release. It establishes some pass/fail criteria, especially in the areas of peak and total smoke release. Lower numbers are desirable here, signifying the amount of smoke released.
• MIL-DTL-24643: Approaches the cumulative total contents of halogens in a cable by using X-ray fluorescence to determine amounts, giving an overall amount of concentration of halogen levels in a cable. Levels shouldn’t exceed the critical point of 0.2% under this standard specification for shipboard use.
Click here to download the complete technical whitepaper
No comments:
Post a Comment