ASTM E2187 - 04 Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes

Significance and Use

The most common initiating event in a fatal fire is the dropping of a cigarette onto a bed or piece of upholstered furniture, causing 20 % of the estimated U.S. fire deaths from 1992–1996 in residential structures, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Test Methods E 1352 and E 1353 have been developed to evaluate the susceptibility of upholstered furniture mock-ups and components to ignition by cigarettes. Federal Standard 16 CFR Part 1632, Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses and Mattress Pads, was promulgated to reduce the likelihood that mattresses and mattress pads would ignite from a lighted cigarette.

This test method enables comparison of the relative ignition strength of different cigarette designs.

In this procedure, the specimens are subjected to a set of laboratory conditions. If different conditions are substituted or the end use conditions are changed, it may not be possible, using this test, to predict quantitative changes in the fire test response characteristics measured. Therefore, the quantitative results are valid only for the fire test exposure conditions described in this procedure.

1. Scope

1.1 This fire-test-response standard provides a standard measure of the capability of a cigarette, positioned on one of three standard substrates, to generate sufficient heat to continue burning and thus potentially cause ignition of bedding or upholstered furniture.

1.2 This method has value as a predictor of the relative propensity of a cigarette to ignite upholstered furnishings.

1.3 This method is applicable to cigarettes that burn along the length of a tobacco column.

1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.

1.5 This standard measures and describes the response of materials, products, or assemblies to heat under controlled conditions, but does not by itself incorporate all factors required for fire hazard or fire risk assessment of the materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.