To help reduce fires caused by unattended burning cigarettes, which can begin in furniture and bedding, all 50 of the United States have passed legislation requiring the sale of ignition-resistant cigarettes. Safety in the home comes from precautions that we take in our living space and also from standards that may simply seem to be part of the furniture. Also working to help ensure safety in emergency situations are such standards as E2411, Specification for Chemical Warfare Vapor Detector, and E2601, Practice for Radiological Emergency Response, from Committee E54 on Homeland Security Applications. Ommittee E06 also is responsible for standards to aid building occupants if evacuation may be required: ASTM E2484, Specification for Multi-Story Building External Evacuation Controlled Descent Devices, and E2513, Specification for Multi-Story Building External Evacuation Platform Rescue Systems. Committee E05 also maintains ASTM E119, Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, which measures the fire resistance of building structures such as walls, partitions and floors. Such standards as ASTM E84, Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials, from Committee E05 on Fire Standards, provide benchmarks on flame spread and smoke development to help ensure the safety of our work surroundings. That's just one relevant standard from Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings. Safety in an office comes in part from fire-resistive materials used in the building structure the materials can be tested with ASTM E736, Test Method for Cohesion/Adhesion of Sprayed Fire-Resistive Materials Applied to Structural Members. ASTM F2669, Performance Specification for Protective Clothing Worn by Operators Applying Pesticides, illustrates work by responsible Committee F23 on Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment to keep people safe in this occupation.ĪSTM International standards also cover the commercial buildings in which people work. ASTM D120, Specification for Rubber Insulating Gloves, from Committee F18 on Electrical Protective Equipment for Workers, is a key document because it addresses gloves that provide electrical workers their first line of defense against electrical hazards. Those who work with electricity or pesticides are better protected through standards that cover equipment and clothing. Committee F13 on Pedestrian/Walkway Safety and Footwear maintains these and other standards for footwear. Five days a week, most of us head to a job, concentrating on the day's tasks and projects, and perhaps not thinking very much about the standards that help keep us safe while we're doing them.įoot protection can be critical to personal safety in many types of work, and two ASTM standards cover the performance of boots and shoes in resisting puncture or chainsaw penetration as well as minimum requirements prescribing fit and function: F2412, Test Methods for Foot Protection, and F2413, Specification for Performance Requirements for Foot Protection. Through standards such as product content specifications or performance tests used by manufacturers, third-party testers, marketers, consumers and inspectors, ASTM's stakeholders have been creating standards that keep us healthy and safe in all aspects of our lives for more than a century. In fact, it was the need to curb damage and injury caused by breaks in railroad tracks that served as the impetus for ASTM International's founding in 1898.
ASTM STANDARDS FOR RUBBER TESTING SERIES
Part 3 of a Series Many standards are written to ensure safety.