To provide further information about the new federal open-flame mattress standard, we have compiled the following questions and answers to help clarify what the new mattress standard will mean for American consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
For Frequently Asked Questions about preventing fires in your home, click here.
Answers
Q: I know that my mattress meets the new fire standard, but are the specific components used to comply safe?
A: In research conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), they concluded that a number of commercially available flame retardant materials that can be used to meet the new standard “are not likely to present a hazard to consumers, workers, or the environment.”
In drafting the new open-flame mattress standard, CPSC researched the potential chronic health risks for a variety of inherently flame resistant materials that are available to meet the new standard. These include several materials that the public has used safely in other consumer products for decades1, such as eye drops, food packaging, and protective apparel.
For more details on the CPSC’s flame analysis of the safety of various flame retardant materials, read the notice that the CPSC published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2006 analyzing the entire standard.
Q: Will any of the flame retardant materials that the CPSC examined increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
A: No. The CPSC has concluded that none of the flame retardant materials it researched will contribute to SIDS. In fact, the CPSC cited a four-year study conducted in the United Kingdom and reviewed by a number of expert panels in the UK and the U.S., in which the expert panels concluded that there is "no credible evidence" that any of the flame retardant materials included in the CPSC's review contribute to SIDS.
Q: Will the flame retardant materials aggravate allergies or asthma in chemically-sensitive people?
A: The CPSC has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that exposure to flame retardant materials used in some mattress components would contribute to or exacerbate allergies, asthma or multiple chemical-sensitivity in consumers.
The CPSC found that the flame retardant materials under consideration for use in mattresses to meet the new flammability standard are generally non-volatile, are not associated with fragrances or odors, and are not derived from biological materials.
Concerned consumers will be further reassured by the fact that the CPSC noted that in most cases, most flame retardant materials are used within the mattress itself. The CPSC stated that by using the materials either within the mattress or in a manner such that the materials are bonded to the fabric or other barrier components in an effective manner, consumer exposure to the materials and any attendant risk to such exposure would be minimized.
Q: Will the mattress industry need to use mattress foam that contains brominated flame retardant materials, the use of which a number of states either have banned or are considering banning?
A: No. To meet the new standard, U.S. mattress producers are using a number of materials and technologies that do not involve the use of flame retardant-treated foam.
Furthermore, as a practical matter, U.S. production of the penta version of a group of brominated flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (or PBDEs) ended in early 2005.
Q: How will mattress manufacturers change their products to comply with the new standard?
A: A common technique used by most mattress producers today to meet the new standard is to enclose the cushioning material within a mattress with a barrier fabric that blocks either heat, oxygen or both from reaching the cushioning material. These fabrics may be woven, knit or non-woven products. Mattress producers usually sew the barrier fabric into the mattress between the ticking cover and the interior cushioning material.
Q: Why is this new mattress standard necessary?
A: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that the new standard may eliminate up to 75 percent of the deaths and injuries that occur annually from mattress fires.
Q: How will these new compliant mattresses improve product safety?
A: Many people don’t realize that some non-compliant mattresses ignited by an open-flame heat source (e.g. lighters, matches, and candles) can result in a deadly fire in a matter of a few minutes. About one-third of all mattress fatalities are attributed to mattress fires that ‘flashover’ from the bedroom to other rooms of the home. The new standard limits the peak rate of heat that can be released during the initial phase after a mattress catches fire, thus reducing the risk of flashover and allowing people more time to escape the fire.
Q: Will the materials used in mattresses to meet the new open-flame standard make new mattresses less comfortable?
A: No. Each mattress manufacturer decides how to comply with the new national standard, by working with material suppliers to develop and test mattresses that will meet the new standard, yet continue to provide the same level of comfort and support that consumers have come to enjoy.
Q: Aren't there existing standards regulating mattress flammability?
A: The highly-effective federal cigarette-ignition standard has been in place since the early 1970s. The new standard builds upon its success and takes product safety one step further by addressing mattress fires ignited by open-flame heat sources (e.g. lighters, matches, and candles). The new open-flame mattress standard closely resembles a similar standard implemented in 2005 in California.
Q: How will I know that a mattress meets the new standard?
A: The rule became effective on July 1, 2007 and applies to all mattress sets manufactured in the United States or imported into the United States on or after that date. The standard requires that each mattress set bear a permanent label stating that the mattress complies with the standard.
Q: Will this new standard increase the price of mattresses for consumers?
A: The mattress industry is committed to producing and selling products that are safe, comfortable, durable and affordable. Consumers can continue to expect the same wide-range of product selections that they currently enjoy, available at price points for every budget.
1The specific materials that the CPSC studied were antimony trioxide, ammonium polyphosphate, boric acid, decabromodiphenyloxide (DBDPO), melamine, and vinylidene chloride. In its analysis, the CPSC applied many conservative assumptions - that is, assumptions that may overestimate (rather than underestimate) the amount of material to which a consumer might be exposed and the risk of that exposure.
