FIRE SAFETY OF EE EQUIPMENT IN THE USA AND EUROPE

摘要

In the USA, plastic materials used for backplates and housings in E&E equipment meet UL 94 Class VO/V1 fire safety specifications. In Europe, following environmental pressure against halogenated flame retardants in German and Scandinavian consumer magazines and eco-labels, TV sets now only fulfil lower fire safety requirements of IEC 65 standard. A comprehensive study on the fire behavior of TV sets and PC monitors carried out in Germany showed that European TV sets can already be ignited by a simulated match flame with flashover of a fully furnished room occurring in around 7 minutes. American TV sets did not burn, even when subjected to higher energy fire sources.