NIST SRM Aids in Reduced Cigarette Fire Risk

February 27, 2006

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1082 for testing laboratories and manufacturers as they work to meet a new cigarette standard for low risk of igniting household furnishings.

Regulations in New York, California, Vermont and Canada all use ASTM standard E2187-04, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of a Cigarette, originally developed by NIST as part of the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990. All have adopted the 2004 New York state pass/fail criterion that no more than 25% of 40 tested cigarettes burn their full length when placed on 10 layers of standard filter paper. The SRM consists of 10 packs of uniform cigarettes especially produced with the required low risk of ignition.

NIST developed SRM 1082 at the request of cigarette companies, the New York state Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) and Health Canada. Extensive testing by NIST, the National Research Council of Canada and Kidde-Fenwal Inc. established that SRM 1082, manufactured for NIST by Philip Morris USA, is compatible with the New York state pass/fail criterion.

Approximately 20 laboratories will test commercial cigarettes for compliance using the ASTM standard. Comparative measurements between SRM 1082 and commercial cigarettes should enable testing laboratories to assure clients that their measurements are accurate and do not vary over time. Cigarette companies will also use the SRM to check their products' ignition properties prior to certification testing.

Cigarettes are the single largest igniters of fatal fires in the United States. Each year these fires cause up to 800 deaths, 1,700 serious injuries and $400M in direct property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).