ASTM Continues Efforts to Create Standard for Glass Used in Furniture

ASTM International is continuing to work toward developing a standard for glass used in furniture. Subcommittee F15.42 on Furniture Safety, which reports to Committee F15 on Consumer Products, sent a draft standard to the committee for consideration and comment at the end of last year (
"Several comments were submitted and subsequently taken into consideration in the rewrite of the new draft. The new draft is now out for concurrent ballot between the sub-committee and the main committee with a voting deadline of mid-November for comments to be made," says Julie Schimmelpenningh, global architectural applications manager for Saflex, a unit of Solutia Inc., and a committee member who attended the recent meeting. "The new standard simplifies the previous standard by essentially requiring glass in the specified furniture to be a rated safety glazing as qualified in accordance with Class A performance of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z97."

Schimmelpenningh says the meeting participants reacted favorably in concept to the standard and recognized that there is a need.

"The major concerns of the committee related to the title and scope of the document. The title is very specific, but the scope is looser and may lead to misinterpretation and confusion in use. The other hurdle appeared to be the familiarity with the referenced glass standards," says Schimmelpenningh, explaining that since many of the participants are furniture manufacturers, they are not as familiar with glass standards, such as ASTM C 1048 and C 1172, as are those in the glass industry. She says committee members will take some time to familiarize themselves with the details of the referenced standards before voting. Once the ballot closes the comments will be reviewed and adjustments made to the standard at the next meeting, a date for which has not yet been announced.