Proposed New Regulation to include Acidity Factor as a New Test Parameter in Cables by EC
Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT) committee of European Commission (EC) has proposed new regulation related to fire performance of cables as a part of Construction Products Directive (CPD).Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturers' Association (CPMA), has requested the Ministry to forward their objections to the EC and urge upon it to re-consider the same in view of the points raised against the proposal as stated below:
* From approximately 32 Million MT PVC consumed globally, about 6% is used in wire and cable sector. There is hardly any match to the techno-commercial performance of PVC in the specific areas of low-medium voltage power cables, household wiring, instrumental cables, telephone cables, to name a few. With tremendous developments in infrastructure across the globe, PVCs market in wire and cable sector alone is expected to grow at the rate of about 4.5%.
* The most important and serious concern incase of fire is generation of toxic gases, the main one being Carbon Monoxide (CO). Majority of the people who die from expo-sure to toxic gases had lethal levels of CO in their blood. It is important to note here that CO is odourless and hence kills without warning. HCl generated during burning of PVC, on the other hand, causes irritation and hence alerts the inmates of the impending danger, much before attaining a lethal dose. It has been experimentally demonstrated that it takes about half an hour to form a lethal dose of HCl in a normal room fire, whereas formation of lethal dose of 'CO' due to burning of wood, cloth and other natural and synthetic materials is much faster. Moreover as 'CO' is odourless, it does not give any indication of the impending danger to the inmates. In any fire, the first stage, i.e., initiation is the crucial stage to act for prevention of its spread. PVC by its chemical nature is very difficult to burn and is self extinguishing, i.e., it would cease to burn the moment the source of flame is withdrawn/extinguished.
* PVC has highest Flash Ignition Temperature, Highest Self Ignition Temperature and Highest Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI), among the common insulating materials. These properties put PVC ahead of other materials as a fire resistant material. These aspects have been ignored in the Proposed Regulation. It appears that this proposed draft decision is being put forth to effectively ban the usage of PVC coated cables in EU market. A product should be selected over an alternative due to its techno-commercial advantages. The proposal has failed to demonstrate that PVC cables are in anyway unsafe. There is no justifiable reason for excluding PVC as a material for cable coating. Any technical regulation adopted by the commission has to conform to the EC's binding obligations under the TBT agreement. This proposed draft decision is not based on relevant international standards, is not performance based and appears to create unnecessary obstacles in international trade.
ARM International Creates Central & Eastern European Division (CEED)
The Association of Rotational Molders (ARM) Inter
national is pleased to announce the creation of a Central & Eastern European Division (CEED). “This new division will mainly encompass the countries of Central and Eastern Europe,” said ARM International Executive Director/CEO, Jeff Arnold. “ARM International is very excited about this new Division. We believe it will help to expand the rotational molding industry and process, not only throughout that region, but the entire world as well.”
This division came as a result of a group of rotomolders and suppliers who were considering establishing a separate association in that area, but subsequently decided to become a division of ARM International instead.
The Central & Eastern European Division member companies will determine the goals for this division. The countries who are initially in this division are; Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia.
According to Arnold, current ARM International members within the Central & Eastern European Division may see their dues change based on where their country ranks in the World Bank Index. In most cases this will mean dues will remain the same or decrease slightly.
A concerted membership campaign will begin as soon as possible, under the direction of the new Operating Committee and the Division Manager, Austin Campbell, of CAPS International Group based in Poznan, Poland. The new dues structure for CEED should help with this membership drive just as it did with the South Asia Region Division (SARD), which was established in June 2004, and the Latin American Division (LAD), which was established in October 2005. SARD currently has approximately 60+ members and held its second annual conference on February 15-16, 2006 in New Delhi, India. SARD has tentatively scheduled its third annual conference for January or February 2007 in Mumbai, India.
ARM International Announces
31st Annual Fall Meeting & Technical Exhibits
In this rotational molding industry
event of 2006, the latest technical developments in this industry will be presented, discussed and exhibited at this comprehensive annual meeting. With a full program of technical presentations and workshops planned, you will have a chance to catch up on what is currently happening in the industry, and continue to make smart business decisions based on this information.
You can also come a day early and participate in one of several day-long seminars that will be offered relating to specific aspects of rotational molding.
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