TERRY EDGE Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 - lead official at DTI/BIS/BEIS 2004 - 2016   Responsible for the new ‘Match Test’ for the FFRs in 2014 – remains unimplemented Freelance fire safety consultant since 2016 Member of the Grenfell Fire Forum terryedge@ntlworld.com www.toxicsofa.com

The fire safety of products regulatory regime in Ireland/UK/EU IT'S COMPLICATED! - MORE SO IN IRELAND   IT'S INCONSISTENT! - MORE SO IN IRELAND SOME OF IT IS UNJUSTIFABLE - AND WILL BE MORE SO IN IRELAND AFTER BREXIT SOME OF IT DOESN'T WORK!

The fire safety of products regulatory regime in Ireland/UK/EU SOME OF IT IS CRIMINAL! - UNENFORCED IN IRELAND IT'S MORE TOXIC THAN WE THOUGHT! INDUSTRY IS LARGELY IN CONTROL OF THE FIRE SAFETY REGIME I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING - PLEASE SPEAK UP IF I GET SOMETHING WRONG

Domestic product fire safety Ireland: European Communities (General Product Safety) Regulations 2004 (EU law) - 'Voluntary'   UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (EU law) - 'Voluntary' EU: General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) - 'Voluntary'

Domestic furniture fire safety Ireland: Industrial Research and Standards (Fire Safety) (Domestic Furniture) Order 1988/1995 - Prescriptive (uses same BS standards as UK, e.g. 'crib 5' for fillings) UK: The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 - Prescriptive EU: EN1021 parts 1&2, match and cigarette test under the General Product Safety Directive/Regulations - 'Voluntary'

Furniture fire safety regulations in Europe Only exist in UK and Ireland Acknowledged barrier to trade EU Treaty allows exceptions on proven safety grounds UK fire stats convinced but the two government reports on furniture fires are challengeable Ireland's Furniture Regulations justified by the UK's stats Not possible for Ireland after Brexit

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 Three main tests: match, cigarette and ‘crib 5’ fillings Claimed to be saving around 54 lives per year (2009) but this is now challengeable In 2014, BIS (now BEIS) consulted on a new match test – current match test revealed to be failing by up to 90% UK’s leading test experts confirm current test fails, new one valid New test blocked by vested interested In Sept. 2016, BEIS consults again with same new match test To date, no government response, no implementation

Non-domestic furniture/product fire safety NSAI: "The fire safety of upholstered furniture supplied into the non-domestic market is complex. It is heavily influenced by the end use of the premises in which the furniture is intended to sit.” UK: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Ireland: Fire Services Act 1981 & 2003, Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 2006 Part B (Fire Safety), Code of Practice for Fire Safety of Furnishings and Fittings in Places of Assembly/Preschools, etc

Inconsistencies, overlaps, etc Different departments, different aims Different principles – prescriptive vs voluntary Both domestic and non-domestic laws can apply in the same building Furniture flammability requirements different – new match test and/or EU standards more compatible Domestic don’t apply to consumers, e.g. means you can have highly flammable furniture in a tower block

Inconsistencies – standards, enforcement Ambulatory/updated standards – standards-making bodies vs government – business influence growing, others’ weakening UK Trading Standards: Resources constantly cut, losing expertise, Fines under the Consumer Protection Act 1985 inadequate (max. £5,000 and/or 6 months jail) Ireland Competition and Consumer Protection Commission: Fines range from max. 3,000 euros for first offence, rising to 60,000 euros and beyond for repeat offenders BUT: never enforced the Irish Furniture Regulations (as of 2015), wrongly advises importers Result - fire safety of furniture in Ireland dubious

Flame retardants in products Massive world-wide rise since the 70s UK (and probably Ireland) have the highest levels of FR dust in world Mounting evidence that they cause cancers (e.g. thyroid) and other illnesses, with children particularly vulnerable USA and EU moving away from FRs UK and Ireland last stronghold for the FR industry

Flame retardants in products Chemosphere Dec. 2017, paper by Richard Hull and others, concluded that a UK/Ireland sofa treated with FRs is more dangerous than an untreated EU sofa. Richard Hull (on ’Newsnight’, BBC): "We burnt two kinds of sofas: UK furniture flammability regulations sofas with flame retardants and a European sofa without flame retardants and we found that the UK sofa burnt slightly slower than the European sofa but in doing so it produced between two and three times as much toxic gas as the European sofa."

Grenfell Fire Tragedy Fire-spread and toxic fumes greater than should have been due to failed match test Some fire-fighter officials paid by the FR industry Chair of Inquiry experts panel played role in blocking new match test Inquiry/experts panel/Hackitt review refusing to look at the Furniture Regs Also excluding independent experts and residents

Summary, Issues Lack of compatibility and rationalisation between domestic and non-domestic product fire safety legislation: Different government Departments/Overlapping and unresolved areas of scope/Inconsistencies of standards type and regulations Unjustified barrier to trade Large volumes of Flame retardants that don’t work just damage health/environment

Possible ways forward Brexit will change everything for Ireland, one way or another Irish authorities/standards makers press Grenfell Inquiry/Hackitt review to rationalise and put right current fire safety regime Press BEIS amend the FFRs; or drop Irish furniture regs - do what the rest of the EU does Work to make domestic and non-domestic standards compatible

terryedge@ntlworld.com www.toxicsofa.com