[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62798-62799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30904]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-97-3129; Notice 1]
Ford Motor Company; Receipt of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, has estimated that
approximately 853,000 of the 1995-1997 Ford Explorer and 1997 Mercury
Mountaineer vehicles with console armrests fail to comply with 49 CFR
571.302, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 302,
``Flammability of Interior Materials,'' and has filed an appropriate
report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defects and Noncompliance
Reports.'' Ford has also petitioned to be exempted from the
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301--``Motor
Vehicle Safety'' on the basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential
as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
This notice of receipt of a petition is published under 49 U.S.C.
30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or other
exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
FMVSS No. 302, Paragraphs S4.2 and S4.3 specify that any portion of
a single or composite material which is within \1/2\ inch of the
occupant compartment air space, when tested in accordance with
paragraph S5, shall not burn, nor transmit a flame across its surface
at a rate of more than 4 inches per minute. Composite is defined as a
material that adheres to other material(s) at every point of contact.
FMVSS No. 302's burn rate testing requires a 4-inch wide by 14-inch
long sample, wherever possible (S5.2).
The Ford armrest has multi-layer cover materials: a 1.5mm thick
exterior cover, a 2mm thick second layer Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/
Polyethylene (EVA/PE), referred to in the petition as ``plus pad,'' a
13mm thick third layer foam bun pad, and a 3mm polycarbonate
substratum. The subject flammable interior material of Ford's petition
for determination of inconsequential noncompliance is the 2mm thick
``plus pad'' layer.
Ford acknowledged that the ``plus pad'' material is not adhered to
its 1.5mm exterior cover material or the 13mm foam bun under it at
every point of contact. Therefore, as specified in FMVSS No. 302, the
``plus pad'' material cannot be tested with other materials as a
composite material and has to be tested separately. Ford reported that
when the ``plus pad'' material was tested separately, it showed a burn
rate range from 8 to 10 inches per minute--a noncompliance to FMVSS No.
302. Ford stated that all other affected materials in the armrest
satisfy the 4-inch per minute burn rate, presumably they were tested
according to the standard's requirements. Ford explained that the
supplier of the ``plus pad'' material only ``certified'' the raw
material for FMVSS No. 302 by testing 11mm thick samples, not the
designed 2mm thickness.
Ford supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance
with the following:
A. Ford stated that the FMVSS No. 302 burn rate testing requirement
of cutting a sample from the ``normal configuration and packaging in
the vehicle'' is conservative in regard to the actual fire spreading
potential of the tested material.
B. The 2mm ``plus pad'' failed the FMVSS No. 302 test requirements
when tested as a single material. However, a series of further testing
demonstrates that the noncompliance does not adversely affect occupant
safety because it does not increase the burn rates of the assembly or
the adjacent materials in the assembly to levels higher than specified
by FMVSS No. 302.
C. The ``plus pad'' counts less than 10 percent of the armrest
material and is an insignificant percentage of the vehicle's remaining
materials. All other flammable interior materials of the subject
vehicles complied with FMVSS No. 302. Therefore, the noncompliance of
the ``plus pad'' offers an insignificant portion of interior materials
that could potentially support an interior fire.
Ford attached the following summary results of several alternative
tests, including a worse case scenario test:
1. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (cover, plus pad, and foam)--treated
the
[[Page 62799]]
assembly materials as a composite material.
2. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (cover, plus pad, and foam) simulating
cut or torn materials:
a. Cut the cover layer longitudinally,
b. Cut a hole in the cover layer, and
c. Cut through the cover layer and the ``plus pad'' longitudinally.
3. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (plus pad and foam)--with the cover
layer completely removed to simulate a worst case scenario.
4. Cut a complete armrest assembly in half along the lateral-
vertical plane:
a. Exposed the opposite of the cut end to the flame, and
b. Exposed the cut cross-section to the flame.
All tested results satisfied the FMVSS No. 302 burn rate
requirements.
In conclusion, Ford requested NHTSA to grant the inconsequentiality
petition since the ``plus pad'' complied with FMVSS No. 302's
requirements in every other test except that when tested by itself.
Ford's request was based on the facts that the ``plus pad'' represents
an insignificant adverse effect on interior material burn rate and the
potential for occupant injury due to interior fire and that the
noncompliance presents no reasonably anticipated risk to motor vehicle
safety.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on the application of Ford described above. Comments should
refer to the docket number and be submitted to: U.S. Department of
Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20590. It is requested, but not required, that two
copies be submitted.
All comments received before the close of business on the closing
date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting
materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also
be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the
application is granted or denied, the notice will be published in the
Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: December 26, 1997.
For further information contact the following persons at the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC, 20590. For non-legal issues: Dr. William J.J. Liu,
Office of Crashworthiness Standards (Telephone: 202-366-4923). For
legal issues: Mr. Z. Taylor Vinson, Office of the Chief Counsel
(Telephone: 202-366-5263).
(49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50
and 501.8)
Issued on: November 19, 1997.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 97-30904 Filed 11-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P