[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 323-324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-36]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Fire Test Measurement Needs

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

[[Page 324]]


ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
announces its intent to hold a meeting to discuss measurement needs for 
fire testing laboratories. The meeting will be held at the NIST 
Gaithersburg campus, on January 20 and 21, 2004, and is open to all 
interested parties.

DATES: The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on January 20, 2004, and 
conclude at noon on January 21, 2004. Those wishing to attend must 
register by January 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in room B245 of the Polymers 
Building at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus, 100 Bureau Drive, 
Gaithersburg, MD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Those wishing to attend should contact 
Dr. William Grosshandler at the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, Mail Stop 8660, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-
8660, or by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 
(301) 975-2310.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Commerce involving a multitude of materials, 
construction products, consumer products and fire protection systems is 
regulated to ensure the fire safety of the public. Standard test 
methods have been developed over the past 100 years, many based upon 
research conducted at NIST, that enable these materials and products to 
be rated as acceptable (or not) for various applications, depending 
upon regulations enforced by the authority having jurisdiction. By in 
large, these test methods are prescriptive in nature. The ratings or 
classifications obtained from these tests provide a relative measure of 
the one product versus another, but often there is little relation 
between a rating or classification and the performance of the product 
or material in an actual fire situation. The distinction between one 
rating or classification and the next may not be justified by the 
variability in the behavior of the material or product and the ability 
to conduct the test in a precise manner. Fire testing is hampered by 
the complexity of the physical, thermal and chemical processes 
involved, the variability of the environment under which the product is 
expected to perform, the fact that fire performance is often an 
afterthought in the design process, and the high stakes (i.e., 
potential for loss of life and property) associated with being wrong in 
the rating. The concern for public safety is countered by a concern not 
to unreasonably hamper market forces or to put up trade barriers. The 
following questions arising from the complexity of the fire testing 
arena, originally brought up at a NIST workshop on fire test 
measurements in June, 2001, are in need of further discussion:
    [sbull] How can we promote best practices for fire testing?
    [sbull] What are the major sources of measurement uncertainty in 
standard fire tests?
    [sbull] How can new fire measurement technologies be transitioned 
into practice, operators be trained, and round-robin testing be better 
coordinated?
    [sbull] Is there a need for a clearing house for information on 
international harmonization and performance-based codes that impact 
fire testing?
    [sbull] Can the interests of North American fire testing 
laboratories be best preserved through scientific understanding and 
best practices?
    [sbull] How can two-way communications between fire testing 
laboratories and code officials, manufacturers of regulated materials 
and products, and consumer interest groups be improved?
    The meeting will be held at the NIST Gaithersburg campus, on 
January 20 and 21, 2004, and is open to all interested parties.

    Dated: December 22, 2003.
Hratch G. Semerjian,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 04-36 Filed 1-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P