Concordia Technologies is highlighting the issues facing the industry under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), being introduced in July 2013 to cover the classification of cables installed within buildings.
The CPR will require the ‘Reaction to Fire’ performance of cables to be classified and CE marked by a notified body within the EU to verify performance.
The new regulation presently defines seven classes of Reaction to Fire in which those cables will have to be classified into. Each class sets out a range of criteria which the cables will have to meet to enable the CE mark to be applied.
Concordia Technologies technical manager Neil Middleton warned: “Today, the majority of low voltage cables, control cables and data cables marketed in Europe are manufactured in Asia where the understanding of fire performance, particularly where low smoke, halogen free materials are involved, can be brought into question.
“It is apparent that a lack of knowledge and understanding of the impending CPR legislation, including the implications of the classification system, exists within the supply chain, which imports a large percentage of the affected product types, and this could have a huge impact on the quality of cables which will have to comply with the new legislation.”
Only assessed products will be allowed to carry the mandatory CE mark and Euro class designator of the cables Reaction to Fire performance.
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