ISEA announces American National Standards Institute approval of a revised edition of the American National Standard for Air-Purifying Respiratory Protective Smoke Escape Devices (RPEDs), a type of personal protection commonly called a "smoke hood."

ANSI/ISEA 110-2009 provides design guidance to RPED manufacturers in the form of a detailed set of performance requirements and testing procedures. The standard also represents a minimum requirement for purchase specifications. Key sections of the standard cover certification, labeling, design, performance, conditioning and testing requirements.

RPEDs are intended for use by persons escaping from fire-generated products of combustion. They provide head, eye and respiratory protection from particulate matter, eye irritants, carbon monoxide and other toxic gases commonly produced by structural fire.

ANSI/ISEA 110-2009 was prepared by members of the ISEA RPED Group, in consultation with testing laboratories, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and NIOSH, and was reviewed by a consensus panel representing users, health and safety professionals and government representatives.

Noteworthy updates incorporated in this version reflect end-user needs, including the addition of an ocular leakage test to evaluate the presence of smoke in eye area and changes in sizing parameters based on current anthropomorphic studies to accommodate a greater variety of facial shapes.

"Given that these devices are used by the general public in a fire-evacuation situation, the standard developing committee found it particularly important to focus on areas that best benefit the wearer,” said ISEA president Dan Shipp. “Ensuring that the hood can adequately protect the eyes and respiratory tract to enable evacuation is a critical concern.”

Additionally, the revision updates test methodologies and procedures to provide criteria that will allow testing laboratories to generate reproducible results, while at the same time removing restrictive language that could impede the testing process. “Products meeting the ANSI/ISEA 110 standard are third-party certified. To validate that they are capable of providing consistent protection when laboratory tested, it is important that the testing criteria to which they are subjected are uniformly written and applied to eliminate any questionable results,” added Shipp.

ANSI/ISEA 110-2009 is available from ISEA. The single-copy cost is $55 ($27 for ISEA member companies). Discounted rates for bulk orders are offered.  For additional information, contact Cristine Fargo, ISEA manager of membership and standards services, or call 703-525-1695.

Order ANSI/ISEA 110-2009