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regarding the halogen content
of cable and materials. In particular,
there is still an incorrect
association, primarily with IEC
60754-1, “Test on gases evolved
during combustion of materials
from cables – Part 1: Determination
of the halogen acid gas content,”
and IEC 60754-2, “Test on
gases evolved during combustion
of materials from cables – Part 2:
Determination of acidity (by pH
measurement) and conductivity.”
Th ese standards do not test for
or reference chlorine, bromine or
fl uorine content levels; they are
methods to test the halogen acid
content — (via titration method
in the case of IEC 60754-1 and pH
and conductivity for IEC 60754-2
— established from the combustion
of the tested material. Also,
for IEC 60754-2, the minimum
pH value of 4.3 and maximum
conductivity of 10 μS/mm are described
as “recommended performance
requirements” as shown in
Annex A. Th is recommendation
implies that these requirements
are “suggestive” as opposed to
“normative” requirements.
Th e IEC recently developed the
LSHF 62821-1, -2 and -3 standard
series, ”Electric Cables — Halogen
Free, Low-Smoke, Th ermoplastic
Insulated and Sheathed
Cables of Rated Voltages Up to
and Including 450/750 V.” Th is
series is one of the fi rst to provide
component material hydrogen
free (HF), complete cable smoke
requirements and applicable LSHF
cable surface marking.
As a result of the publication
of this standard, UL launched two
new certifi cation programs: a material
recognition service and an optional
cable surface mark program.
Th e material recognition service
uses test methods from IEC
60754-1/-2 and IEC 62821-1/-2 as
described under Subject Outline
UL 2885, “Outline of Investigation
for Acid Gas, Acidity and Conductivity
of Combusted Material and
Assessment of Halogens,” dated
2015-02-12. Th is service is geared
manufacturers, UL established a
“-HF” and “-LSHF” cable surface
mark designation in accordance
to IEC 62821-3 (e.g. Type CMRLSHF
or OFNR-LSHF, TC-LSHF,
RHHW-HF, CM-HF, SJO-HF,
etc.). We announced this program
in an announcement bulletin,
“Halogen Free (HF) and
Low Smoke Halogen Free (LSHF)
Service Off ering for Wire and Cable,”
dated 2015-02-20.
Under the “-HF” and “-LSHF”
cable program, all combustible
materials (insulation, jacket, fi llers,
tapes, wraps, shields, etc.) must
fi rst be recognized under UL’s material
recognition program as per
UL 2885 (described above) or tested
individually by the cable manufacturer.
Th e cable manufacturer
would be authorized to use these
HF recognized materials in order
to apply the “-HF” and “-LSHF”
optional cable surface mark.
Under the optional cable surface
mark program, no reference
is permitted, within the UL print
legend surface print, regarding
non-halogen, non-halogenated, zero
halogen, low-halogen or LSZH
or reference material provided by
the cable manufacturer as these
designations are not covered in
the IEC 62821-3 standard.
Currently, UL has certifi ed
seven wire and cable companies
to mark certain cable
constructions as “HF” &
“LSHF” and 10 suppliers
of HF compound material
to the wire and
cable industry.
Robert Bellassai is an
engineer at UL.
By the
Numbers
1970s
LSHF products
came on the
market
Two
certification
programs: material
recognition
service and
optional cable
surface mark
to support suppliers of insulation
and jacket compounds, and cable
components such as fi llers, tapes,
wraps, and the like. It can be summarized
as follows:
IEC 60754-1. Under the UL
2885 standard, combustible materials
are evaluated for the amount
of Hydrogen Chlorine (HCl) and
then classifi ed to a Performance
Level Category (PLC). Th e PLC
chart as shown in Table 8.1 of UL
2885 was developed by UL and is
not found in IEC 60754-1. Combustible
materials (insulation,
jacket, fi llers, tapes, etc.) evaluated
under this service/ standard(s)
would not make claims or assertions
to the halogen content of the
material(s) and are not appropriate
for use in validating cable products
or their material components
as non-halogen (ed.), zero-halogen,
halogen-free, low-halogen or
LSZH. IEC 60754-2. Combustible
materials for this standard under
UL 2885 are evaluated for pH and
conductivity. Combustible materials
(insulation, jacket, fi llers, tapes,
etc.) evaluated under this service/
standard(s) would not make claims
or assertions to the halogen content
of the material(s) and are not
appropriate for use in validating
cable products or their material
components as non-halogen
(ed.), zero-halogen, halogen-free,
low-halogen or LSZH.
IEC 62821-1/-2. Under the UL
2885 standard, combustible materials
are evaluated for halogen
content. Materials evaluated under
this standard will allow for
the “HF” material recognition
designation for any combustible
compound/ component in a fi nished
cable. Suppliers of insulation
and jacket compounds and
cable components may choose to
obtain a material recognition
for any one or more of the
above standards. For
wire and cable