ASTM International Committee F15 on Consumer Products continues to address emerging hazards associated with furniture tipover with its recently revised standard, ASTM F2057, Safety Specification for Chests, Door Chests, and Dressers.
ASTM F2057, under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee F15.42 on Furniture Safety, is intended to reduce injuries and deaths of children from hazards associated with tipover of clothing storage units, covering chests, drawer chests, chests of drawers, dressers and bureaus. The standard features two tests: one that measures the stability of a piece of furniture in unloaded condition, and the stability with load test, which simulates a child around the age of five attempting to climb up or down on the furniture. The latest revisions to ASTM F2057 include:
- Chests, door chests and dressers are now required to include a tip restraint unit that parents can use to secure the piece of furniture to a wall.
- A warning label description. The label includes an explicit notation not to place televisions on chests, door chests and dressers, as well as warnings to place the heaviest objects in the lowest drawers, to not allow children to climb on the furniture, and not to open more than one drawer at a time.
Subcommittee F15.42 welcomes participation from all interested parties as it continues its work on future revisions to ASTM F2057 and other standards related to furniture safety. ASTM standards can be purchased from Customer Service (phone: 610-832-9585; service@astm.org) or at www.astm.org.
For technical Information, contact Thomas Lowery (phone: 860-646-7416; tlowery7777@gmail.com); or Daniel Lauzier, Ethan Allen Inc., Danbury, Conn. (phone: 203-743-8326; dlauzier@ethanalleninc.com).
ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. ASTM’s open consensus process, using advanced Internet-based standards development tools, ensures worldwide access for all interested individuals. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, please contact Leonard Morrissey, ASTM International (phone: 610-832-9719; lmorriss@astm.org).
Release #8254/May2009
