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To: Richard Jurek who wrote (37)	12/3/1997 5:56:00 PM
From: Richard Jurek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50

UL Announces Changes to Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standard NORTHBROOK, Ill., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), the leading product safety testing and standards developing organization, has revised UL 2034 -- the Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms. UL revisions to the test Standard were based on comments received from medical experts, government agencies, fire departments, manufacturers and other industry groups. According to the revised requirements, carbon monoxide (CO) alarms manufactured after Oct. 1, 1998, must comply with the following: 1. Marking Requirements/Instructions -- UL Listed CO alarms will be required to list detailed instructions on the product itself and in the manufacturer's instruction booklet to advise residents what they should do in the event of an alarm signal. Should an alarm signal sound, residents will be advised to operate the reset button, call the fire department and immediately seek fresh air, either by going outdoors or by opening a door or window. No one should re-enter the premises or move away from the open door or window until emergency services arrive at the scene, the home or building has been aired out or the alarm resets to its normal condition. 2. Stability Test -- UL Listed CO alarms are required to sound an alarm signal before most people experience the adverse effects (loss of ability to react) of CO poisoning. UL Listed alarms under the revised standard are required to sound an 85 decibel alarm signal within 189 minutes (3 hours, 9 minutes) if 70 parts per million (ppm) CO is present; within 50 minutes if 150 ppm CO is present; and within 15 minutes if 400 ppm is present. Previous requirements stated the alarm must sound within 90 minutes if 100 ppm is present; within 35 minutes if 200 ppm is present; and within 15 minutes if 400 ppm is present. 3. Long-term, Low-level CO Exposures -- UL Listed CO alarms will now be required to ignore low-level concentrations of CO -- 30 ppm -- for at least 30 days without sounding an alarm signal. 4. Short-term Carbon Monoxide Exposure -- UL Listed CO alarms are now required to ignore concentration levels of 70 ppm or less for at least one hour before sounding an alarm signal. 5. Reset Button -- UL Listed CO alarms will be required to have a manually operated alarm reset/silence button that will allow the resident to silence the alarm signal. If elevated levels of CO continue to exist -- 70 ppm or higher -- the alarm will sound again in 6 minutes. Previously, CO alarms were required to activate again at 100 ppm or higher. 6. Warning Signal Elimination -- Except for alarm and trouble signals, no other audible or visual signals will be used -- for example, warning signals that indicate the presence of CO less than 30 ppm. The revisions to UL 2034, effective Oct. 1, 1998, do not make current models of UL Listed CO alarms obsolete. All current models of UL Listed CO alarms will sound an alarm signal if elevated levels of CO are present. Safety experts at UL remind consumers that CO is a deadly gas and that an alarm signal from a UL Listed CO alarm should never be ignored. Only UL can evaluate a product for eligibility to bear the UL Mark. Products that do not bear the UL Mark but claim to ''meet or exceed UL requirements'' are not UL Listed. Before purchasing a CO alarm, UL recommends that consumers look for the UL Mark on the product itself, not just for references to UL on the packaging, in marketing materials or use and care instructions. Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is a private, not-for-profit organization that has evaluated products, materials and systems for safety for more than a century. More than 17,000 types of products are tested each year in the organization's five U.S. laboratories located in Northbrook, Ill. (headquarters); Melville, N.Y.; Santa Clara, Calif.; Research Triangle Park, N.C.; and Camas, Wash. More than 14 billion products bear the UL Mark each year.