What is ISO 29903‑1 about?
ISO 29903‑1 is the first part of the ISO 29903 multi-series. ISO 29903‑1 provides principles for characterizing the measured production of toxic gases from a laboratory fire test and provides bases for comparing the results between different types and scales of such tests. It also includes consideration of the uncertainties in the gas determinations. The combined uncertainty is a key factor in the ability to establish similarities or differences in test results. The sufficiency of the agreement between a bench-scale test and a real-scale test depends on the precision needed in the fire hazard or risk assessment, which is not covered by ISO 29903‑1.
ISO 29903‑1 defines the relevance and significance of toxic gas data from measurements in different fire tests. With such a definition it is possible to provide generic guidance on how such data can be compared between different sizes and types of fire tests.
The combustion conditions represented by the fire test, other specific characteristics of the test and the test specimen, the sampling strategy of the fire effluents, and the analysis technique for the toxic gas species are the most important factors when defining the significance of the toxic gas data.
ISO 29903‑1 is intended to serve as a tool for the
- Definition of the relevance and significance of toxic gas data from fire tests
- Comparison of toxic gas data from fire tests of different scales and characteristics
- Prediction of toxic gas data from a large-scale test based on small-scale data or vice versa
ISO 29903‑1 gives general guidance regarding the comparison of toxic gas data between physical fire models of different scales, but is principally developed for the gases listed in ISO 13571, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen halides (HCl, HBr, HF), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2), formaldehyde (CH2O) and acrolein (C3H4O).
ISO 29903‑1 does not apply to characterization and comparisons of the toxicity of the effluents from fire tests.
Who is ISO 29903‑1 for?
ISO 29903‑1 on comparison of toxic gas data from different tests is relevant to:
- Fire safety engineer
- Fire department
- Firefighters
- Fire testing laboratory
Why should you use ISO 29903‑1?
The production of toxic gases in fires can be a significant factor in determining whether people escape from a fire or not. Estimation of the time available for escape and the time required for escape each require values of the concentrations of toxic gases along possible escape paths.
ISO 29903‑1 provides information on combustion conditions, thermal environment, characteristics of test specimens, toxic gas data, comparison/prediction of toxic gas data from different physical fire models required for characterizing the measured production of toxic gases from a laboratory fire test.
The test results provided by ISO 29903‑1 helps the user to compare the toxic gas yields generated at different scales to determine the appropriateness of using the data from individual physical fire models in a fire hazard and risk assessment. With ISO 29903‑1 you can ensure the safety of people against health hazards arising from inhalation of toxic gases produced during fire.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS ISO 29903‑1:2020 supersedes ISO 29903:2012, which has been withdrawn.
- ISO 29903 has been divided into two parts: ISO 29903‑1 and ISO 29903‑2
- Subclause 4.4 has been revised to include requirements on the identity and properties of test specimens
- Annex C from ISO 29903 (previous edition) (application examples) has been deleted. Application examples will instead be put in a separate document in the ISO 29903 series
