WHEN PVC BURNS IT GIVES OFF POISONOUS GASSES, MAINLY HYDROGEN CHOLRIDE (HCL). WHEN HCL COMBINES WITH MOSITURE IT FORMS HYDROCHOLORIC ACID.

APART FROM THE OBVIOUS THREAT OF DEATH BY CHOKING ON DENSE FUMES, THERE IS ALSO THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACIDIC GAS DAMAGING ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT. THIS IS WHY REGULATIONS NOW SPECIFY THE USE OF ZERO HALOGEN CABLE.

TO MEET BRITISH STANDARDS LOW SMOKE ZERO HALOGEN (LSZH) CABLE MUST EMIT NO MORE THAN 0.5% HCL.

ORDINARY PVC EMITS APPROXIMATELY 28% HCL.

THERE IS NO STANDARD GOVERNING THE HCL EMISSIONS OF LOW SMOKE AND FUME (LSF) CABLE. THIS MEANS MANUFACTURERS CAN BRAND A CABLE LSF AS LONG AS IT GIVES OFF REDUCED HCL EMISSIONS.

LSF CABLE IS IN FACT JUST REDUCED EMISSIONS GIVING OFF 15% HCI.

15% HCI CANNOT BE REGARDED AS SAFE. LSF SHOULD ONLY EVER BE VIEWED AS SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN PVC. AT SELLEC ALL OF OUR LOW SMOKE CONTROL CABLE IS LSZH.

CONFUSION HAS EMEREGED BECAUSE CABLES MANUFACTURED TO LSZH SPECIFICATION ARE SOMETIMES MISTAKENLY TERMED ‘LSF’ BY THE MANUFACTURERS THEMSELVES. THIS IS EVIDENT IN CABLE MANUFACTURED TO BS6724.

THIS WAS BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE POOR GRADE LSF CABLES, WHICH ARE NOW BEING OFFERED BY SOME SUPPLIERS WHEN LSF IS ASKED FOR, BUT LSZH IS IN FACT WHAT IS REQUIRED.

SELLEC RECOMMENDS THAT ELECTRICIANS ALWAYS GET WRITTEN CONFIRMATION THAT THE CABLE IS HALOGEN FREE (LSZH)