This subpart contains performance requirements, acceptance tests, and production testing and inspection requirements for fire retardant resins used in the construction of lifeboats approved under 46 CFR part 160, subpart 160.135 and rescue boats approved under 46 CFR part 160, subpart 160.156.

In this subpart, the term:

Acceptance means certification by the Coast Guard that a component is suitable for use in the manufacture of Coast Guard-approved lifeboats and rescue boats.

Commandant means Commandant (CG-ENG-4), Attn: Lifesaving and Fire Safety Division, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509.

(a) Certain material is incorporated by reference into this part with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any edition other than that specified in this section, the Coast Guard must publish notice of change in the Federal Register and the material must be available to the public. All approved material is available for inspection at Coast Guard Headquarters. Contact Commandant (CG-ENG-4), Attn: Lifesaving and Fire Safety Division, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509. You may also inspect this material at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030 or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. You may obtain copies of the material from the sources specified in the following paragraphs.

(b) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA, 19428-2959.

(1) ASTM D 543-06, Standard Practices for Evaluating the Resistance of Plastics to Chemical Reagents, (approved April 1, 2006), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 543”).

(2) ASTM D 570-98 (Reapproved 2005), Standard Test Method for Water Absorption of Plastics, (approved November 1, 2005), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 570”).

(3) ASTM D 638-08, Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics, (approved April 1, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 638”).

(4) ASTM D 695-08, Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Rigid Plastics, (approved August 1, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 695”).

(5) ASTM D 790-07e1, Standard Test Methods for Flexural Properties of Unreinforced and Reinforced Plastics and Electrical Insulating Materials, (approved September 1, 2007), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 790”).

(6) ASTM D 792-08, Standard Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Relative Density) of Plastics by Displacement, (approved June 15, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 792”).

(7) ASTM D 1045-08, Standard Test Methods of Sampling and Testing Plasticizers used in Plastics, (approved August 1, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 1045”).

(8) ASTM D 1824-95 (Reapproved 2002), Standard Test Method for Apparent Viscosity of Plastisols and Organosols at Low Shear Rates, (approved March 15, 1995), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 1824”).

(9) ASTM D 2471-99, Standard Test Method for Gel Time and Peak Exothermic Temperature of Reacting Thermosetting Resins, (approved November 10, 1999), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 2471”).

(10) ASTM D 2583-07, Standard Test Method for Indentation Hardness of Rigid Plastics by Means of a Barcol Impressor, (approved March 1, 2007), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 2583”).

(11) ASTM D 2584-08, Standard Test Method of Ignition Loss for Cured Reinforced Resins, (approved May 1, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM D 2584”).

(12) ASTM G 154-06, Standard Practice for Operating Fluorescent Light Apparatus for UV Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials, (approved June 5, 2006), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ASTM G 154-06”).

(c) International Maritime Organization (IMO), Publications Section, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom, + 44 (0)20 7735 7611, http://www.imo.org/.

(1) MSC Circular 1006, Guidelines On Fire Test Procedures For Acceptance Of Fire-Retardant Materials For The Construction Of Lifeboats, (approved June 18, 2001), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“IMO MSC Circ. 1006”).

(2) [Reserved]

(d) International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO Central Secretariat [ISO Copyright Office], Case Postale 56, CH-1211 Geneve 20, Switzerland.

(1) ISO 62:2008(E), Plastics—Determination of water absorption, Third Edition (February 15, 2008), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 62”).

(2) ISO 175:1999(E), Plastics—Methods of test for the determination of the effects of immersion in liquid chemicals, Second Edition (May 1, 1999), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 175”).

(3) ISO 14125:1998(E), Fibre-reinforced plastic composites—Determination of flexural properties, First Edition (March 1, 1998), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 14125”).

(4) ISO 527-1:1993(E), Plastics—Determination of tensile properties, Part 1: General Principles, First Edition (June 15, 1993), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 527”).

(5) ISO 604:2002(E), Plastics—Determination of compressive properties, Third Edition (March 1, 2002), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 604”).

(6) ISO 1172:1996(E), Textile-glass-reinforced plastics—Prepregs, moulding compounds and laminates—Determination of the textile-glass and mineral-filler content—Calcination methods, Second Edition (December 15, 1996), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 1172”).

(7) ISO 1183-1:2004(E), Plastics—Methods for determining the density of non-cellular plastics—Part 1: Immersion method, liquid pyknometer method and titration method, First Edition (February 1, 2004), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 1183”).

(8) ISO 1675-1985(E), Plastics—Liquid resins—Determination of density by the pyknometer method, Second Edition (August 15, 1985), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 1675”).

(9) ISO 2039-2:1987(E), Plastics—Determination of hardness—Part 2: Rockwell hardness, Second Edition (July 15, 1987), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 2039-2”).

(10) ISO 2114:2000(E), Plastics (polyester resins) and paints and varnishes (binders)—Determination of partial acid value and total acid value, Third Edition (August 1, 2000), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 2114”).

(11) ISO 2535:2001(E), Plastics—Unsaturated-polyester resins—Measurement of gel time at ambient temperature, Third Edition (July 15, 2001), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 2535”).

(12) ISO 2555:1989(E), Plastics—Resins in the liquid state or as emulsions or dispersions—Determination of apparent viscosity by the Brookfield test method, Second Edition (February 1, 1989, Corrected and reprinted February 1, 1990), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“ISO 2555”).

(e) Military Specifications and Standards, Standardization Documents Order Desk, Building 4D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, https://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch/.

(1) MIL-R-7575C, Military Specification, Resin, Polyester, Low-Pressure Laminating, (June 29, 1966), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“MIL-R-7575C”).

(2) MIL-R-21607E(SH), Military Specification, Resins, Polyester, Low Pressure Laminating, Fire-Retardant, (May 25, 1990), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“MIL-R-21607E(SH)”).

(3) MIL-R-24719(SH), Military Specification, Resins, Vinyl Ester, Low Pressure Laminating, (May 4, 1989), IBR approved for § 164.120-7 (“MIL-R-24719(SH)”).

(a) The laminating resin must pass the inspections and tests specified in this section. The inspections and tests required by this section, including weathering of samples, are the responsibility of the manufacturer and must be performed by an independent laboratory.

(1) Polyester resins. (i) The resin must meet the specifications of Grade A, Class O resin of MIL-R-7575C (incorporated by reference, see § 164.120-5 of this subpart) and meet the specifications conforming to Grade A (standard flame resistance) of MIL-R-21607E(SH) (incorporated by reference, see § 164.120-5 of this subpart).

(ii) MIL-R-21607E(SH) Grade B resins will be given consideration upon request.

(2) Vinyl ester resins. The resin must meet the specifications of Grade B (fire retardant) resin of MIL-R-24719(SH) (incorporated by reference, see § 164.120-5 of this subpart) and must be tested and meet the requirements of weathering and post-weathering mechanical testing as shown in Table 164.120-7 of this section. Samples for the weathering must be prepared in accordance with MIL-R-7575C paragraph 4.3.1.1.

(3) All other resins. Each resin formulation submitted for Coast Guard approval, other than those addressed in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, must be tested and meet the requirements of Table 164.120-7 of this section.

(b) [Reserved]

(a) Fire retardant resin is not subject to formal approval, but will be accepted by the Coast Guard on the basis of this subpart for use in the manufacture of lifesaving equipment. Coast Guard acceptance of fire retardant resin for use in the manufacture of lifesaving equipment does not guarantee Coast Guard acceptance of the manufactured lifesaving equipment.

(b) Resin manufacturer requirements. The resin manufacturer must submit the test report, material data sheet, including instructions for use, and quality control procedures in accordance with 46 CFR 159.005-9.

(c) Independent laboratory requirements. The independent laboratory must perform each inspection and test required by § 164.120-7 of this subpart, and prepare a report in accordance with 46 CFR 159.005-11 and submit the report to the Commandant for acceptance.

The resin manufacturer must institute a quality control procedure to ensure that all Coast Guard-accepted resin is produced to the same standard, and in the same manner as the tested resin accepted by the Commandant. The manufacturer's quality control personnel must not work directly under the department or person responsible for either production or sales.

(a) Marking and labeling. Each container for the resin must be permanently marked with at least the following information—

(1) Manufacturer's name or trademark, batch number, date of manufacture, and date of expiration;

(2) Chemical type of the resin;

(3) Maximum usable storage life of the resin (uncatalyzed and catalyzed) and recommended storage conditions;

(4) Maximum allowable shelf life at various temperatures of impregnated fabric before curing; and

(5) Precautionary markings.

(b) Instructions for use must be included with each shipment of approved material and must include—

(1) Recommended mixing and impregnating procedures, including recommended types, percentages, and manner of utilization of catalysts, retardants, and fillers, as applicable;

(2) Range of time, temperature, and pressure cycles recommended to effect the cure for laminates; and

(3) Precautionary information on usage, storage, and handling.

(a) Each change in material from the resin accepted under § 164.120-9 of this subpart must be accepted by the Commandant before being used in any production lifeboat or rescue boat. The manufacturer must submit any such change following the procedures set forth in § 164.120-9 of this subpart, but documentation on items that are unchanged from the resin accepted under § 164.120-9 of this subpart need not be resubmitted.

(b) Determinations of equivalence of materials will be made by the Commandant only.