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Show 'Silent epidemic reduced by special fabrics V nightwear, meant to protect a small child from cold, can act as a death trap when ignited bv (ire. Statistics show the trapped child then runs for help and in the process fans the (lame. Bums associated with ignited clothing are the most severe. The physiological and psychological Neck-to-to- e scars may never repaired despite greatness of new reconstructs e surgery. be Salt akf Xl)f i juite style Women t Set-lio- Sunday Morning, August Food 19, 1973 l umil o,. fabrics and 'he bum problem, fires and burns aie the leading cause oi (loath from non Hansport accidents to children to 4 years old and the second loading cause to age groups s to 14 and 45 and over By Carolyn Munson Lifestyle Staff Mritei No thinking mutlict would hesitate to see that bet child was protected sutficiently against a crippling disease like 1 polio .Severelv she subjects hei child to medical treatment whenever she can save him anv pain oi suffering Act same this mc'her grumbles about pay mg a higher price for sleepweai that amid well save hei child s life There is In Burned speech delivered in 1971 to meinbois of the Burn Assn . it was slated that young children and the elderly aie severely burned because once the clothing is ignited the young run and fan the fne and the aged and infu m are helpless of a burn The seventy depends on three factois the degree of heal, the length of time the heat is m contact with the body and what part of the skin is affected a Amei-ica- v accine for bui n There is no cure prevention for the burn scars which arc permanent, regardless of the greatness of reconstructive surgery of The U S Department Health, Education and Welfare estimates there are between 3.000 and 5.000 deaths and 1, 0.000 and 250 000 injuries every year from burns associated with flammable fabrics no d Free Enterprise ' 1 m all for free enterprise if this legislation forces manufacturers to produce rea sonable flame retardant fab ncs at reasonable prices and it saves just one child in the state of Utah, it is worth it. but The very young and the very old ate the members of our society What might produce only a second degree burn m a hairy young adult may well produce a third degree burn m the young and old Consumer apathy toward fire retardant fabnes is difficult to understand for Dr Fredenc C. Chang, assistant professor of surgery' and di- d The most frequent victims are of this silent epidemic the young and the old According to recent statistics compiled for presentation to Congress, on flammable rector of the emergency department and burns service. University Medical Hospital We at the University Medical Center have some of the most difficult bum patients to us If people could make rounds with us and see the isequenccs of bums to small children, some of whom may never be entirely psychologically or phvsiologically normal again, they would see the importance of this legisla lion and why consumers and had to be manufacturers forced into complying he ..aid Bums involving clothing much ignition ere usually mure severe than those m which clothing ignition is not involved Dr Chang cited a study done by the University of Michigan on a Michigan hospi tal's bum patients and on the differences in costs to those victims whose clothing was ignited compared to those whose clothing was not involved Initial hospital cost to victims whose clothing was ignited was $8,700 compared to $3,600 for those whose clothing was not "This is just the basic hospital stay, he said. It does not reinclude the subsequent constructive surgery There is no disease of chd dien that amounts to greater expense. The American Bum Assn . the group most responsible for the legislation, has a series of slides in which childrens garments untreated and treated are set aflame on a child-sizedummy Using time and temperature reading machines, a common cotton dress burned in about 18 seconds producing temperatures of over 1.000 degrees centigrade 6 4KV x a' $ xs c. s ',- d Treated Drew Another treated cotton dress was subjected to a flame for 15 seconds and the result was just a linear char. Protection from fire and clothing ignition is still the parents responsibility where small children are concerned and an individuals responsibility as far as his own safety is concerned Eventually, it that all fabnes flame retardant, Chang But he doesnt pening in the near What price safety for kids? by any othei Sleepwear, name than flame retardant has all but vanished m the 0 tn 6x size range After July, the law states that any fabnc that is not. cannot be manufactured. Even fabnc such as flannelette, commonly used for' sleepwear, must also meet the U. S. Department of Commerce flammable fabnes standards consumers are not flockto stores to buy the new But ing nightwear. Buyers and sales people are subjected to grumblings. mostly having to do with price. Consumers must pay a high-p- r pnee for the new nightwear and the increase ranges from $1 to $2 more per garment According to one infants wear buyer, sleepwear m the 0 to sue 6 range costs more than the same sleepwear, untreat ed, in the 7 to 14 size range Find Distressing But price is not the factor consumers find only dis- tressing. Mothers continue to believe there is no need for it What smokes m bed?" was the question an infants wear buyer posed Consumer apathy toward the Flammable Fabnes Act is not new- Nor is flame rests tunt sleepwear - Back in the early 1IK. Sears. Roebuck and Cu . one of the pioneers m the field began research into the area of flame retardant fibprs jrd treatments I much funtare and media advertising. the company introduced a line of the treated sleepwear in InNo one was interested line was a flop and the com pane, stuck with a lot of nightwear it couldn't een bum. ran a major consumer survey to find out wh Amid 17 it consumers was were simply not aware of the need But. a spokesman saiu. even after flammability became a news item, the garments were still not populai Mothers weie insulted by the product and the advertising They felt they were capable of protecting their children and it wasn't neces'-arto pav more money to dtess them in the then, stiff, sterile night clothes Many learned, y fabrics in Improvements and trims have been made but problems do treatments persist Mashing Instructions Consumers are faced vvdh stnet washing instructions that v.am that flame retar-danewill gradually disinte deter grate if gents, fabnc softeners, bleac It soap, hard water or commercial cleaning processes are Used, depending on the type of v flame-retardan- treatment t or fiber In a studv done by scientists the Inorganic Chemicals Division Research and Devel t Mf aboratories opment at 1 Corp . it was founu that the properties of garments made from a standard. commercially available llame retaidant cotton flannelette fabric may be impaired by 25 or fewer launderings in non phosphate detergents and soaps The cause soap caibonate and silicate products m soluot tions hard moderately water, accumulate deposits on fibers, which block the flame retardanev of the fabnc surface areas of the In some coun- th.n, homemakers find themselves caught between try required being to use detergents on gar- ments which are they icquired to buy but which cannot be washed in the detergents Problems Exist Hah does not have the but regulation washing problems do exist The new law requires that the garments retain their flame retardancy though 50 laundenngs Now any mother of a small baoy knows 50 laundenngs can mean as little as 50 days And what mother of an under-2-ear-olhas the time or patience to run her wash ing machine an extra cycle to protect a single nightgown or pair of pajamas without the hot water, bleach and fabnc softener she uses in her daily load of diapers y d are made said Dr see it hapfuture I would guess m about to 25 years, he said hat s a mother to do" She has litUe choice in the 15 One point the Amencan Bum Assn, slide series made is that portion of the by flame retardant clothing is actually protected Irom being burned Until flame retardant garments are available to all, the National Safety Council urges consumers to purchase clothing that has less chance of catching fire Basic Fibers matter of sleepwear By law. there will be none, other than the flame retardant type, for small chddren Stores are able to sell any sleepwear they have m stock that is not treated. but a survey of stores shows that untreated sleep-wea- r is on the sales tables body-covere- now She can make the rughtweai her youngsters require. She can even use the treated fabnes and save money. One infants wear buyer is predicting most mothers will ,in Of the basic fibers, woo! is comparatively flame resistant It will ignite, but it burns slowly and the fire usually goes out once the source of ignition has been removed Cotton and rayon, on the other hand, bum readily. Synthetic fibers are usually less flammable than cotton .or rayon, but synthetics can actually melt as they bum, leav mg a sticky, syrupy substance that produces deep localized bums this. But doctors, especially toose dealing with victims of bums, legislators and most especially, parents of children who have been burned, plead and urge all to buy it Improvements m the faoncs will continue now that it iv that it be prev mandatory duced If manufacturers were able to give you permanent press and soil resistance, flame resistant fabnes should come as easily Children will still require Even protection from fire flame retardant fabnc will still bum. Nothing short of asbestos is completely flame Designs are another consideration. garments are less likely to catch fire than are ones The further the garment is from the wearers body, the greater the chance of igmfion and the more dangerous the garment is from a fire standClose-fittin- g loose-fittin- retardant Legislation will not end with just small sizes The 7 to 14 range is next on the agenda, along with flame re'ardant mattresses Some are available now Can bedding and all clothing lie far behind" is my hope ileldl, daughter of Gerd T. Zlmmermanns. Bountiful, shows any child ran light a candle. Bat could she put out accidental fire? Tribune Staff Photo g point Fabnes with a shorter pile and a greater density are less likely to bum tban those with a high, fluffy pile. B Tim Kellv y |