Safety Issues - Glass Furnishings

[cemoore]

I've seen a number of threads that talk about safety glass and tempering of pieces. I'm trying to get my hands around safety in general as it applies to selling any consumer glass product. The bottom line is that I want to have processes in place that result in a product that is safe to the consumer. Also, I don't want to be sued if someone misuses a product. I know that local construction codes deal with installed glass in a building. What about other consumer products that aren't permanent fixtures, such as table tops? I've done some online searching and seen some UK consumer regulations, but nothing has popped up for US regulations. The UK item I found was referring to unsupported and supported glass (e.g., glass resting on another material backing), what mm thicknesses of annealed glass to use for specific area ranges or if tempered or safety glass was required for an application. The online search also returned references to a number of product liability cases where people were injured using glass products. Does anyone know where I should start looking for U.S.-specific information that I can use to get comfortable that I am spec'ing out my products with safety at the top of the list?

Finally, assuming tempering is advisable for an application, does anyone know of tempering service providers (at your own risk) in or around Massachusetts?

-- Cathy

[Tony Smith]

try:
Contract Glass Service
225 Andover Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
978-988-1144

Tony