From our news archive
Chemical resistance
NET started its work with child-resistant caps at the request of KEMI and in collaboration with SIS in 2009. This started after large quantities of 5-litre scanners fitted with so-called "child-resistant" caps that had lost their function were discovered.
Simple research showed that the cause was reaction with the inner cap and the contents of the jerrican. A great many of the child-proofing solutions involving caps use inner and outer caps. The existing standards in the area: ISO8317 and ISO13127 do not take into account the contents of the packaging, as they are only tested with water.
It's okay to be surprised by this, but the reason is probably simple. Small children are guinea pigs. These will of course not be exposed to dangerous chemicals.
Is there any point in testing these solutions when they are not exposed to intended content?
Yes, it certainly is. The test described in ISO8317 benefits both young children; 3 ½ years and older; 50 - 70 years. Here, the function is checked on its own and approved if no more than 20% of the children manage to open it, while the older people manage to do it. The test is extensive and requires a lot of administration and a sample of the population with regard to demographic spread. Overall, this gives a good picture of the probability of opening.
In 2009, SIS tried to establish a working group within international standardization whose aim was to implement chemical resistance in ISO8317. They do not succeed in this.
Since then, NET has always believed that ISO13274 could be applied, which forms the basis for compatibility between plastics and chemicals for the transport regulations. In the summer of 2017, we finally managed to gain traction for such tests in the market. First, the closing mechanism is approved according to ISO8317, then it undergoes a compatibility test in accordance with ISO13274 before being compared with reference samples without chemical influence.
The way NET has built this up, the concept now consists of three types of tests/evaluations that end up in the three different documents: