Safety

Safety glazing refers to the reduction of the risk or occurrence of injury or loss from accidental or natural causes, while security glazing refers to the reduction of the risk or occurrence of injury or loss from the deliberate or intentional human actions. Safety glazing is specified to protect people from injuries due to accidental glass impact, breakage or fallout, and laminated glass is rapidly emerging as a powerful and versatile safety glazing option. Upon impact, ordinary glass typically shatters and falls from the window frame, which can result in serious or even fatal injuries to building occupants and passers-by. Used in a properly designed system, laminated glass windows may crack, but fragments tend to adhere to the interlayer, reducing hazards associated with falling or flying glass.

Laminated glass is versatile and suitable for almost any desired configuration. By using laminated glass as the inboard component of an insulating unit, the assembly provides the thermal performance of an insulating air space along with the safety glazing of the inboard laminate.

In appropriate configurations, laminated glass meets all requirements set forth in architectural glazing safety sections of major model building codes and test standards such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Category I certification requires the glazing to withstand one 150 foot-pound impact, produced by impacting a 100-pound shot bag from a vertical height of 18 inches. Category II certification requires the glazing to withstand one 400 foot-pound impact, produced by impacting a 100-pound shot bag from a vertical height of 48 inches.

Laminated glass has also been shown to meet Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) standard UL972 for security glazing, as well as Class I of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International's F1233 security glazing test standard.

In vertical safety glazing applications, laminated glass has proven to be a unique design tool for entrance doors, shower and bath enclosures, storm and patio sliding doors, sidelights, and fixed glazed panels. The glass also meets significant design and safety challenges presented by sloped and overhead glazing surfaces.