The Australian Cablemakers Association (ACA) is warning about a non-compliant and unsafe TPS cable being supplied and sold in New Zealand.

ACA Chairman Greg Stack said that extreme caution must be taken regarding the significant safety risk posed by this cable.

“We urge everyone to be very vigilant if you come across this particular cable. It’s marked ‘EESS 150102-0’ and comes in a white or yellow coloured sheathing and is known to have been imported in sizes 2.5 mm2 and 1.5 mm2,“ said Mr Stack.

“Worksafe NZ has issued a safety warning regarding non-compliant TPS (flat building wire cable) that was allegedly imported by a NZ company, which is now in liquidation and we understand that the cable was manufactured in China.

A member of the ACA tested the cable according to relevant AUS/NZ standards and found that the sheathing became brittle after exposure to heat with similarities to the Infinity cable which caused a massive recall across Australia.

Other issues with the cable exposed during the testing, is that lead content was discovered. “The local industry has long taken the responsible view to omit lead from our products for health reasons,” Mr Stack said. Mr Stack also note that the “cable in question was printed with a number that purported to be an Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) certification number.

This brings into question the value of the EESS application to building cables without also implementing a strict surveillance and monitoring system to ensure products continue to comply with the Standards’ requirements.

“The fragility of the EESS is underlined by this incident, we simply must do more to police and check that manufacturers are adhering to our standards.

“This is another example of the dangers of faulty and sub-standard building wire cable being imported that puts life and property at risk,” Mr Stack said.

“We have seen non-complaint cables like this before with Infinity cable and a number of others, it’s time for governments across Australia to take the threat of these dodgy building products seriously and take steps to ensure a consistent national compliance regime is in place.”

“We must not wait for a fatality from electrocution or a fire before action is taken.”

“The ACA will remain vigilant to ensure this cable and similarly non-compliant cables are not being used in Australia.”

AUSTRALIAN CABLEMAKERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED
GPO Box 49 Canberra ACT 2601
P 03 9281 4203 | ABN 52 152 736 466

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