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Pirelli's Afumex(TM) Central Office Power Cable Relieves Concerns

4 June 1998

Pirelli's Afumex(TM) Central Office Power Cable Relieves Concerns Over Smoke And Toxic Gas Emissions

    COLUMBIA, S.C., June 4 -- Pirelli Cables and Systems North
America announces the introduction of a new cost-efficient power cable that
relieves concerns over the extensive smoke and toxic and corrosive gases that
standard cables can produce in a fire.
    Afumex(TM) Central Office Power Cable is a low-smoke, halogen-free cable
that uses a novel insulating compound developed by Pirelli.
    Kevin E. Riddett, vice president and general manager of Pirelli Cables and
Systems Energy Division, said Afumex represents a culmination of years of
research by Pirelli worldwide to eliminate the hazards posed by standard
cables and is the latest example of the division's commitment to "power
through innovation."
    A central office typically is dense with cables, and a fire can cause
conventional cables to produce smoke and halogen gases at a level that
destroys electronic equipment, corrodes structures and even causes fatalities.
Halogens are a class of chemical elements that includes chlorine, which is
used in many power cable insulating materials. Afumex, in contrast, uses a
non-halogen polyolefin insulating material, so it releases no halogenated
gases during a fire.
    Afumex reduces smoke emission to less than half the amount required to
earn the "low smoke" designation.
    Afumex also can be fully color-coded for ease of identification during
installation and renovations.
    Afumex cables are non-braided, but they have a lower coefficient of
friction than braided designs, making installation of long runs easier that
with previous generation power cables.
    Afumex cables meet the requirements of UL-44 and Bellcore GR-347-CORE, the
two leading industry standards.
    Pirelli Cables and Systems North America is headquartered in Columbia,
S.C. With facilities in Lexington and Abbeville, S.C., Colusa, Calif., Surrey,
British Columbia, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and Prescott, Ontario, it
provides fiber optic cable and photonics equipment for the communications
industry and energy transmission and distribution cable for the utility and
commercial building industries.
    Pirelli Cables and Systems is a global manufacturer of communications and
power cables and systems. With 15,000 employees, 51 plants, research and
development centers in Italy, the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain
and Brazil, and total sales of more than $3.5 billion, Pirelli ranks among the
world leaders. The company is increasingly focusing its R&D and manufacturing
resources and competencies on leading edge technologies, based on optical
fibers and photonics for communications networks and superconductivity for
power transmission.