ISO 10840:2008 covers the following aspects of fire testing of plastics materials and products:

• selection of appropriate tests that reflect realistic end-use conditions;
• grouping of the reaction-to-fire characteristics that any given test or tests can measure;
• assessment of tests as to their relevance in areas such as material characterization, quality control, pre‑selection, end-product testing, environmental profiling and DfE (Design for the Environment);
• definition of potential problems that may arise when plastics are tested in standard fire tests.

The scope of the standard does not include the development or design of new fire tests for plastics. However, the flexibility of approach that is indicated with respect to the mounting and fixing of test specimens will be valuable when fire-testing laboratories and certification bodies are considering how to evaluate ranges of plastics that are used in different ways.