Traditional wired glass is dangerous

Traditional wired glass is not safety glass. The wire actually weakens the glass and increases the likelihood of breakage even under the relatively mild force exerted by an elementary school student. Experts estimate that there are at least 2,300 school injuries yearly from unsafe wired glass.

Watch the CBS Evening News video clip below to learn more about the dangers posed by traditional wired glass.

Federal law and building codes ban the use of unsafe wired glass in schools

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has jurisdiction over safety glazing in doors, including fire doors. Since 1977, the CPSC has outlawed the use of wired glass that fails to meet human impact standards in all doors and associated windows. Traditional wired glass cannot meet impact safety standards.

Since 2003, the International Code Council's model building codes have required that all glazing in potentially hazardous locations within educational facilities must comply with Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) impact-safety standards. And in 2004, traditional wired glass was banned in all building types.

Schools need to replace unsafe wired glass to protect student safety

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) was created in 1997 by the U.S. Department of Education to provide information on planning, designing, funding, improving and maintaining safe, healthy, high-performance schools. NCEF's Safe Schools web page asks: "Does tempered and wired glass meet the building code and Consumer Product Safety Commission's requirements when used in doors, sidelights, locations near the floor, and other "hazardous" locations?"

In Fall 2007, an Oregon judge found a school to be "negligent in allowing non-safety glazing that was not in compliance with the federal safety glazing standards."