C. Specification of Other Fire-Resistant Fibers

Comment: Nine respondents stated that the law is narrow in its application only to fire-resistant rayon fibers. According to the respondents, the law does not address DoD's ability to specify inherently flame-resistant cellulosic fibers; this broader category includes any manmade cellulosic fiber that has fire resistance added to its slurry before fiber extrusion, such as acetate, rayon, lyocell, etc. The respondents recommended that the DFARS final rule make it clear that the prohibition applies only to DoD's ability to specify the use of fire-resistant rayon fibers, and not to any other categories of fibers.

Response: The DoD interim rule clearly reflected the statutory prohibition on requiring the use of fire-resistant rayon fiber in a specification. However, it would be contrary to the intent of the statute to state the requirements of the solicitation in such a way as to exclude categories of fire-resistant fiber (such as polymers) from consideration.