DEKRA Laboratory approved for DBL 1000

The DEKRA laboratory for environmental and product analysis is now approved for the Mercedes-Benz AG DBL 1000 standard. DBL 1000 is a Mercedes-Benz company standard that specifies the requirements, test methods, and limit values for emissions and odors from materials and components used in vehicle interiors.

DEKRA’s lab has provided the evidence required to demonstrate full compliance with the requirements of the DBL 1000 methods. Mercedes-Benz Group suppliers from around the world can now choose DEKRA Automobil GmbH’s Stuttgart-based laboratory for environmental and product analysis to provide them with test reports for their products. The DEKRA lab has been supporting the automotive industry for many years by testing vehicles’ interior parts for gas emissions and other substances that affect interior air quality, health, and driving comfort.

The DBL standard has been aligned to the new numbering system and replaces the previously applicable DBL 5430. It includes the following methods in particular:

• VDA 278: Thermal Desorption Analysis of Organic Emissions for the Characterization of Non-Metallic Materials for Automobiles.
• VDA 270: Determination of the odor characteristics of trim materials in motor vehicles.
• DIN ISO 12219-4 / -6: Determination of the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC) from vehicle interior parts and materials - small chamber method.
• DIN ISO 12219-4 / -7: Odor determination in interior air of road vehicles and test chamber air of trim components by olfactory measurements.
• VDA 276-3: Determination of the total concentration of hydrocarbon compounds in test chambers and vehicle interiors with a flame ionization detector (FID).

Combined with laboratories in Bretten and Saarbrucken, and the DEKRA Technology Center in Klettwitz, DEKRA testing services cover the entire automotive value chain in the context of emission tests: whole vehicle tests, testing of assembled components and small individual parts, corrosion and environmental simulation testing, flammability and component testing.