Interpretation ID: aiam1438
Tire Retreading Institute
1343 L Street
N.W.
Washington
D.C. 20005;
Dear Mr. Taft: This is in reply to your letter of February 22, 1974, concerning a article in the November 1973 *Retreader's Journal* entitled 'Repairing Torn Beads.' You ask whether the article is correct when it states that casings with cord exposed in the bead area may be retreaded.; Standard No. 117 (S5.2) prohibits the retreading of any casing on whic bead wire or cord fabric is exposed before processing. 'Processing' encompasses the entire process, including the making of any needed repairs, by which a casing is retreaded. The NHTSA has taken the position that the only exception to this prohibition is that casings with exposed chafer fabric bay be retreaded. A casing that before processing has any exposed bead or cord material other than chafer fabric, however, may not be retreaded. Therefore, insofar as the Retreader's Journal article states that casings with exposed cord in the bead area may not be retreaded it is incorrect. We have sent a copy of this letter to the *Retreader's Journal*.; Sincerely, Lawrence R. Schneider, Chief Counsel