re: How long should breakers last?

quote:

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AFCI breakers have been NEC code in bedrooms for over 20 years.

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Correct, 2002 was when that became effective.

But the requirement under the law would only have been if your state or local agency adopted the full 1999 or later NEC code. Those codes are simply recommendations and while they are usually adopted fairly quickly, some jurisdictions drag their feet or even list exceptions to certain parts of the code.

Bureaucracy at its finest.
Here is a list from 2017, I am uncertain now but there were 8 states that had not implemented the Arc Flash component at that time. Louisiana didn't until 2011.