Toxicity of Plastic Combustion Products

Alarie Y, Barrow SC. 1977. Toxicity of plastic combustion products. Toxicological methodologies to assess the relative hazards of thermal decomposition products from polymeric materials. NTIS PB-... 

Toxicity. The products of combustioa have beea studied for a number of plastic foams (257). As with other organics the primary products of combustion are most often carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide with smaller amounts of many other species depending on product composition and test conditions. 

When plastics are used, their behavior in fire must be considered. Ease of ignition, the rate of flame spread and of heat release, smoke release, toxicity of products of combustion, and other factors must be taken into account. Some plastics bum readily, others only with difficulty, and still others do not support their own combustion A plastic s behavior in fire depends upon the nature and scale of the fire as well as the surrounding conditions. Fire is a highly complex, variable phenomenon, and the behavior of plastics in a fire is equally complex and variable (Chapter 5, FIRE). 

Related problems must be considered in individual products. Bromine, chlorine, and antimony add to the smoke of a fire, while phosphorus and water do not, and some metal oxides can actually reduce it. Toxicity of combustion gases is a major concern but the main problem is that oxidation of carbon compounds in an enclosed space—indoors— produces carbon monoxide, no matter whether the carbon compounds are wood or plastics. Other problems include the cost of flame-retardants, difficulties in processing, and loss of mechanical or thermal properties. 

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