Peter Mapleston, Conference Chair and Technology Editor of Compounding World, sees flame retardants being increasingly needed in many areas to ensure fire protection and prevention, in response to society’s general concern about safety, in particularly in electrical equipment and appliances, in buildings and in the automobile industry.
Even where regulation does not require fire safety, industry will want to stay ahead and ensure safety, for reasons of image and legal liability. At the same time, more scientific data is needed to establish the health and environmental safety of flame retardants, along with dialogue between industry and stakeholders on these challenges. Discussion can be expected to widen from halogenated versus PIN to the advantages of reactive FRs and oligo-molecular or polymer FRs in reducing emissions risks.