Beth Dean, Exova Warringtonfire, UK, described development and validation of toxicity test methods for European railways EN 45545-2. Fire safety on trains is obtained through the combination of many considerations together, including material fire toxicity assessment.
Two European projects (FIRESTARR 1997 to 2001 and TRANSFEU 2009 to 2012) aided the development of test methods which quantify 8 gases relevant to acute toxicity which could hinder escape from a fire. She described how a modified smoke chamber test coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) had been validated through numerous test fires in real railway carriages. She observed that it would be inappropriate for other industries to use this test method without reviewing its applicability and conducting appropriate validation exercises.