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Posted on 08/10/2020 in Building & Construction 2020
Review of fire toxicity of building materials

More research is needed to correlate bench-scale fire tests on materials to real fire emissions. The review considers the different toxicants emitted in fires, with acute or chronic impacts, including incapacitation; different materials fire emissions test systems; and emissions from different building materials including wood (nearly all of which will contain preservative treatment chemicals), engineered wood products (laminates with different resins and bonds), synthetic polymers, insulation materials and foams, with and without flame retardants. The authors note the interest of the steady-state tube furnace to simulate different fire conditions, the need to correlate to real fire emissions, and the need for further research into possible chronic toxicants impacts on firefighters and toxic pollutants in soot deposited at fire sites and in the nearby environment.

“Toxicity of combustible building materials – scoping study”, A. Walsh, BRANZ SR454 (2000) https://d39d3mj7qio96p.cloudfront.net/media/documents/SR454_Toxicity_of_combustible_building_materials_-_scoping_study.pdf

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