When parts manufactured from polymeric materials are used in different sectors of industry, the use of different colours may be required. The use of pigments of different chemical nature and often possessing catalytic activity may lead to a change in fire hazard characteristics. The effect of several inorganic pigments based on carbon black and metal compounds on the flammability characteristics of a rubber compound of grade VR-42 (white-coloured) based on methylvinylsiloxane rubber has been investigated. A comparison with a standard rubber compound containing magnesium hydroxide has been carried out. The considerable influence of the presence of carbon pigment with nanosized particles on improvement in residual burning (smouldering) time by comparison with the base combination has been shown. No statistically significant change in this characteristic has been established for a coloured rubber compound of grade VR-42 by comparison with the base combination when mineral pigments of different colours and based on metal compounds are introduced.

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The introduction of plastics makes it possible to increase the cohesive strength of raw rubber mixes based on rubbers [1, 2]. It has been shown [1] that, by the introduction of polyethylene into systems based on crystallisation-capable ethylene-propylene rubbers containing a large number of ethylene units, a considerable increase in strength is possible. It has been suggested that, in this case, communicating molecules can form between crystals in the polyethylene and in the ethylene-propylene rubber. The possibility of creating different types of roofi ng product based on ethylene-propylene rubbers and propylene was examined in references [3] and [4]. The effect of plastics on the properties of raw rubber mixes based on other elastomers has been studied inadequately.