Extreme Toxicity from Combustion Products of a Fire-Retarded Polyurethane Foam

Jh, Petajan; Voorhees, Kent J.; Packham, SC; Baldwin, RC; Einhorn, I. N.; Ml, Grunnet; Dinger, BG; Birky, MM

doi:10.1126/science.1114319

Cited by 117 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Solid-state structure of 1 (PLATON [12] plot). Characteristic bond lengths [] and angles [8]: P ± O1 1.601(1), P ± O2 1.587(1), P ± O3 1.463(2), P ± C14 1.782(2), O1 ± C1 1.414(2), O2 ± C13 1.396(2), C6 ± C7 1.515(3), C7 ± C8 1.508(3), C ar ± C ar 1.386 (av distance); O1-P-O2 106.0(1), O1-P-O3 113.8(1), O2-P-O3 114.7(1), O2-P-C14 100.1(1), O1-P-C14 101.5(1), O3-P-C14 118.9(1), P-O1-C1 120.5(1), P-O2-C13 129.9(1), C6-C7-C8 111.0(1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[7] Highly toxic combustion products of fire retardants based on organophosphates were first observed by Petajan et al, who found that 4-ethyl-1-phospha-2,6,7-trioxybicyclo-[2.2.2]octan-1-oxide is formed during the combustion of a phosphorus fire-retarded polyurethane foam. [8] [ In a study on epoxy resins containing covalently fixed phosphonate substructures, we investigated the toxicological potential of these new fire retardants and of their combustion products for the first time. Herein we report the isolation, characterization and toxicological evaluation of the major volatile organophosphorus compounds formed during the combustion of these new polymeric materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isolation, Characterization, and Toxicological Aspects of Volatile Organophosphorus Compounds from the Combustion of Flame-Retarded Epoxy Resins with Phosphonate Substructures

Kampke-Thiel¹,

Lenoir²,

Kettrup³

et al. 1998

Chem. Eur. J.

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The thermal behavior of epoxy resins used for electronic materials as laminates and moulding compounds bearing phosphonate substructures as new fire retardants was investigated at 400, 600, and 800 8C. While the phosphorus species are converted at higher temperatures to P 4 O 10 , at lower temperatures a transesterification reaction occurs that results in the formation of a cyclic phosphonic ester 1 and homologues. Independent synthesis of 1 allowed the final elucidation of its molecular structure, and its spectroscopic, structural, and toxicological features.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation, Characterization, and Toxicological Aspects of Volatile Organophosphorus Compounds from the Combustion of Flame-Retarded Epoxy Resins with Phosphonate Substructures

Kampke-Thiel¹,

Lenoir²,

Kettrup³

et al. 1998

Chem. Eur. J.

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“…The biological testing method, using Wistar rats, has been fully described in previous papers39 and can be (2) mobile furnace, (3) driving system of furnace; (4) Ni-NiCr thermocouple; (5) ventilator; ( 6 ) throttle valve; (7) precision flow-meter; (8) reduction tube; (9) T-junction for the addition of dilution air; (10) quartz crucible as sample holder; (11) distribution chamber; (1 2) wash bottles.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological evaluation of toxicity caused by combustion of building materials

Herpol

1980

Fire and Materials

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This paper presents results of tests performed on 35 materials, including woods, synthetic and textile materials, which have been submitted to thermal degradation at three different combustion temperatures. In addition, the interpretation and limitations of toxicological test results are discussed more generally. INTRODUCTION -~Although fire fighting techniques have greatly developed and improved over the years and although the way in which buildings are designed as well as the types of materials available to build them have undergone a rapid evolution, the problem of toxicity caused by the burning of building materials, including furniture and decorating elements, remains a very important one.Referring only to a small country like Belgium the list of fire disasters since 1955 is impressive: This leaves out of consideration the family home fires in which one or several people die, as was the case in Deurne in November 1977 where a mother and five children died, or in Herstal in May 1978, costing the lives of five people. The number of such losses every year is serious and although such fires have less impact on the public, they are very important as it has been found that the majority of toxicity victims are to be found in fires in dwellings and that two-thirds of the fatalities are met in the room where the fire started.1 These statistics indicate a rapid incapacitation in which the victims fail to make use of possible excape routes. These facts are relevant to the elaboration of a test method imitating as closely as possible the early stages of fire during which the toxicological hazards play the most important role. The need for a biological assessment of the toxic hazards of fire has become generally acknowledged, and in recent years a great deal of research has been accomplished along these lines in a number of countries including Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, UK, USA etc. It is beyond the scope of the present paper to make reference to the numerous publications which have recently appeared in an increasing number of new journals covering the topic of combustion toxicology.Due to the complexity of the fire situation there are many different approaches possible when trying to establish a procedure for a small-scale test which explains the number of different methods in use at present. They can, in fact be divided into two categories, both systems having advantages and disadvantages as follows :1. In the first category, the animals are placed directly in the degradation chamber2 which may raise problems such as heat stress, oxygen depletion etc. 2. In the second category, degradation of the sample takes place in one apparatus (a moving tube system being used in most of the European c~u n t r i e s~-~) and the effluent products are transferred, with or without dilution, to animal chambers. This raises the problem of the effect of transfer on the composition of the toxic atmosphere.As far as the animal evaluation is concerned, methods Methods of the first type seem preferable in relation to the problem of acu...

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“…However, as noted earlier, an unusual toxic effect was observed when animals were exposed to the combustion products from a laboratory formulated rigid polyurethane foam based on a propoxylated trimethylolpropane (MW 340) and polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate containing the reactive fire retardant 0, 0-diethyl-N, N-bis (2-hydroxyethy1)-aminomethyl phosphonate (4-8 ~t % ) .~~*~~9~~ When this fire retarded foam was irradiated by a radiant heat flux of 5 W cm-2 in the NBS smoke chamber, the non-flaming thermal degradation products produced grand ma1 seizures and death in rats following a 20-min exposure. 33 The grand ma1 seizures occurred in the rats during the first hour following the exposure to smoke from this particular fire-retarded polyurethane foam. Additional physiological changes included alterations in the respiratory response to smoke irritants, high amplitude spike discharges in the EEG and blood COHb levels of approximately 6%.…”

Section: Miscellaneous Studies University Of Michigan Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the literature on the gaseous products and toxicity generated from the pyrolysis and combustion of rigid polyurethane foams

Paabo

Levin

1987

Fire and Materials

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The literature on rigid polyurethane foam has been reviewed with an emphasis on the gaseous products generated under various thermal decomposition conditions and the toxicity of those products. This review is limited to publications in English through 1984. Carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were the predominant toxicants found among more than a hundred other gaseous products. The generation of CO and HCN was found to increase with increasing combustion temperatures. Many test methods were used to assess the acute inhalation toxicity of combustion products from various rigid polyurethane foams. Lethality, incapacitation, physiological and biochemical parameters were employed as biological end points. In general, the combustion products generated from rigid polyurethane foam in the flaming mode appear to be more toxic than those produced in the non-flaming mode. The LC,,, values for 30-min exposures ranged from 10 to 17 mg 1-in the flaming mode and were greater then 34 mg 1-in the non-flaming mode. With the exception of one case, in which a reactive type phosphorus containing fire retardant was used, the addition of fire retardants to rigid polyurethane foams does not appear to generate unusual toxic combustion products.

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Extreme Toxicity from Combustion Products of a Fire-Retarded Polyurethane Foam

Cited by 117 publications

References 3 publications

Isolation, Characterization, and Toxicological Aspects of Volatile Organophosphorus Compounds from the Combustion of Flame-Retarded Epoxy Resins with Phosphonate Substructures

Isolation, Characterization, and Toxicological Aspects of Volatile Organophosphorus Compounds from the Combustion of Flame-Retarded Epoxy Resins with Phosphonate Substructures

Biological evaluation of toxicity caused by combustion of building materials

A review of the literature on the gaseous products and toxicity generated from the pyrolysis and combustion of rigid polyurethane foams

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