Toxicity test data on 95 samples of plastics and elastomers, pyrolyzed in accordance with the USF toxicity screening test method, are presented. The samples consisted of 50 samples of solid polymers, 16 samples of solid elastomers, 12 samples of rigid cellular polymers, and 17 samples of flexible cellular polymers. Data were obtained using the rising temperature program from 200°C to 800°C, and less extensive data were obtained using a fixed temperature of 800°C.
The relative toxicity of the pyrolysis gases from some plastics can vary considerably, depending on the temperature at which the material is pyrolyzed and other test conditions. Because a large number of test conditions can exist at some particular place and time during a fire, depending on the type of fire, the differences illustrate the importance of selecting test conditions that are relevant to the particular fire environment.
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TOXICITY screening test method has been used at the Fire SafetyCenter of the University of San Francisco to compare materials for relative toxicity under specified test conditions, using apparatus, facilities, and personnel that would be within the capabilities of most laboratories. ~~ The simplicity, low cost, and versatility of this test method has made possible the use of a variety of test conditions, such as heating rate and airflow,' to investigate the behavior of materials under a broad spectrum of test conditions.There is a tendency on the part of some regulatory officials to locate a particular test method that employs a set of test conditions supposedly relevant to one fire environment and incorporate that test method into a regulation intended to cover a different fire environment. This situation is further aggravated by the tendency of some researchers to work at single fixed temperatures when developing materials and methods for fire situations, which almost always involve rising temperatures. This paper presents relative toxicity test data on four samples of commercial plastics tested at various fixed temperatures to illustrate the effect of pyrolysis temperature and its interaction with other test variables.
MATERIALSThe materials selected for the comparisons in this paper are two commodity plastics, polyethylene (low density) and polystyrene, and two
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