6 - Safety, health and environmental aspects of flame retardants

Abstract

This chapter investigates the following issues: (a) key types of flame retardants; (b) toxic effects of smoke on fire victims and effects of flame retardants on smoke toxicity and fire safety; (c) acute effects of individual components of smoke on fire victims; (d) individual potential acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) toxicity of major individual flame retardants; (e) effects of flame retardants on the environment and (f) life cycle analysis on the generation of toxic combustion products and environmental damage when comparing flame-retarded products with products that are not flame retarded and have high flammability. The work demonstrates that the use of flame retardants presents an important benefit to society and the environment via the improvement of fire safety. Undoubtedly not all flame retardants ever developed or about to be developed are safe from all points of view, but the use of appropriate scientific knowledge and the regulatory environment can effectively ensure that if any specific material is shown to be unsafe it is kept away from consumers. In summary, this survey shows that the appropriate use of flame retardants, as a class, effectively provides improved fire safety via lowering the probability of ignition, the heat released and the amounts of smoke, combustion products and dangerous environmental toxicants. In consequence the use of flame retardants increases the available time for escape from a fire.