A fireproof future?: Plastics that don't burn could stop a fire in its tracks

Abstract

In Greek mythology, the r-tan Prometheus stole fire from the gods gave it to humankind-an act of insubordination for which Zeus punished him horribly To us mortals, Prometheus' gift is both a blessing a curse. Fire provides warmth light, but when it rages uncontrolled, it also causes devastating losses of life property. Each year, fires destroy property valued at billions of dollars. Total expenses attributable to fires also include the huge costs of insurance, fire-protection systems, lost wages. Smoke detectors provide some warning of uncontrolled fires. Although they can be found in three out of four dwellings in the United States, when there's a fire, there is only a 20 percent chance that there will be a working detector present, says Richard G. Gann, chief of the fire science division at the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md. Even the most advanced detection suppression systems currently available aren't foolproof. One strategy to lessen the toll taken by fires is to make things out of materials that less liable to burn-or even that don't burn at all. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is avidly exploring this approach, setting itself a long-term goal of achieving a completely fireproof airplane cabin. Right no commercially available materials, except for metals, sufficiently flame resistant, says Richard E. Lyon, a polymer scientist manager of the fire research program at the FA's William J. Hughes Technical Center at the Atlantic City Intemational Airport in New Jersey. the 1998 Annual Conference on Fire Research held at NIST in November, scientists presented their recent work on new fire-retardant materials, focusing on plastics. Gann says, The science in that area is moving very, very nicely. One promising candidate may be available to airplane manufacturers by the end of the year, says Lyon. Researchers uncertain, however, whether cost demand will drive such materials into construction consumer goods. S cientists began studying the flammability of materials in earnest after World War II, when U.S. residents enjoying newfound wealth began living in larger homes with more furnishings. At about the same time, the plastics industry took Gann says, and the fire problem took off, too. Plastics' combination of low cost, moldability, strength, flexibility make them ubiquitous as industrial materials. However, many plastics burn easily being composed primarily of carbon. Airplane cabins, for example, consist mostly of plastics, or polymers. An allmetal airplane cabin would be impervious to flame but impractically heavy, not to mention uncomfortable. Because of the heightened dangers of fire in an enclosed cabin surrounded by jet fuel, much fire-retardant research has focused on materials for the seats, walls, carpets in airliners. plastics currently in airplane cabins have an overall fire potential comparable to that of an equivalent weight of aviation fuel. Once they burning, the materials give off the same amount of energy per kilogram. To reduce the risk of fire, materials in airplanes must pass strict flammability tests. Airplane manufacturers are using the best materials they have now, says Lyon, and they're still not good enough.