Combustion toxicology

Abstract

Combustion toxicity research is the study of the adverse health effects caused by exposure to fire atmospheres. A fire atmosphere is defined as all of the effluents generated by the thermal decomposition of materials or products regardless of whether that effluent is produced under smoldering, nonflaming, or flaming conditions. The objectives of combustion toxicity research are to identify potentially harmful products from the thermal degradation of materials, to distinguish those materials that produce unusual or greater quantities of toxic combustion products, to determine the best measurement methods for the identification of the toxic products as well as the degree of toxicity, to determine the effect of different fire exposures on the composition of the toxic combustion products, and to establish the physiological effects of such products on living organisms. The ultimate goals of this field of research are to reduce human fire fatalities due to smoke inhalation, to determine effective treatments for survivors, and to prevent unnecessary suffering of fire casualties caused by smoke inhalation.