Study of the burning of Pteridium aquilinum L. and risk for the personnel involved: Thermal properties and chemical risk

Abstract

We studied the burning of fern at the request of firefighters who felt strong irritation during its combustion. Smoke from forest fires is hazardous to health and can result acute or chronic toxicity. Also, smoke is opaque resulting in decreased vision. In this study, leaves and stems of ferns were burned according to the vegetative state ie dead and alive with a cone calorimeter. Time to ignition (tig) and Heat Release Rate (HRR) were measured. The smoke emitted was analysed by non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy, He–Ne laser, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and automated-thermal-desorption–gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry (ATD-GC/MS). Analysis of the smoke reveals that the major compounds are CO2, H2O, CO, aerosols, NO, and SO2. Other gases in smaller proportions were observed, as well as non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs). These high levels of SO2 and HCl may be responsible of severe irritation for firefighters. Even at low concentrations, sulfur dioxide is an irritating gas for the nose and upper airways. Exposure to hydrochloric acid causes irritating effects on the skin and eyes. SO2 and HCl are corrosive to the eyes and skin. Finally, 97.8 and 96.1% of the carbon present in the fuel was identified in the emitted smoke for the dead and alive ferns respectively.