Fire Reduction Strategies for Residential Furniture

Applications

Mike NagridgeDr. Sergei Levchik

Joel TenneyDr. Mike Goode

Greg SymesDr. Anantha Desikan

Topics for Today

1. Furniture Fire standard

• Smolder• Open Flame• Component versus

Item test methods

2. Health, Safety and Environmental properties of flame retardants

“One child's body was found in a bedroom of the single-story home just three feet from where one of the firefighters had made it into the structure. The other child was found with her father just outside of that room”

Fire Safety - Role of Flame Retardants

•NFPA data showed smolder and open flame both similarly important

•NFPA data shows furniture fires are unique with respect to the low frequency and high death rates

•Transition from smolder to open flame not well understood but important

•Furniture fires are still a problem and flame retardants are a proven solution

International Comparison of Fire Statistics

• Out of 23 countries surveyed by FEMA, the top 4 reductions in fire death rates between 1979 and 2007 were:– Canada -70.7%– UK -69.5%– USA -66.1%– Ireland -54.4%– Scandinavia -22.4%

“Fire death rates and trends, an international perspective,” FEMA, July 2011

The only 4 countries in the survey to have introduced open flame standard during the period

-28% -6%

Government study confirmedlinked to fire standard with little change in smoking over period

Data from report ofUK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Open Flame Fire StandardsLarge Flame FAR Part 25.853

16 CFR 1633

Medium Flame BS 5852, Crib 5Cal TB133

ASTM E2574CPSC 2007*

Small Flame Cal TB117MVSS-302

CPSC 2005

Short Duration<15 sec

Medium Duration15-60sec

Long Duration>60 sec*Barrier test only

Flame retardants are used successfully to meet all standards

Fire Safety - Role of Flame Retardants

•People die in large fires when smoldering transitions to flaming•The ignition source of a smoldering object can be a cigarette, a spark from fire place, etc•Very rarely do people suffocate because of smolder only scenario

•The proposed CPSC smoldering standard does not address transition from smoldering to flame because it is performed without air draft

•Not representative of real life•(open windows, running ceiling fan etc.)

•Independent of ignition source (flame or smoldering), the goal must be to prevent ignition and fire growth

Polyurethane Flame Retardant Options

– Reactive– Polymeric– Flame Retardant Polyols– Solid Inorganics– Additive

Flame Retardants

• Fyrol® 6 (1963)– Reactive

• Fyrol® PNX / PNX-LE (2003)– Polymeric, highly efficient

• Fyrol® A710 / HF-4 (2005)– Additive TBPP

• Fyrol® HF-5 (2010)– Additive/Polymeric

New Products under developmentE08-16T/E10-61T – additive solutionsE10-62T – reactive solution

Health, Safety, and Environment

• Flame retardants are already reviewed in the regions including the US, Canada, EU, and Asia• Flame retardants used in imported furniture are not required to

meet US review (TSCA) requirements

• Additional reviews are underway• EPA – 20• Canada – 10• California Safer Products

• Third party (Environ) evaluations indicate Fyrol A710 and Fyrol HF-5 show improved HSE versus TDCP

• New methodologies are being utilized• Zebra fish tests

• Exposure Routes– Work done in Europe (Fisk ‘05), EPA, CPSC, Duke University (2012)

Thank You For Your Kind Attention

Questions?