PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity · PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke ... Final project report published on the European Commission website ... Gas phase:

COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 1

www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu


PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity April 2016

http://www.pinfa.org/

https://twitter.com/@pinfa_eu






• the Phosphorus, Inorganic and Nitrogen Flame Retardants Association

• 20 members: manufacturers and users of PIN flame retardants

• established in 2009 as a Sector Group within Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council

• pinfa-na North America, sister association, established in 2012

• mutual membership with INEMI* and GTFI**

• we welcome further membership

* International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative * *Groupement Technique Français contre l'Incendie

Who is pinfa?








pinfa members (1/1/2016)








• Vision: continuously improving the environmental and health profile of their flame retardant products, offering innovative solutions for sustainable fire safety

• Concept of an ideal flame retardant:

− fit for purpose, not toxic, risk and hazard controlled − does not migrate out of finished products − does not contribute to release additional toxic or corrosive gases in case of fire − does not impede the recycling of finished materials − degradable in the environment or remains neutral as naturally occurring

substances

• Commitment: to maintain high fire safety standards across the world, standards which minimize the risk of fire to the general public

Pinfa members’ shared vision








Activities Information

Technical brochures Media articles Conferences, pinfa workshops pinfa Newsletter Product selector Website www.pinfa.org

Fire safety and stakeholder dialogue Projects

Information monitoring and sharing (science, appliations, regulations, trends …) Follow up of regional projects (EU, US, Asia …) Standards End of life / recycling









• Information about possible applications and regulatory status of PIN flame retardants • Applications range from

Thermoplastics Foams Textiles Paints/Coatings Adhesives Thermosets Wire and cables

• REACH status for products is currently being implemented

www.pinfa.org

pinfa Product Selector





http://www.cefic.be/





• EU research project FP7: 226563 • Life Cycle Assessment of Environment-Compatible Flame Retardants • ENFIRO offers a prototypical case study on substitution options resulting in

a comprehensive dataset on the viability of production, application, and environmental safety, including a complete life cycle assessment (LCA)

See www.enfiro.eu - Final project report published on the European Commission website http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/rcn/92068_en.html - “Life cycle assessment of flame retardants in an electronics application”, International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Springer), N. Jonkers et al., 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11367-015-0999-z

EU project ENFIRO





http://www.enfiro.eu/

http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/rcn/92068_en.html

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0999-z




US-EPA project : Alternatives Assessments of FRs www.epa.gov/df

• Evaluation of environmental and health properties of alternative FRs

• Hazard focused approach

• No black and white picture:

Alternatives have chemical hazards, too

Need to check relevance

No surprises because of data gaps

Green Screen http://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/

Other industry tools are being developed E.g. Clariant company Portfolio Value Program (PVP),

Solway Way framework, DSM eco+ , BASF Seebalance®





http://www.epa.gov/df

http://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/



http://www.clariant.com/en/Sustainability/Performance-People-Planet/Portfolio-Value-Program

http://www.solvay.com/en/sustainability/index.html

http://www.dsm.com/corporate/sustainability/planet/eco-plus.html

https://www.basf.com/us/en/company/sustainability/management-and-instruments/quantifying-sustainability/seebalance.html




PIN flame retardants can be compatible with polymer recycling - Mechanical recycling - Feedstock recycling - Energy recovery Phosphorus and minerals, basic elements of PIN FRs, can be recovered in smelters and recycled PIN FRs are compatible with recycled and bio-sourced polymers pinfa monitors and promotes science and case studies of PIN FR plastics recycling Pinfa / Fraunhofer / German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) PIN FR recycling demonstration project launched 2015 See pinfa Newsletter n°64 at www.pinfa.org

End-of-life and recycling









• Smoke is a known carcinogen • Epidemiological evidence of higher rates

of certain cancers in fire fighters • Certain cancers correlated to

fire hours or number of fire runs • In particular, lung (inc. mesothelioma - asbestos),

esophagus intestine, kidney cancers, leukemia • Skin toxin absorption increases x4 for every 5°C • Challenges of using PPE and exposure limitation in emergency intervention

IARC firefighting (2010), soot (2005) NIOSH USA, Daniels et al. 2013, 2015: 30 000 firefighters Nordic Study, Pukala et al., 2013: 16 400 firefighters

Smoke toxicity and fire fighter health risks: A real issue of concern








• Fire fighters are exposed to: smoke and soot ; asbestos ; chemicals on intervention sites ; diesel exhausts ; …

• Other factors: stress, shift work • Chemicals in smoke and soot produced

during incomplete combustion: PAHs, benzene, formaldehyde, dioxins/furans, 1,3-butadiene, arsenic …

• Exposure by breathing, skin, ingestion • Soot and particles deposited on protective

clothing: importance of complete cleaning

Smoke toxicity and fire fighter health risks: Complexity

Furnished room fire test at 3 minutes after contact between a match and non flame

retardant sofa. NIST, USA, 2014 http://www.nist.gov/fire/rfsvideo.cfm





http://www.nist.gov/fire/rfsvideo.cfm




• Flame retardants save lives - both of the public (building occupants) - and of firefighters

• Reduce the number of fires which start (prevent ignition) or develop (prevent spread to other items, delay fire growth)

Avoid firefighter intervention / increase time for intervention Delay flashover Less material burned = less smoke and less soot

FRs and toxicity risks from smoke and soot Advantages of flame retardant use








Critical for escape time and for fire fighter rescue: • Smoke density • Short-term toxicity: CO, HCN, pH / corrosivity … and of course time to flashover

Long-term firefighter risks: incomplete combustion can lead to: • PAH, benzenes … • Dioxins/furans … material burned … particle size / form/ properties … quantity of smoke and soot

FRs and toxicity risks from smoke and soot Short and long term toxicity








All burning materials, synthetic and natural, emit smoke and soot under uncontrolled burn conditions Smoke and soot emissions depend on: • Quantities of material burned • Type of material • Fire ventilation How do FRs

impact smoke and soot emissions and toxicity ?

FRs and toxicity risks from smoke and soot Fire conditions








Depends on the FR chemistry Depends on mode of action

FRs and toxicity risks from smoke and soot Impact of flame retardants

Gas phase: - main mode of halogen FRs - partly some phosphorus FRs

Dilution/cooling - endothermic reaction - release of water vapor, inert gases

Condensed phase - char layer - insulating ‘intumescent’ layer Illustrations: polymer-additives.specialchem.com

and pubs.rsc.org








PIN flame retardants enable low smoke, low corrosivity: Required in aircraft, railways, ships … Protects occupants Protects fire alarm / security installations Achieved by - Mineral PIN FRs - Mineral PIN smoke suppressant synergists - PIN intumescent and char formers

FRs and toxicity risks from smoke and soot HFFR / LSZH / LZ0H

www.melos-gmbh.com www.ukcables.co.uk www.prysmiangroup.com





http://www.melos-gmbh.com/

http://www.ukcables.co.uk/

http://www.prysmiangroup.com/




Data from product and fire tests: - mainly short term toxicity - also smoke emission, corrosivity

Depends on fire aeration conditions EU Construction Products Regulation:

smoke toxicity requirements under consideration Need to collate and assess data relevant to impacts of flame retardant use on long term smoke toxicity pinfa is planning a literature study,

including fire test reports Propose a European R&D and testing project ?

Pinfa proposed actions Need for better information








PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity April 2016

contact pinfa: [email protected] +32 2 676 74 36





mailto:[email protected]

Documents

PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity · PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke ... Final project report published on the European Commission website ... Gas phase: