Embed Size (px)
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 1
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 1
PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity April 2016
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 2
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 2
• 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?
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 3
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 3
pinfa members (1/1/2016)
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 4
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 4
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 5
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 5
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 6
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 6
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 7
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 7
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 8
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 8
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®
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 9
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 9
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 10
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 10
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 11
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 11
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 12
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 12
• 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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 13
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 13
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 14
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 14
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 15
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 15
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 16
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 16
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 17
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 17
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
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 18
www.pinfa.org and @pinfa_eu
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health 2016 18
PIN flame retardants, fire safety and smoke toxicity April 2016
contact pinfa: [email protected] +32 2 676 74 36
