Toxic Potency Values for Smoke from Products and Materials

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

J L. Neviaser, Richard Gann

Abstract

Many devices have been used to generate data on the toxic potency of smoke from burning products and materials. This paper critically reviews those apparatus and sorts them by the combustion conditions (related to a type of fire) producing the smoke, the specimens tested, and the animal effect measured. All the usable data were derived using rats, and the toxicological effects encountered were lethality, represented by an LC₅₀ value, and incapacitation, expressed as an IC₅₀ value. The data showed a wide range of toxic potency values for the products and materials tested. For those engineering applications where the mix of combustibles is unknown, generic values of smoke toxic potency were derived. Statistical analysis of the wealth of published data yielded a generic LC₅₀ value of 30 g/m³ 20 g/m³ (one standard deviation) for 30 min exposure of rats for pre-flashover smoke. For post-flashover fires, a value of 15 g/m³ 5 g/m³ is suggested. The mean value of the ratios of IC₅₀ values to LC₅₀ values is 0.50 0.21, consistent with a prior review. Thus, for pre-flashover fires, a generic 30 min IC₅₀ value (for rats) would be 15 g/m³ 10 g/m³; for post-flashover fires, the corresponding number would be 7 g/m³ 2 g/m³. There are some materials with appreciably lower potency values, indicating higher smoke toxicity. If materials like these are expected to comprise a large fraction of the fuel load, a lower generic value can be used.

Citation

Fire Technology

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

fire, incapacitation, lethality, smoke, smoke toxicity

Citation

Neviaser, J. and Gann, R. (2021), Toxic Potency Values for Smoke from Products and Materials, Fire Technology (Accessed April 23, 2024)