Abstract
Approximately 18 test methods have been developed to examine the acute toxicity of thermal decomposition products produced in fires. However, the information obtained from these tests has not be integrated into a fire risk assessment. This paper presents a fire risk assessment methodology with the goal of enhancing risk management. The five steps presented are: (1) Hazard identification; (2) Calculation of the probability of human exposure to the smoke from a material; (3) Determination of the magnitude of the expected exposure for humans; (4) Determination of the toxic effects that may be caused by the smoke; and (5) Estimation of the likelihood of toxic injury resulting to humans in a fire. A concentration-time product method for estimating exposure was found most appropriate for comparing the toxicity of decomposition products with each other and to pure gases.
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Alexeeff, G.V. (1987). Fire Risk Assessment and Management. In: Lave, L.B. (eds) Risk Assessment and Management. Advances in Risk Analysis, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6443-7_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6443-7_28
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