Toxicity characteristics of commercially manufactured insulation materials for building applications in Taiwan

The use of thermal insulation materials for building applications is a promising technique but further investigations are needed in this area in order to enhance fire prevention. An experimental study has been carried out to determine toxicity characteristics of commercially manufactured insulation materials, according to UK Naval Engineering standards 713 (NES-713) and colorimetric analysis. Four materials, covering organic foamy and inorganic materials of most of insulation materials used in Taiwan, have been chosen. The various colorimetric gas reaction tubes were used to measure toxic constituents and contents. Toxicity index (TI) was then calculated to evaluate the combustion characteristic of the specimens. The influences of toxic constituents and contents on the toxicity characteristic of testing materials were examined. It was found that significant differences existed between organic foamy and inorganic materials. The results showed that the organic foamy materials, polyethylene foam and polyurethane foam, which did not meet the requirements of the low fire hazard material and were unfavorable in the building's fire prevention. Finally, it was also observed that the results promote the real knowledge of these insulation materials by using the quantitative analysis to explicate the toxicity chemicals and types and can be important references for fire hazard analysis and developing materials in the future. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.