Decomposition products of rigid PVC burning under different fire conditions

摘要

PVC is widely used in the building industry and particularly in the electric cable industry. Its contribution to the toxicity and irritancy of fire gases has been the subject of much recent debate. It is acknowledged that small-scale tests do not accurately represent the burning conditions occurring in a fully developed fire. Since most fire deaths result from breathing fire gases1, and real-scale fires are very expensive to set up, there is a need for a robust means of replicating real-scale fires on a small scale.