- Author
- Babrauskas, V. | Gann, R. G. | Levin, B. C. | Paabo, M. | Harris, R. H., Jr. | Peacock, R. D. | Yusa, S.
- Title
- Methodology for Obtaining and Using Toxic Potency Data for Fire Hazard Analysis.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 31, 345-358, 1998
- Keywords
- fire hazard | hazard analysis | building fires | combustion products | fire models | computer models | death | radiant heating | smoke | toxicity | test methods
- Identifiers
- criteria for bench-scale toxic potency measurement; N-gas model; radiant toxicity method; CO in fires; data for pre-flashover fires
- Abstract
- A comprehensive methodology has been developed for obtaining and using smoke toxicity data for fire hazard analysis. This description of the methodology comprises (1) determination that the post-flashover fire is the proper focus of smoke inhalation deaths; criteria for a useful bench-scale toxic potency (LC,,) measurement method; (2) a method which meets these criteria, especially validation against real-scale fires; (3) a computational procedure for correcting the results from the bench-scale test for the CO levels observed in real-scale post-flashover fires; (4) procedures for reducing the usage of animals and broadening the applicability of data by interpreting gas measurement data using the N-Gas Model; and (5) a procedure for identifying whether a product produces smoke within the ordinary range of toxic potency for post-flashover fires.