- Author
- Caplan, Y. H.
- Title
- Relationship of Cyanide to Deaths Caused by Fire. Fire Problems Program.
- Coporate
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- CIB W14/78/32 (USA); FPP TR 31, June 1977, 10 p.
- Contract
- NBS-GRANT-4-9022
- Keywords
- cyanides | death | human beings | blood cyanide
- Abstract
- Although Wetherell noted the occurrence of cyanide in the blood of fire victims, it was not until more recently that concern about the production of cyanide in fires reached national proportion. The increasing use of polymeric materials in buildings and home furnishings have increased the fire hazard potential of cyanide. Fires containing these materials are said to grow faster and generate more "smoke" and toxic gases, such as hydrogen cyanide, than those involving traditional materials. In response to the concern about the incidence of and role played by cyanide as a factor in fire fatalities, an extensive study was undertaken by the Maryland State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. This report will summarize the findings of this study.