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Fires in Mass Transit Vehicles Guide for the Evaluation of Toxic Hazards (1991) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... That understanding has led to increased attention to the fire growth parameters—ignition, flame spread, heat release rate, mass burning rate, and transport of combustion products as they impact toxic hazard. While smoke toxicity data are not, in themselves, measures of toxic hand, they may be used, together with fire performance data, to estimate toxic hazard.
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From page 2...
... It is to be noted that the fire growth models require as input, information on the heat release/mass burning rates of the combustible material involved in the fire scenario. These data are inferred from certain laboratory fire tests, some of which have been or are being adopted as standards both in the United States (American Society for Testing and Materials)
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From page 3...
... to ensure that the monitored toxicants account for the estimated toxic effects and that there is no evidence for unusual or unexplained toxicity. · Use experimentally determined toxic potency data for candidate materials and/or products in the hazard engineering calculations to characterize their relative fire safety implications.
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From page 4...
... 4 In addition to acknowledging the value of well-instrumented testing over a range of spatial scales, the committee's overall recommendation is that the selection of candidate materials for use in transit vehicles should be made following analysis of each material's fire properties and smoke toxic potency within the context of specific plausible fire scenarios.
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Key Terms

  • smoke toxicity
  • transit vehicles
  • toxic hazard
  • engineering calculations
  • combustion products

  • fire growth
  • mass transit
  • fire scenario
  • candidate materials
  • predicted toxic

  • laboratory smoke
  • fire involving
  • combustion device
  • toxicity tests
  • potency data

  • toxic effects
  • growth models
  • laboratory tests
  • potential toxic
  • construction materials

  • toxicity data
  • fire risk
  • toxicity testing
  • laboratory combustion
  • involving materials

  • performance data
  • fire performance
  • unusual toxic
  • toxic hazards
  • hazard assessment


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