International Study of the Sublethal Effects of Fire Smoke on Survivability and Health (SEFS): Phase 1. Final Report.
International Study of the Sublethal Effects of Fire
Smoke on Survivability and Health (SEFS): Phase 1. Final
Report.
(860 K)
Gann, R. G.; Averill, J. D.; Butler, K. M.; Jones, W.
W.; Mulholland, G. W.; Neviaser, J. L.; Ohlemiller, T.
J.; Peacock, R. D.; Reneke, P. A.; Hall, J. R., Jr.
NIST TN 1439; NIST Technical Note 1439; 150 p. August
2001.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000;
Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush
Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847;
Website:
http://www.ntis.gov
Order number: PB2001-107829
Keywords:
fire research; smoke; toxicity; toxic hazards;
survivability
Abstract:
Fire smoke toxicity has been a recurring theme for fire
safety professionals for over four decades. There
especially continue to be difficulty and controversy in
assessing and addressing the contribution of the
sublethal effects of smoke in hazard and risk analyses.
The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF), the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
and NFPA have begun a private/public fire research
initiative, the "International Study of the Sublethal
Effects of Fire Smoke on Survival and Health" (SEFS) to
provide this scientific information for public policy
makers. This report on the first phase of the project
estimates the magnitude and impact of sublethal
exposures to fire smoke on the U.S. population, provides
the best available lethal and incapacitating toxic
potency values for the smoke from commercial products,
determines the potential for various sizes of fires to
produce smoke yields that could result in sublethal
health effects, and provides state-of-the-art
information on the production of the condensed
components of smoke from fires and their evolutionary
changes during transport from the fire.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899