Document oMMRKBvaVMdxz7V0vXzLdr0Y3

(.#.-s/IuJLa m fjurt' ~ 0 } 1 & Jiae 16, 199* ,Hr. aaorf* Luff W The Bolts Company Lawrence Massachusetts Otar Hr. Laaffi this lattar baa reference to tba behavior of wall coverings and* from vinyl chloride raalna la aaaa of a flra la room la which they have baaa used. Aa you know, polyvinyl ahlorlda raalna ara atabla and laart at rom temperature, and no gases or vapors of any kind ara given off by thaaa notarial* until they ara haatad to tanparaturaa vail over thoaa that aould ba tolaratad by nan. On subjecting thaaa natarlala to flan* or othar aoureaa of high temperature, Ilka othar organic natarlala, thay daeonpoaa and ylald nany of tha produeta of aonbuatlon found whan aonnon organic natarlala ara Ignited. Za addition to thaaa uaual produeta of *onbuatloa( vinyl ahlorld raalna will liberate eon* hydrochloric aeld gas whan subjected to aufflaleatly high tanparaturaa. Tlnyl ahlorlda raalna do not In thanaalraa aupport aonbuatlon and are self-extlngulshlng whan tha aouroa of Ignition la removed. For thla reason, a flra In a roan haring a rlnyl wall aorarlng nuat depend on tba aonbuatlon of othar natarlala of a flamabl* nature that ara preaent for propagation, tha hasard lnrolrad froa tha produeta of aonbuatlon of tha flamablo natarlala preaent would ba ao nueh greater than that froa tha relatively aaall anount of rlnyl roam that tha lattar would ba negligible. The wall aorarlng In question la eoapoaed of paper to whleh a relatively thin flla of rlnyl realn haa bean applied, and aeeordlagly, tha weight of realn to ba oonaldered la aaall. Kingman, Colaaan and Rasbash hara written aa artlele "The produeta of Combustion la Burning Buildings" publlahed la JOURNAL OP APPLIED CHEMISTRY (British), page *63, October, 1993, fron which we quota 1 "It would appear that the danger point in all aasaa (of a burning building) was reached whan tha oxygen content had fallen to such a low ralus that tha occupants would hara bean asphyxiated. Before this stage was reached tha carbon nonoxIda content, though sufficiently high to hare unpleasant Nr. org* Luff * June If, 195* offsets, Aid not NUh the lethal Halt of upoawt (1500 at, where little z, the concentration, la Mumd la part* par allllM, and tha tlaa of exposure, llttla t, la hours).'* Xt la probable that tha earn aoaaldaratloa mid apply to a flra la a room containing vinyl wall coverings and that laek of oxygon and tho toxlo prodoeto of sonbustlon froa fiaamabl noterials, ahloh by aoooaolty mat ha burning la ardor to daoaaposo tha vail eoverlag, would oeaatltuta by far tho groatoat hasard. Za areas adjoining a flra, vharo all ooabvatloa prodoota would bo diluted still farther with additional air, tha hasard froa tho decomposition of vinyl rosin in vail coverings would ba substantially nonexistent. Nany hundreds of alllions of powda of vinyl chloride resin have been produced and used over the past fifteen years for applications including floor and wall coverings, drapes, window shades, etc., and as far as we know, no unusual haxards have bean associated with their use. ary truly yours. MEDICAL DIRECTOR INDUSTRIAL MEDICAL AND TOXICOLOtT DEPARTMENT Thos. V. Halo, N. D. at Blind ooplos to Mr. A. f. Sward Mr. H. ?. Robertson (Letter sent Special Delivery) BAKELITE a //W- on 7 BAKELITE COMPANY A DIVISION OF UNION CARBIDE AND CARBON CORPORATION GH3 30 EAST 42"? STREET N EW YORK 17 June 15, 195U VINYLITE Mr. George Laaff Hie Bolta Company Lawrence, Mass. Dear Mr. Laaff: This letter has reference to the behavior of wall coverings made from vinyl chloride resins in case of a fire in roams In which they have been used. As you know, polyvinyl chloride resins are stable and inert at room temperature and no gases or vapors of any kind are given Oa.off by these materials until they are heated to temperatures well over those that could be tolerated by man. subjecting these materials to flame or other sources of high temperature, like other organic materials, they decompose and yield many of the products of combustion found when common organic materials are ignited. In addition to these usual products of combustion, vinyl chloride resins will liberate some hydrochloric acid gas when subjected to sufficiently high temperatures. Vinyl chloride resins do not in themselves support combustion and are self-extinguishing when the source of ignition is removed* For this reason, a fire in a room having a vinyl wall covering must depend on the combustion of other materials of a flammable nature that are present for propagation. The hazard involved from the products of combustion of the flammable materials present would be so much greater than that from the relatively small amount of vinyl resin that the latter would be negligible. Kingman, Coleman and Rasbash have written an article "The products of Combustion in Burning Buildings" published in JOURNAL OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY (British), page 1+63, October 1953 from which we quote: "It would appear that the danger point in all cases (of a burning building) was reached when the oxygen content had fallen to such a low value that the occupants would have been asphyxiated. Before this stage was reached the carbon monoxide content, though sufficiently high to have unpleasant effects, did not reach the lethal limit of exposure (1500 xt, where little x, the concentration, is measured in parts per million, and the time of exposure, little t, in hours)," * It is probable that the same consideration would apply to a fire in a room containing vinyl wall coverings and that lack of oxygen and the toxic products of combustion from flammable materials, which by necessity must be burning in order to decompose the wall covering, would constitute by far the greatest hazard. In areas adjoining a fire, where all combustion products Ur. George Laaff -2- June 15, 1951; would be diluted still further frith additional air, the hazard from the decomposition of vinyl resin in wall coverings would be substantially non-existent. Many hundreds of millions of pounds of vinyl chloride resin have been produced and used over the past fifteen years and, as Jai as we KilUH, no' unuettadrKazariJB Have base aBBoc1,atad.with thee* ua>. h-. >r 0L { ' lours very truly, H. F. Robertson - Manager New Product Engineering Department HFliiraam Co r &(. (1 ! / .' / c *, /x cc / ity i A *Vv*,.v O ~c K ^ C. y-. ,y / y , 's ._/S 5 . , .1? ' <*:/ ,v " J/Vh; "V , fV\ii $& Si