Reducing the toxicity level of wood burning products during evacuation of people

Authors

  • Yuriy Tsapko Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Department of Environmental Protection Technologies and Labour Safety, Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0625-0783
  • Aleksii Tsapko PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Building Materials, Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2298-068X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32347/2411-4049.2025.3.123-138

Keywords:

smoke formation, toxicity, fire protection of wood, intumescent coatings, flammability group

Abstract

The problem of using wood for interior decoration is to ensure resistance to high-temperature flames, so the purpose of the research was to establish the effect of fire protection of wood on reducing flammability, smoke generation and toxicity of combustion products. The establishment of fire hazard factors of wood combustion was carried out by establishing its interaction with high-temperature flames. Based on the results of field tests to determine the process of wood flammability, it was established that wood is a combustible material, impregnated wood withstood the temperature effect and is a difficult-to-burn material. The average value of the smoke generation coefficient for wood in the smoldering mode is 756.11 m2/kg and refers such wood to materials with high smoke generation capacity. Fire-retardant treatment reduces the smoke generation of wood by almost three times. As a result of tests of toxicity of combustion products, the following was established: the level of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood of laboratory animals indicates that the lethal effect is mainly due to the action of carbon monoxide. The minimum value of the HCL50 indicator, determined at a temperature of 400 °C, is for wood treated with "FIREWALL-ATTIC" – 62.5 g/m3 and for "FIREWALL-WOOD" – 73.3 g/m3, respectively, used to establish the value of the toxicity indicator of combustion products and it was established that the studied materials belong to moderately hazardous materials. This material is classified as a material with moderate smoke-forming ability, and in terms of toxicity of combustion products it is moderately hazardous. The practical significance is that the results obtained were taken into account when developing measures for evacuating people. Thus, there are grounds to assert the value of the above study, which is aimed at regulating the combustion processes of wood products. Prospects for further research will be aimed at identifying the point in time at which the fire-retardant properties of wood begin to decline under the influence of high temperature, which will allow us to investigate structural transformations in the material that lead to an increase in the toxicity of combustion products.

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Published

2025-09-30

How to Cite

Tsapko, Y., & Tsapko, A. (2025). Reducing the toxicity level of wood burning products during evacuation of people. Environmental Safety and Natural Resources, 55(3), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.32347/2411-4049.2025.3.123-138

Issue

Section

Environmental safety and natural resources