Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The production of formaldehyde has been studied by gas chromatography during the thermal and thermal-oxidative decomposition of two commercial phenol-formaldehyde laminates between 200 and 500C. Formaldehyde has only been detected between 400 and 500C. In nitrogen, the maximum formaldehyde yield is 0.85 mg/g which increases to 1.63 mg/g in air. The release of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from one laminate only has been monitored between 250 and 550C. In nitrogen, the maximum recorded yield of carbon monoxide is 76.0 mg/g at 550C which increases to 240 mg/g at 450C in air. A toxic evaluation of the products is given to show that the toxic hazard of formaldehyde in the decomposition gases is small in comparison with carbon monoxide and phenolic products. The phenols, monitored in Part (1) of this report, appear to be the main toxic hazard of the thermal and thermal oxidative decomposition products.