ABSTRACT
Toxicology of fi re and smoke is the study of the adverse health effects caused by exposure to combustion atmospheres. In this chapter, a combustion atmosphere is defi ned as all of the effl uents generated by the thermal decomposition of materials or products regardless of whether that effl uent is produced under smoldering, nonfl aming, or fl aming conditions. The objectives of combustion toxicity research are to identify potentially harmful products from the thermal degradation of materials, to distinguish those materials that produce unusual or more toxic quantities of toxic combustion products, to determine the best measurement methods for the identifi cation of the toxic products and the degree of toxicity, to determine the effect of different fi re exposures on the composition of the toxic combustion products, and to establish the physiological effects of such products on living organisms. The ultimate goals of this fi eld of research are to reduce human fi re fatalities due to smoke inhalation, to determine effective treatments for survivors, and to prevent unnecessary suffering of fi re casualties who have inhaled toxic combustion products.
