ABSTRACT
In today's world of plastics and advanced technology, assessing building material emissions and combustion products is like attempting to control a menagerie of monkeys. While technology and plastics have improved our lot in life, thermal decomposition and combustion products of polymer-containing building materials are becoming increasingly hazardous. The combustion of many building materials is likely to result in the creation of several carcinogens. Carbon monoxide is a product of the complete combustion of organic materials such as plastics and volatile organic compounds. Thermal decomposition is the chemical decomposition of a material as it heats up either by an increase in ambient temperatures. Thermal decomposition products that cause respiratory tract irritation are grouped by location in the respiratory system. Upper respiratory tract (URT) irritants are extremely irritating to moist surfaces such as in the nose, mouth, sinuses, and throat. Lower respiratory tract (LRT) irritants pass the URT with little or no irritation.
