Flame retardant chemicals should not be considered as a fit-for-purpose solution in furniture | 5th stakeholders meeting

The Alliance for the Case for Flame Retardant Free Furniture is glad to report stakeholders and policy makers about the "Fifth Stakeholder Meeting" with Prof. T. Richard Hull.

The initiative took place on 29th January in Brussels gathering different stakeholders, researchers, practitioners and EU institutions’ officials.

At this fifth meeting, Prof. T. Richard Hull presented the finding of his newly published study: “Flame retardants in UK furniture increase smoke toxicity more than they reduce fire growth rate”.

Professor Hull confirmed that fire toxicity is the main cause of deaths and injuries in fires, and he stated that, “once the ignition occurs, the presence of flame retardants has little effect on the fire growth rate, but does have an adverse effect on the smoke toxicity”. In fact, thanks to the tests that his team has performed, he discovered that furniture products treated with flame retardant chemicals to comply with the UK and Irish regulations release higher rates of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), which is the chemical compound causing sudden loss of consciousness, and therefore deaths, during fires. 

Continue reading on the Press Release