Toxicity

Toxicity Comparison Between ATS, Coated Metal and PPs (Polypropylene Schwerentflammbar)

Toxic Products of Combustion Study

Anderson Labs performed several tests on ATS FXP™ ducts over the years to evaluate the toxicity of products of thermal decomposition. Under the University of Pittsburgh protocol, mice are exposed to the products of combustion from a test sample; the sample weight at which 50% of the mice die determines the Lethal Concentration Number (LC₅₀). In other words, the more material required, the less the toxicity – the higher the LC₅₀ value, the lower the toxicity. As a benchmark, Douglas Fir has an LC₅₀ value of 63.8 grams. ATS’ results:

ATS Intermediate Layer > 283.8 grams
ATS Exterior = 244.2 grams
ATS Composite = 40.9 grams

By comparison, other materials which are used in the fire-resistant, corrosion-resistant fume exhaust duct industry include:

Coated metal’s ETFE liner (Tefzel film)* = 7.3 grams
Polypropylene schwerentflammbar (PPs) (“Fire Retardant” Version) = 8.0 grams

The chart on this page shows the relative toxicity of the mentioned products in comparison to the ATS™ Duct Composite (ATS™ Duct = 1.0). As, you can see, PPs and ETFE are over 5 times more toxic than ATS™ Duct.