Evaluación del riesgo tóxico en los incendios : Ensayos de toxicidad de los productos volátiles de la combustión

La preocupación por la toxicidad de los productos volátiles de la combustión (Pvc) ha movido a ISO a publicar dos documentos -ISO 9122 e ISO 13344- El primero comprende una serie de trabajos técnicos detallados, mientras que el segundo es más normativo, siendo más fácil de adaptar a las exigencias legales o reglamentarias al utilizar el soporte técnico del anterior. Ambos documentos ISO tratan sobre la toxicidad de la combustion, principalmente desde un punto de vista de ensayos de laboratorio (AU)

The 1987= mil novecientos ochenta y siete forest fire disaster in California : Assessment of emergency room visits

During a 5-d period that commenced on August 30, 1987, dry lightning strikes ignited more than 1500 fires that destroyed in excess of 600000 acres of California forests. To evaluate the public health impact of the smoke on the general population, all hospital emergency rooms located in the six counties most sevely sffected by smoke or fire were surveyed. Selected hospital information was abstracted for a 2 1/2-wk period during the fires and during two reference periodds. During the period of major forest fire activity, visits of persons with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increased in number (observed/expected ratios of 1.4 and 1.3, respectively), as did visits of persons with sinusitis, upper respiratoey infections, and laryngitis. A few patients with acute respiratory or eye irritation also visited the emergency rooms. Even recognizing the limited sensitivity of emergency room surveys, the overall public health impact was relatively modest. The increased respiratory moribidity detected in this survey, however, supports the notion that persons with pre-existing respiratory disease represent a sensitive subpopulation, who should be targeted for purposes of public health intervention when exposure to forest fire smoke is likely.(AU)

Fire risk assessment and management

Approximately 18 test methods have been developed to examine the acute toxicity of thermal decomposition products produced in fires. However, the information obtained from these tests has not be integrated into a fire risk assessment. This paper presents a fire risk assessment methodology with the goal of enhancing risk management. A concentration-time product for estimating exposure was found most appropriate for comparing the toxicity of decomposition products with each other and to pure gases.(AU)