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Is PVC in House Fires the Great Unknown Source of Dioxin?
Author(s) -
Carroll William F.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1018(199607)20:4<161::aid-fam563>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - soot , environmental science , waste management , biomass burning , environmental engineering , combustion , meteorology , engineering , chemistry , geography , aerosol , organic chemistry
An estimate of the annual generation of polychlorodibenzodioxins and furans (PCDD/F) in the United States as a result of PVC burning in house fires is made using building data and fire loss statistics and soot and ash samples obtained from laboratory experiments and building fires involving PVC. Using conservative estimates for construction, fire involvement and formation, dioxin generation from PVC in house fires is estimated to be in the range of 0.074 to 8.6g TEQ yr −1 as soot, 0.4 to 14g TEQ yr −1 as ash, and thus 0.47 to 23g TEQ yr −1 total. The maximum likelihood estimate is approximately 0.3g TEQ yr −1 as soot and 1g TEQyr −1 as ash. Any of these estimates constitutes a minuscule fraction of the 9300g annual air emissions or the 20000–50000g (TEQ) annual deposition from the air estimated by EPA.