Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The production of phosgene during the thermal decomposition of both a commercial PVC and a relatively pure PVC polymer at temperatures between 250 and 500C in air has been studied by gas chromatography. Difficulties encountered with the general handling and analysis of phosgene are recorded. Phosgene has not been detected in any experiment and minimum detection limits have been determined by adding known amounts of phosgene to the system during the decompositions. By comparing the detection levels of phosgene with the yields of hydrogen chloride, phosgene is shown to make little contribution to the toxicity of the decomposition products. Some general recommendations are given for sampling fire gases for phosgene studies during large scale tests.