Use of experimental materials to assess toxicological tests for rating polymeric materials under thermal stress

In order to evaluate the performance of the indices of toxicity which have been developed, thermal decomposition products of three polymers, polyvinylchloride, polychloroprene, and polycarbonate were tested for sensory irritation, physiological stress induction, and acute lethality. Each polymer has been contrasted with the same polymer containing 5% zinc ferrocyanide. The most irritating and the most stressful pyrolysis products were those from polyvinylchloride. The least irritation and stress were associated with polycarbonate decomposition products. The acute lethality for polychloroprene was higher than that of the other two polymers by a factor of 4. The addition of zinc ferrocyanide had a variable effect, depending on the polymer and the index of toxicity being evaluated. Sensory irritation was lessened by the presence of zinc ferrocyanide in polycarbonate. The sample weight required to cause death of 50% of the animals was reduced for the two hydrogen chloride‐generating polymers, polyvinylchloride and polychloroprene. However, the acute lethality of polycarbonate did not change with addition of zinc ferrocyanide. By itself, zinc ferrocyanide decomposed very slowly during heating, caused almost no irritation or stress, and no deaths.