EVALUATION OF SHIPBOARD FORMATION OF A NEUROTOXICANT (TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE PHOSPHATE) FROM THERMAL-DECOMPOSITION OF SYNTHETIC AIRCRAFT ENGINELUBRICANT

MIL-L-23699 lubricants that are composed principally of trimethylolpro pane triheptanoate (TMP) and tricresyl phosphate (TCP) have been shown to form a neurotoxicant, trimethylolpropane phosphate (TMPP), during pyrolysis and/or combustion. Mechanistically, TMPP is thought to irrev ersibly inhibit the GABA-mediated inhibitory response and thereby prod uce epileptiform clonic/tonic seizures with convulsions followed by de ath. Thermal decomposition of MIL-L-23699 lubricant produces TMPP unde r laboratory conditions, but this product has not been detected in the workplace following actual fires. This study has examined whether TMP P is produced during an actual shipboard fire by placing the synthetic lubricant in a fire environment aboard the ex-U.S.S. Shadwell, Mobile , Alabama. Both biological and chemical analyses were performed on the thermally decomposed lubricant to ensure detection of the neurotoxic material. Under the conditions of this study, the formation of TMPP du ring a shipboard fire was confirmed. The implications of this finding for safe management of post-fire cleanup are discussed.