Ecological aspects of polymer flame retardation

The practical application of commercial polymer flame retardants can no lon ger meet present requirements in terms of effectiveness or hazard. The most effective flame retardants used thus far have been halogen-, phosphorus-, antimony-, and heavy-metal-based compounds, which, however, have the most e nvironmental impact, either when they perform their action or when they are burned in the incineration of waste containing fire-retardant polymeric ma terials. The practical search for new ecologically friendly name retardants requires cooperation between industry and academia. This paper is devoted to only a few of:the new approaches to this very important task: polymer ch ar formers, low-melting-glass systems, and morphological modifications.