Non flammable

Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a synthetic polymer that doesn’t burn, making it an attractive alternative to traditional plastics, many of which are so flammable they are sometimes referred to as “solid gasoline.”

The new polymer wouldn’t need the flame-retardant chemicals that are added to many plastics before they can be used in bus seats, airplanes, textiles and countless household items. Some of these additives have been showing up in dust in homes and offices, fish, fat cells and breast milk, raising concern that they pose a risk to human health and the environment. (The state of Washington recently banned a class of flame-retardants from use in household items from mattresses to computers - the first state in the US to do so.)

According to the FAA, 40 percent of passengers who survive the impact of an airplane accident die in the fire that follows. The agency requires that aircraft use the most flame-resistant plastics that are available, but ‘we’re shooting for a fire-proof cabin,’ said Richard Lyon, manager of the FAA’s fire research program. ‘To get there we have to invent plastics that don’t yet exist - plastics that don’t burn, or burn so slowly that there is ample time for passengers to escape from an aircraft fire,’ he said.