News & insights
Regulatory updates, notable publications and insights on flame-retardant materials and fire safety.
- Low-melting glasses: turning the fire residue into a shieldInorganic glasses that soften between about 100 and 500 °C can bind mineral fillers and the char, and seal the residue of a burning polymer. An overview of how they work, how to design them and where they are heading, from 1980s PVC additives to today’s halogen-free cables and ceramifiable compounds.
- Fire-safe hemp insulation that still absorbs soundTwo open-access papers show that a bio-based phytic acid and urea treatment makes bulk hemp fibres far less flammable, and that spraying it works better than immersion with ten times less solution. A follow-up study shows that the treated fibres remain excellent sound absorbers.
- Three EU deadlines for flame retardants by the end of 2026By December 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is expected to deliver three outputs that will shape flame-retardant formulation in Europe: on brominated flame retardants, on organophosphorus flame retardants and on PFAS.
- Melamine heads towards REACH authorisationMelamine, the building block of widely used nitrogen-based flame retardants, has been recommended by ECHA for the REACH Authorisation List. What does it mean for formulators?