What is Pink Fire Retardant?

About Pink Fire Retardant:

• Fire retardant is a mix of chemicals used to extinguish or slow down the spread of fires.
• There are different types of fire retardant but to tackle wildfires in the US, authorities most commonly use Phos-Chek — a brand of fire retardant — which mostly contains an ammonium phosphate-based slurry.
• Typically, it is made of salts such as ammonium polyphosphate, which does not evaporate easily like water and stays for longer.
• Colour is usually added to the fire retardant to ensure that firefighters can see it against the landscape.
• This helps them create fire lines around the fire retardant, potentially saving lives and property.
• What are the concerns?
  • Environmental experts have said that spraying fire retardant using planes is ineffective, expensive and a growing source of pollution for rivers and streams.
  • Phos-Chek “is laden with toxic metals, and estimated retardant use has released 850,000 pounds of these chemicals into the environment since 2009.
  • These toxic metals include chromium and cadmium which can cause cancer, and kidney and liver diseases in humans and these toxic metals can kill aquatic life.

Q1: What is Fire Retardant gel?

It protects a person’s hand from burning fuel. Fire-retardant gels are short-term fire suppressants typically applied with ground equipment. They are also used in the movie industry to protect stunt persons from flames when filming action movie scenes.

Source: IE

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