Fire hazards from aerosol cans

Aerosol dispensers include all products packaged in cans which enable their contents to be sprayed in the form of fine droplets. Shaving foams and gels packaged in cans are also included in this family, as they too contain a propellant gas.

The use of aerosol dispensers has increased sharply in recent years, both in the industrial and domestic sectors, and in the latter case for a wide variety of applications such as cosmetics (hair spray, deodorant, etc.) and household products (insecticide, wax, paint, etc.).

Before reaching their place of use, these generators are stored and transported, first by the manufacturer, then by the wholesaler and finally by the retailer, in packaging shapes and sizes that can vary during the distribution process, but which generally correspond to around fifteen cardboard boxes, each containing one to two dozen generators, stacked on a pallet.

A product packaged in aerosol form consists of :

• a liquid base containing the active ingredients in solution in a solvent (ethyl alcohol, aromatic solvent or other);

• a gas to propel the product (LPGs, which include butane and propane, and dimethyl ether (DME), which has replaced non-flammable CFCs).

The solvent is usually a flammable liquid, and the propellant is also a flammable gas.

It is therefore necessary to consider the occurrence of a fire when a storage warehouse is likely to receive aerosol dispensers in particular.

A number of fires have indeed occurred in aerosol dispenser warehouses, both in France and abroad. These fires have been found to be characterized by extremely rapid fire propagation and intense radiation.

Extinguishing such a fire is therefore particularly difficult.

The aim of this article is to provide some food for thought on the phenomenon of fire in an aerosol dispenser storage facility, and the safety measures that can be taken to deal with it. These elements will be organized around the following themes:

• a general presentation of the products;

• a description of the hazards presented by the products;

• an analysis of accidents involving aerosol cans;

• a description of fire tests on aerosol dispensers;

• a definition of accident scenarios and guidelines for estimating their consequences;

• a summary of prevention and protection measures.