StemProjectICS17MaroM

//**Question:**//
 * **Does fabric softener affect the flammability of certain materials?**


 * INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: CONTROLLED (CHOOSE)**
 * DEPENDENT VARIABLE: WHAT IS BEING MEASURED**

//**Paragraph:**// Article: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.61.10.2057 "Over 80 per cent of the deaths occur in the home with over half occurring during the winter months, November through March. The rate is higher in nonmetropolitan than in metropolitan counties. The highest rates occur in the South and Southwest.' About 3,000 of these deaths each year involve the ignition of clothing."

This information shows that many deaths occur in homes and many of them take place during the colder months of the year. Many of these deaths have occurred because of the flammability of clothing and the fabric that it is made out of.

//**Interchangeable variables:**//
 * **Fabric softeners**
 * **Heat Source**: Lighter
 * **Materials**: cotton, microfiber, polyester

ONLY VARIABLE THAT CAN BE CHANGED SHOULD BE THE FABRIC SOFTENER.
 * Cotton: LOW FLAME VELOCITY
 * Polyester: Unlike many natural, untreated fabrics, polyester is not flammable and does not ignite easily, according to Fabric Finishing Partners. Once ignited, however, the synthetic fabric melts and is capable of severely burning skin.

//**Individual Questions:**//
 * 1) How long does it take each material to burn completely?
 * 2) Does the material burn at all?
 * 3) Do any of these variables make a difference in the outcomes?
 * 4) Does the question of air-drying or drying in a machine make a difference in the outcome?
 * 5) What chemicals or ingredients are in the fabric softeners that could affect the outcome?
 * 6) How long does it take for each material to catch on fire?

//**Real-World Application:**// Research baby clothes. *Hazardous* What fabric softeners should have labels?

//**Procedure:**//
 * 1) //Gather materials. (fabrics, FS, heat source, etc.)//
 * 2) //Burn all materials and record data. (how long does it take for each to burn, do they burn at all, etc.)//
 * 3) //Get more of the same fabric and wash all with FS (different brands, wash them separately?)//
 * 4) //Burn all materials and record data.//
 * 5) //RECORD ALL DATA/RESULTS.//

//**Research:**//

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission defines children's sleepwear as any clothing item, including pajamas, robes, loungewear and nightgowns, sized for children 10 months of age to size 14 and intended for sleeping or sleep-related activities. Tests are conducted on fabric using a gas flame. Clothing items are accepted, rejected or retested depending on the length of the char left on each fabric sample. A char length of 7 inches or greater indicates that a particular fabric is not suitable for production based on its flammability and will be discarded. The CPSC requires child clothing manufacturers to comply with their standards for flammability testing before they can release their products to the public as flame-resistant sleepwear. To avoid injury, clothing that has not been chemically treated with flame retardants must fit a child snugly and carry a label that indicates a lack of fire-retardant chemicals.

According to the CPSC, loose-fitting sleepwear made of cotton or cotton blends is associated with 200 burn injuries every year. Studies performed upon clothed mannequins showed that existing airspace between the untreated fabric and the subject's skin increased the flammability of the clothing. The American Burn Association states that, in 1996, the CPSC voted to allow the use of cotton in children's sleepwear with the stipulation that the garments fit snugly. The decision overturned a 1972 requirement that all children's pajamas, nightgowns and other sleepwear be made of flame-resistant materials. Since 1996, however, Shriners Hospital for Children has reported a significant increase in sleepwear-related burns.

Parents opting for fire-resistant fabrics can choose flame-resistant polyester sleepwear with flame retardants bonded to its polymers.

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/257714-is-flame-resistant-clothing-safe-for-children/

MANUFACTURERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO LABEL CHEMICALS THEY USE. ABOVE SOURCE.

http://www.pediatricsafety.net/2009/10/childrens-pajamas-and-flame-retardants/ BELOW Author info: Jennifer is a mom, consumer product attorney and author of Smart Mama's Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child's Toxic Chemical Exposure. She is passionate about keeping our kids safe, particularly from unnecessary exposures to toxic chemicals.

The risk is a loose sleeve or pant cuff catching an open flame. (Fire)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) considers flame retardant chemicals used in baby pajamas to be safe. Chemicals used are generally chlorinated or brominated.

To meet the regulatory flammability requirements, children’s sleepwear must either pass certain flammability tests, or be tight fitting and meet certain specifications as to dimensions. If the item has synthetic fibers in it, it has flame retardants.

Information (FS)
 * http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Fabric-Softener.html
 * According to the health and wellness website Sixwise.com, some of the most harmful ingredients in dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener alike include benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), ethanol (linked to central nervous system disorders), limonene (a known carcinogen) and chloroform (a neurotoxin and carcinogen), among others.
 * ABOVE INFO: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/greener-laundry/
 * Fabric softeners coat the surface of a fabric with chemical compounds that are electrically charged, causing threads to "stand up" from the surface so the fabric feels softer and makes it fluffier.
 * Fabric softener overuse may make clothes more [|flammable], due to the fat-based nature of most softeners. Several deaths have been attributed to this phenomenon, [|[5]] and fabric softener makers recommend not using them on clothes labeled as flame-resistant

Blanger says fleece and terrycloth may be more susceptible than other materials. Last September, Janine Humbelt burned to death after she dropped a cigarette on her dressing gown. The robe caught fire. Blanger says the garment burned very quickly because Humbelt had washed it in fabric softener. He says he got a tipped off by a study published in //Consumer Reports//magazine. "Fabric tends to burn much more severely with fabric softener on there. Now this is with liquid fabric softener, the dryer sheets do not have an effect," says Blanger. The magazine study showed fleece and terrycloth fabrics treated with liquid softener can burn up to six or seven times faster than untreated material. Blanger says he has ordered a forensic study of the woman's robe. He will wait for the results before releasing his recommendations. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">He points out that regulations are already in place but don't go far enough. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"It's for that reason that those kind of tissues, terrycloth and fleece, are not accepted for a baby's garment." <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Huntingdon Mills, a company that distributes much of Canada's fleece, says it is important to make a distinction between cotton and polyester fleece. The company says cotton is more likely to catch fire.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">ABOVE INFO: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liquid-fabric-softener-may-make-clothes-more-flammable-quebec-coroner-1.340282

. NEISS estimated that nationwide 196,233 injuries (including 11,115 deaths) were associated with clothing in 2001, with 69.7 the rate per 100,000 population (1). However, not all of these are from clothing fires because cases of entanglement, suffocation, strangling, etc. are counted in these totals. Above info: http://comfycozy.com/fed_flammability.pdf LOTS OF INFO!