What is fire retardant made of?

Are you trying to make your products safer but feel lost in a sea of chemical names? Using the wrong additive could introduce risks you didn’t even consider, undermining your goal.

A fire retardant is made from one of several chemical families. The main types include mineral compounds like aluminum hydroxide, halogenated chemicals, phosphorus-based compounds, and nitrogen-based compounds, each with a unique way of stopping fire.

When I first started in this industry, I was amazed by the science. We produce a simple white powder, but the way it performs inside a customer’s product is incredibly complex. The basic idea of a flame retardant is to disrupt the fire triangle¹ of heat, fuel, and oxygen. The choice of material determines how it breaks that triangle. Understanding what these materials are made of is the first and most critical step in choosing a solution that is both effective and safe for your final application.

Is fire retardant toxic to humans?

You hear media reports about toxic chemicals in consumer goods. It’s natural to worry that adding a flame retardant might make a product unsafe for human contact.

This depends entirely on the type of chemical used. Some older, halogenated flame retardants have toxicity concerns. However, modern mineral-based flame retardants like aluminum hydroxide are considered non-toxic and exceptionally safe.

The industry has changed a lot over the last two decades because of this very question. The biggest concerns have been around a class of chemicals called brominated flame retardants², or BFRs. Some of these were found to be "persistent," meaning they don’t break down easily and can build up in the body and the environment. This led to strict regulations and a search for safer alternatives. This is where my product, aluminum hydroxide (ATH), comes in. It is one of the safest materials you can choose. As someone with a background in pharmaceuticals, you will appreciate this: high-purity ATH is the same active ingredient used in common antacid medicines. Its safety profile is so well-established that it’s approved for human consumption. We provide an industrial grade³, but the core material is just as benign.

What is the red stuff in fire retardant?

You see footage of airplanes dropping massive clouds of red liquid on wildfires. You wonder if this same aggressive chemical is being put into plastics and electronics.

The red substance dropped from planes is a wildfire retardant, usually a slurry of ammonium phosphate mixed with water. The red color comes from an iron oxide dye added for visibility, so pilots can see where they have already sprayed.

This red slurry is a completely different product from what’s used inside materials. Think of it as a temporary, external coating. Its job is to coat trees, brush, and grass to prevent them from catching fire as the main blaze approaches. Once the fire is out or it rains, its job is done. The flame retardants we manufacture, like aluminum hydroxide, are internal additives. They are fine white powders that are mixed into a material, like plastic or rubber, during its creation. It becomes a permanent part of the product. It must remain dormant and stable for years, only activating if a fire starts. The performance requirements, chemical composition⁴, and safety standards for an internal additive are completely different from a short-term, external spray used in firefighting.

What material is fire retardant?

You may hear that a certain plastic is "fire retardant." This can be confusing because it sounds like an inherent property, but it’s almost always an added benefit.

A material isn’t inherently fire retardant; it is made fire retardant by adding a specific substance. These additives, like aluminum hydroxide, are mixed into base materials such as plastics, rubber, or textiles to give them fire-resistant properties.

Most of the materials we use every day, especially plastics, are made of hydrocarbons. That means they are excellent fuel for a fire. Left on their own, they would burn very quickly. Our job is to give these materials a self-defense mechanism. My customers take our aluminum hydroxide powder and blend it into their raw plastic pellets before melting them down and molding them into a final shape. The ATH particles are spread evenly throughout the plastic. The amount they add, called the "loading level⁵," can be very high, sometimes up to 60% of the final product’s weight. The ATH doesn’t change the plastic’s chemical structure; it just sits there as a filler. But when a fire breaks out, that filler becomes an active fire extinguisher, releasing water vapor and cooling the material from the inside out. This turns a flammable plastic into a safe, self-extinguishing material⁶.

What are the forever chemicals in fire retardant?

The term "forever chemicals" is in the news constantly. You naturally worry that these dangerous, persistent substances could be hiding in all industrial chemical additives, including flame retardants.

"Forever chemicals" typically refers to PFAS. Some older flame retardants, especially certain brominated types, share the characteristic of being very persistent in the environment. However, mineral-based flame retardants like aluminum hydroxide are not forever chemicals; they are stable minerals that break down into harmless earth-like substances.

The fear of forever chemicals is completely understandable. These are man-made chemicals that are very stable and don’t break down, so they can accumulate in our bodies and our water. The flame retardant industry has had to deal with this issue directly. The most persistent offenders, like PBDEs, have been largely phased out due to regulations. The modern trend is to move towards chemicals that are known to be safe and non-persistent. This is a huge advantage of mineral-based flame retardants like ours. Aluminum hydroxide is the opposite of a forever chemical. Its entire fire-fighting power comes from its ability to break down when heated. It decomposes into aluminum oxide and water. Aluminum oxide is essentially alumina, a stable, harmless, ceramic material found in the earth’s crust. It does not accumulate in living organisms and does not persist in a harmful state. Choosing ATH is a direct way to avoid the problem of forever chemicals.

Conclusion

Flame retardants are made from diverse chemical families. Choosing a safe, modern, mineral-based retardant like aluminum hydroxide ensures you achieve critical fire safety without introducing persistent or toxic chemicals.