How long have fire retardant paints been around?
In the early 1950’s, flame retardants first appeared offering a new level of protection from fires. While they were not able to arrest fires, they were effective in slowing the development giving additional time to evacuate and more time to react to a fire. These first generation coatings were expensive, difficult to apply and foul-smelling. Virtually all early flame retardants were formaldehyde- based, extremely toxic and carcinogenic.
