What is the importance of using halogen free cables ?

What is the halogen

The halogens are five non-metallic elements found in Group 7 of the periodic table. The term "halogen" means "salt-former" and compounds containing halogens are
called "salts".

The Halogens are:

Fluorine
Chlorine
Bromine
Iodine
Astatine

In general as the term implies "halogen-free" means the product material does not contain any compounds derived from these elements. Many persons in the
electrical and electronic industry would give a definition of"halogen-free" similar to what the IPC organization(known as the Association Connecting Electronics
Industries) provided in a recent paper, "Electrical and electronic products may be considered 'halogen-free' if they are assembled without the intentional use of t
hese elements in the raw materials and these elements are not intentionally present in the end product.

Common "Halogen-Free" Terminology:

Halogen Free
Zero Halogen
No Halogen
0H
ZH


Why are Halogens used in plastic materials?

Halogenated compounds are used to produce properties in plastic products that can be hard to duplicate, at the same performance and cost, in non-halogenated co
mpounds. As an example, Fluorine derived FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) or Teflon® provides extremely high heat resistance when used in the insulation of plenum rated communications cabling, which limits its combustion in a fire and provides excellent fire safety performance. Teflon® in other forms is also used in many other consumer and industrial products. Take as a second example Chlorine, which is a component of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride). According to the Vinyl Institute, "Vinyl is the second largest selling plastic and the most versatile one. Vinyl's low cost, versatility and performance make it the material of choice for dozens of industries such as health care, communications, aerospace, automotive, retailing, textiles and construction." The chlorine in vinyl is derived from common salt and water, a readily  vailable, inexpensive commodity allowing PVC to be produced at a lower cost compared to alternative materials. The abundance of raw material components, relatively low
material cost and desirable product properties are the key reasons many halogenated compounds are the mate rials of choice today. In many applications a halogenated material can provide the required product performance at a lower overall cost than halogen-free  materials. In the longer term to meet more application requirements, the challenge to halogen-free product developers will be to provide comparable or superior material pro perties to halogenated produc ts at a  comparable cost.



references;

1.wikipedia
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