[pinto]

Hi

I bought an item described as a "Celluloid headband". I read on the internet that many years ago celluloid was a popular material for ladies accessories but also that it was highly combustible effectively being a hazard. Not sure of those items were celluloid acetate or celluloid nitrate, nitrate being much more flammable but I'm not sure if celluloid acetate is also flammable enough to be hazardous.
Would items sold nowadays labeled as Celluloid have the same issues & if so is it conceivable that they are legal to sell? Are there other health issues related to this material?

Item description on sellers webpage:
Non Brittle Celluloid Soft Material.
Everlasting with Cellulose Acetate Finish.
Light Weight; Very Flexible;

[Arkcon]

Hi

I bought an item described as a "Celluloid headband". I read on the internet that many years ago celluloid was a popular material for ladies accessories but also that it was highly combustible effectively being a hazard. Not sure of those items were celluloid acetate or celluloid nitrate, nitrate being much more flammable but I'm not sure if celluloid acetate is also flammable enough to be hazardous.

Yup.  Hard to know exactly what it is, except by asking the seller.

Would items sold nowadays labeled as Celluloid have the same issues

If it is the material celluloid than yes, still highly flammable and prone to deterioration over time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celluloid#Deterioration

& if so is it conceivable that they are legal to sell?

Yes.  Things that burn easily are still legal to sell.

Are there other health issues related to this material?

Haven't heard of any.

Item description on sellers webpage:
Non Brittle Celluloid Soft Material.
Everlasting with Cellulose Acetate Finish.
Light Weight; Very Flexible;

It may just be a coating, or maybe even just the name.

[pinto]

So, is celluloid acetate also highly flammable?

[Borek]

So, is celluloid acetate also highly flammable?

First of all - no such thing as celluloid acetate. Celluloid was a commercial name of a material made (mainly) of cellulose nitrate, the other thing you think about is cellulose acetate.

Acetate is definitely flammable, but also definitely much safer than nitrate, which can burn on its own, almost without air.

[billnotgatez]

From WIKI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate

Cellulose acetate is the acetate ester of cellulose. It was first prepared in 1865. Cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and as a frame material for eyeglasses;[1] it is also used as a synthetic fiber in the manufacture of cigarette filters and playing cards. In photographic film, cellulose acetate replaced nitrate film in the 1950s, being far less flammable and cheaper to produce.

and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate_film

Cellulose acetate film, or safety film, is used in photography as a base material for photographic emulsions. It was introduced in the early 20th century by film manufacturers as a safe film base replacement for unstable and highly flammable nitrate film.

You can also search GOOGLE on
History of Plastic

[pinto]

Thanks all for the input.
Basically the question here if it is inadvisable to use cellulose acetate as an accessory: Of course it is flammable but so are most of the clothes we wear. The question is raised because it is known that cellulose nitrate (granted, a different material) can self ignite just from being exposed to heat & can explode. It is understood that cellulose acetate is less flammable (therefore the term 'safe film') but the question is is it much more flammable than other wearable material?

[billnotgatez]

You might find these links to be helpful
Cellulose nitrate
http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Cellulose_nitrate
Cellulose acetate
http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate
Cellulose acetate butyrate
http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate_butyrate

You may also note that there are other properties that may make these unsuitable for

wearable material

.

[Enthalpy]

To get a concrete feeling of how much flammable cellulose nitrate is, buy a set of ping-pong balls and set them alight. The speed of combustion is unexpected, definitely faster than common polymers.

The explosive uses a different proportion of nitrate than the polymer, and yes, it can detonate, or it can burn, including without air. Still in use as a smokeless military rocket propellant, as a colloid in nitroglycerine. The not so funny part of it is that nitroglycerine may separate from nitrocellulose on prolonged storage.

Items made of cellulose nitrate will probably rise false alarms by explosive detectors, at airports for instance. Not convenient. Cellulose acetate should avoid this difficulty.