Spray Foam Insulation Bad For Health

William swietlik co chair of the epa s workshop on spray foam dangers has asserted that the chemicals used in the insulation are a leading cause of workplace asthma and are a well known sensitizing toxicant to humans.

Spray foam insulation bad for health. Unhealthy off gassing dust spray foam throws off two forms of toxic poison. Perhaps if spray foam was a natural substance with zero off gassing no harmful chemicals and recyclable my perspective and opinion about it would be different. The issue of the day. Health concerns associated with side b.

Spray foam is a two component chemical system. Chris magwood has calculated that insulating a home with spray foam puts more co2 into the atmosphere than it saves over the life of the home. With these benefits of spray foam there are also cons that can be created in the environment as well. Side b contains a blend of proprietary chemicals that provide unique properties in the foam and may vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The issue of the day is spray polyurethane foam spf insulation products. Amine catalysts in spf may be sensitizers and irritants that can cause blurry vision halo effect. Spray foam attic insulation is used primarily to act as a barrier to limit air movement and reduce the amount of energy loss that homes experience during the season changes. Catalysts may be amine or metal catalysts.

Workman s comp claims have also been on the rise from spray foam installers who have become ill as a result of repeated exposure to the chemicals in the foam. Once the foam is installed correctly it is a inert plastic not much different than the foam cushions you sit on. The pros and cons of spray foam insulation can include the following. The foam is absolutely a health risk in its raw forms before it is mixed and cured.

Reason foam fails 7. Environmental protection agency epa released a new action plan for a key family of chemicals used in spf isocyanates such as mdi methylene diphenyl diisocyanate are chemicals that react with polyols to form polyurethane. Although spray foam insulation has been applied to over 50 of homes in north america and is widely used across canada it has been known to have negative effects on health. You won t see it on tv you won t hear it on the radio for a good reason.

There is not a health rick unless you have off ratio uncured foam that has not mixed properly. This is mainly based on older insulation methods such as polyurethane and modern insulation alternatives such as icynene offer an economical and air quality improving. Part a and part b. However the industry doesn t have a reason to make spray foam less toxic since no one really knows about the health risks anyways.

Is just as susceptible to bad installations as.