Foam Sensitivity | Ask Mason Knowles - SPF Consultant | Spray Foam Technical Questions and Answers | SprayFoam Magazine Q&A Forums

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
Rob Granger Posted: Feb 17, 2009 08:33 PM	Foam Sensitivity I finished spraying one inch of cc foam in a 2,500 sf fitness building today. Foam looks good and we were on ratio. I inspected the job and there are no odor issues. The homeowner did a walk through late and within minutes of leaving the building his throat closed partially. He called me and disclosed same stating that he is hyper sensitive to some chemicals and something in the foam caused a reaction. We were going to fill the rest of the 2 x 6 cavity with cellulose and already have plastic on most of the walls. With his sensitivity what do you recommend?
mason Posted: Feb 18, 2009 09:22 AM	How soon after the application did he enter the building? There may have been some residual MDI vapors in the air. MDI does cause sensitivity in some individuals and for some just a little bit can cause a reaction. However, some folks are senstive to odors as well. You may not smell a difference but your client might. Ironically, cured polyurethane foam is typically used in buildings where folks are super sensitive to chemicals. but the foam has to be cured. For example, while working in Dallas for a foam manufacturer our company was approached by a contractor who was building residential structures for folks who had become super sensitized to chemicals, They could not enter hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, etc because of their sensitivity to chemicals (cleaners, etc set them off). They carried oxygen bottles and syringes to inject themselves with if they went into a seizure. The contractor told me that they conducted experiments with other insulation types and the only insulation that did not give them problems was cured polyurethane foam. Fiberglass, cellulose made them experience breathing problems. To wrap up the story, we had a contractor install the foam to trailer like steel structures (think large airstream trailers) wait one week and then cover the foam with a specially designed thermal barrier covering. No problems were reported in the years after the installation. So, I suspect he went into the building too early. Another possibility, did your crew clean their guns in the building, solvent can trigger this type of reaction as well.
Rob Granger Posted: Feb 18, 2009 10:44 AM	My customer went in to the building approx 2 hours after we concluded operations and the building was with doors and windows.
mason Posted: Feb 19, 2009 09:21 AM	Two hours might have been too early. Has he tried to enter the building lately?
Rob Granger Posted: Feb 21, 2009 09:55 PM	The customer went in Today, Saturday and had no ill effects.

Author

Comments

Rob Granger

Posted: Feb 17, 2009 08:33 PM

Foam Sensitivity

I finished spraying one inch of cc foam in a 2,500 sf fitness building today. Foam looks good and we were on ratio. I inspected the job and there are no odor issues. The homeowner did a walk through late and within minutes of leaving the building his throat closed partially. He called me and disclosed same stating that he is hyper sensitive to some chemicals and something in the foam caused a reaction. We were going to fill the rest of the 2 x 6 cavity with cellulose and already have plastic on most of the walls. With his sensitivity what do you recommend?

mason

Posted: Feb 18, 2009 09:22 AM

How soon after the application did he enter the building? There may have been some residual MDI vapors in the air. MDI does cause sensitivity in some individuals and for some just a little bit can cause a reaction. However, some folks are senstive to odors as well. You may not smell a difference but your client might.

Ironically, cured polyurethane foam is typically used in buildings where folks are super sensitive to chemicals. but the foam has to be cured. For example, while working in Dallas for a foam manufacturer our company was approached by a contractor who was building residential structures for folks who had become super sensitized to chemicals, They could not enter hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, etc because of their sensitivity to chemicals (cleaners, etc set them off). They carried oxygen bottles and syringes to inject themselves with if they went into a seizure. The contractor told me that they conducted experiments with other insulation types and the only insulation that did not give them problems was cured polyurethane foam. Fiberglass, cellulose made them experience breathing problems. To wrap up the story, we had a contractor install the foam to trailer like steel structures (think large airstream trailers) wait one week and then cover the foam with a specially designed thermal barrier covering. No problems were reported in the years after the installation.

So, I suspect he went into the building too early. Another possibility, did your crew clean their guns in the building, solvent can trigger this type of reaction as well.

Rob Granger

Posted: Feb 18, 2009 10:44 AM

My customer went in to the building approx 2 hours after we concluded operations and the building was with doors and windows.

mason

Posted: Feb 19, 2009 09:21 AM

Two hours might have been too early. Has he tried to enter the building lately?

Rob Granger

Posted: Feb 21, 2009 09:55 PM

The customer went in Today, Saturday and had no ill effects.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.