Press Release – Building Research and Information [Volume 40, Issue 6] United Kingdom
Researchers in the United States are calling for a change to the US building codes, following a study showing that the mandatory flame retardants routinely added to foam insulation are not only harmful to human health and the environment, but also make no difference to the prevention of fire in buildings where a fire-safe thermal barrier already exists. Such a change would bring the US building codes in line with regulations in Sweden and Norway.
The research team, which is drawn from US-based centres of excellence including the University of California and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, conducted a thorough review of fire safety literature since the mid-1970s and conclude that the addition of halogenated organic compounds to plastic insulation materials such as polystyrene, polyisocyanurate and polyurethane is costly, ineffective and environmentally damaging. Their conclusions are published in the latest issue of the journal Building Research and Information.
Led by internationally renowned fire expert Dr Vytenis Babrauskas of Fire Science & Technology Inc., the research team investigated the impact of the “Steiner Tunnel test”, which is used to test the propagation of fire over the surface of all sorts of building materials in the early stages of fire (before flashover point is reached). Their paper suggests that changing the US building codes to exempt foam plastic insulation materials from the test would avoid the use of thousands of tonnes of flame retardants that are known or suspected to be persistent organic pollutants. They conclude:
“Such a change would … decrease the cost of foam plastic insulation and encourage the use of insulation materials for increasing building energy efficiency and mitigating climate change. The potential for health and ecological harm from the use of flame retardant chemicals would be reduced and the fire safety of buildings would be maintained.”
Their article begins with a review of the development of the US building codes in relation to fire safety, and foam insulation in particular, and explains that foam plastics used for insulation have required a thermal barrier (usually 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) thick gypsum wallboard) since 1976. In addition, chemicals such as hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) are routinely added in order to meet the requirements of the Steiner Tunnel test. The building codes have never stipulated that chemicals be added to foam plastic insulation, however doing so is the most common way to meet the Steiner test. These additives are semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) which do not bind to the insulation material and are known to be released into the environment throughout the life cycle of insulation. The chemicals can persist and accumulate, and have been implicated in thyroid hormone disruption and nervous system development problems and are potentially carcinogenic.
The experts suggest that exempting foam plastic insulation materials from the Steiner Tunnel test would mean there was no longer a need to add these flame retardants.
The halogens include bromine, chlorine and iodine. Iodine is crucial for health, the others are toxic in even small amounts. But bromine docks at iodine receptors throughout the body, so whatever iodine a person may be getting cannot actually be used. And our iodine-deficient diets mean that we all need whatever we DO get even more.
People don’t eat enough seaweed and our new low-salt advice (which is not necessarily correct) means people consume less of the iodized salt that has helped prevent goiter for decades.
Research what alternative health doctors like Dr. Abraham are saying about good sources of iodine. For instance, many people find that take Lugol’s solution is very helpful. See: http://www.theiodineproject.webs.com/
But it also matters to get rid of bromine sources. Read more at Toxins in mattresses, Mark Strobe