In a typical working day, Europeans are estimated to spend around 87% of their time indoors. It is increasingly acknowledged that air quality within these environments can have a serious impact on the health of occupants. Whilst steps have been taken to deal with the most obvious pollutants — such as smoking — homes and workplaces are still being filled with other pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
VOCs are found in a wide range of everyday materials including cleaning and building products, carpets and paints. Under the Volatile Organic Compounds in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle Refinishing Products Regulations 2012 (VOC Regulations 2012), they are defined as compounds with a boiling point of 250 °C or lower at a standard atmospheric pressure of 101.3 kPa. The low boiling point of these compounds causes large numbers of their molecules to enter the surrounding air at standard room temperatures.
VOCs have been linked with a variety of health issues including shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches and damage to internal organs and the central nervous system depending on the length and concentration of exposure. Whilst the legal limits for the VOC contents of materials are set within the VOC Regulations 2012, these cover only solvent and water-based products. Given the increasingly airtight designs of modern buildings, it is vital that all products which can emit VOCs are properly assessed. One of the most rigorous standard currently available is the Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort (IAC) Gold certification.
Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort
The Eurofins IAC certification programme was created to harmonise the criteria of mandatory and voluntary product regulations from across Europe which govern VOC emissions. The voluntary certification tool is split into two levels.
Standard Certification – This shows that a product’s emissions are compliant with the minimal legal specifications issued by authorities and governments within the European Union.
Gold Certification – This recognises the product is compliant with many of the most demanding voluntary performance standards and can be recognised as being an outstanding material according to the VOC Indoor Air Quality emissions regulations. Products with this certification achieve an A+ under the French VOC Regulations, a pass under AgBB, and compliance for both BREEAM and LEEDv4 on European projects including the UK.
In 2016, Kingspan Kooltherm FM Pipe Insulation became one of the first building service insulation products in the world to be certified under the scheme.
To achieve the certification, our production facility was first evaluated by a Eurofins approved assessor. The assessor looked at our production methods, the product’s formulation and a variety of other factors which could have affected its emissions. They also took samples of the product for emissions testing.
Once emissions tests were completed, the results were then sent back to us along with a detailed report from the inspection. These reports can allow manufacturers to take corrective action where necessary. As the test results suggested compliance, and no issues were raised in the inspection report, we were then issued with the Eurofins IAC Gold certification for Kingspan Kooltherm FM Pipe Insulation.
Critically, Eurofins certification requires manufacturers such as ourselves to engage in a process of continuous testing and auditing. Recently certified products are subjected to emission testing and production site inspections every year to ensure low emissions. As a result, installers and specifiers can have confidence that the performance and quality of certified products will be maintained over time.
Work is under way to add emissions to indoor air into the harmonised European Standards for the CE Marking of products including building services insulation, and a growing number of products have now achieved the Gold Level of certification. In addition to reducing VOCs within a building, these products can contribute towards the award of credits within the Hea 02 Indoor air quality section of BREEAM, so specifiers carefully consider these options when identifying suitable products for a project.
Building for Health
These days, specifiers face a long-list of different requirements to meet and it can be tempting to push issues such as indoor air quality out of view. It is important to remember, however, that the people that spend the most time indoors are often from the most vulnerable groups including infants, the elderly and those with serious existing conditions. The Eurofins IAC Gold certification offers a simple solution, providing clear assurance that the products specified have minimal VOC emissions.
In addition to its IAC Gold certification, Kingspan Kooltherm FM Pipe Insulation is also the most thermally efficient pipe insulation solution for HVAC and building service applications. The product has a Euroclass reaction to fire rating of BL,s1,d0, is FM Approved to Class 4924 when installed in accordance with the conditions defined by the approval and is available with intumescent firesleeves for service penetrations.
