Standardized Methods Needed to Assess Potential Impacts of Spray Foam Insulation Products

Spray foam (SPF) insulation manufacturers, regulatory agencies, indoor air quality professionals, testing labs, air quality consultants, instrument vendors, and other stakeholders met in California on April 30 – May 1, 2015 to address the potential impacts of SPF insulation products on indoor air quality and to establish re-entry or re-occupancy times after product installation in a building and post-occupancy ventilation needs.

The Symposium on Developing Consensus Standards for Measuring Chemical Emissions from SPF Insulation’s objective was to provide a forum for stakeholders to exchange ideas on path forwards for research, method development, and development of standards for spray foam insulation products. The stated goal of the meeting was to work towards the development of standardized methods to assess the potential impacts of SPF on indoor air quality to establish re-entry and re-occupancy times. Today, no such standard methods exist, and different SPF manufacturers have varying guidance for different products. The information that was discussed and shared at this symposium will be utilized by the ASTM’s D22.05 Indoor Air group in developing future standards for measuring emissions from SPF insulation.

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