The provisions of the fresh method Conditions (WT) developed at the Ministry of improvement and Technology will have a key impact on the materials we will be warming Polish buildings. The National Fire Department Headquarters, citing fire considerations, wants a wider usage of mineral wool. The warming manufacture warns that changes will negatively affect another basic requirements that should meet buildings. The impact of greater usage of wool in warming on wellness and the environment raises doubts.
Wool would be utilized on balconies, loggias, inter-storey belts and alleged fire barriers all 2 floors and under the roofs of buildings. Even more wool is to be found in walls and roofs of objects made of layered panels and roofs of large-area halls.
Meanwhile, Styrofoam and wool – 2 of the most commonly utilized thermal insulations in Poland – already at the warming phase disagree importantly in terms of wellness and environmental impacts.
Construction and structure of thermal insulation
Mineral wool It has a fibrous structure. During preparation for warming (pack unpacking, transfer) and installation (cutting, pressing, reaching) releases fibers that can irritate the skin and mucosa of the eyes and airways[1].
Some of them are so-called. respirable fibres, which is tiny adequate to get into the lower respiratory tracts, all the way to the lungs.
According to the marking on packages of wool products (so-called pictograms), the installation of wool requires the usage of:
· protective clothing (suit, long sleeves, gloves, working trousers),
· dust filter masks (e.g. P2),
· safety glasses.
When installing wool in the premises, it is besides essential to supply adequate ventilation, and after it is finished cleaning the place with vacuum cleaner and washing hands and faces with cold water. These recommendations are not theoretical – they can lead to real wellness problems: from skin rashes to serious respiratory diseases.[3]
Styrofoam there is no fibre structure, so it does not contain fibres that could escape erstwhile working with this material. Neither during preparation for work (pack unpacking) nor the warming installation (cutting, pressing, reaching) requires wellness protection measures. The appropriate organisation of work with Styrofoam allows you to completely control and collect the process of cutting and dust.
Differences in the structure of wool and Styrofoam affect, among others, dust emissions from both products during their assembly. Studies comparing air contamination from wool and Styrofoam have shown that depending on the installation activities, average dust emissionsduring the full stone wool assembly process was more than 17 times higher than from Styrofoam. Dust emissions (average for all fractions) at each phase of wool work were:
· 36 times higher erstwhile unpacking the product;
· 4,3 times higher for partition application;
· 1.7 times higher erstwhile cutting the product;
· 23,9 times higher erstwhile drilling and pinging;
· 19.3 times higher erstwhile blurring.
In the studies presented, during application and wool blurry, there was an excess of 10 mg/m3 of maximum permitted dust concentrations at the workplace. While grinding wool, this concentration was exceeded twice.[4],[5]
Chemical composition
Wool, Although frequently referred to as natural, it contains a number of chemicals. The key is Phenol and formaldehyde phenol-formaldehyde resin utilized to bind fibres wool a coherent mass.
Styrofoam although it is classified as plastic, only about 2% of it consists of polystyrene. The another 98% are the closed air. In Styrofoam you can besides find styrene – starting compound for polystyrene production and pentane – gas supporting its burning (which is utilized for water vapour).
Recycling
There is no reliable information on waste recycling methods from wool on an industrial scale. Available data indicate that this process is possible, but highly energy-intensive, which is affected by the request to melt glass or basalt fibres (temperatures up to 1400-1500 st. C.) A major challenge in the recycling of demolition products is besides the fibrous wool structure (which makes it hard to separate insulation from the remainder of the warming system) and the disposal of individual protective equipment utilized in working with this material.
Styrofoam 100% recyclable and its composition and construction allows it to be recycled even repeatedly. The appropriate separation of waste from this material is simply a condition for effective recovery of Styrofoam. Clean plate clippings remaining after the warming installation can be transferred to the Styrofoam maker or specialist recycling company EPS. They will be utilized to produce new, full-value discs. Dismantling Styrofoam, contaminated with glue, plaster or paint can be processed mechanically and chemically. In the chemical recycling process, monomers, waxes or oils can be produced from Styrofoam waste. Styrofoam waste besides produces liquid insulation of foundation walls and floors.
Summary
The choice of suitable insulation is simply a decision that affects not only the energy efficiency of the building but besides the wellness of its users and the safety of the warming contractors.
Both Styrofoam and wool contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but studies confirm that during usage their emissions do not exceed acceptable and safe vulnerability levels.[6]
Analysis of the chemical and applicable characteristics of the assembly of both products indicates that Styrofoam can be a more balanced and safe solution than wool.
Styrofoam does not require wellness care measures erstwhile assembling wool, which affects the safety and comfort of contractors, reduces working time and reduces costs. Styrofoam recycling is easier, cheaper and little energy-intensive than wool recycling.
The possible increase in the scale of usage of wool in warming requires peculiar attention to issues related to the impact of wool on the wellness of contractors and the environmental burden of waste generated during work with this material.
[1] Mineral wool – does it pose a wellness hazard erstwhile assembling insulation? – Regional Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Tczew – Gov.pl portal
[2] Kupczewska-Dobzka M., Czerczak S., Koniecko K. (2019). Mineral wool. Risks to users, legal position and safe conduct. Łódź: Instytut Medycyny Praca im. prof. dra med. J. Nofera w Łódź: https://ppm.imp.lodz.pl/docstore/download/@IMPb97f594915ba48118f896489333ab226/KupczewskaDobkaM_WelnaMineralna_2019.pdf
[3] Jw.
[4] According to the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 12 June 2018 on maximum permissible concentrations and concentrations of agents harmful to wellness in the working environment (Journal of Laws 2018 item 1286), as amended (Journal of Laws 2020 item 61).
[5] dr hab. inż. Michał Piasecki, prof. ITB – Building Materials No. 7/16 Air contamination with dust during assembly stages of selected heat insulation products – laboratory test
[6] Certificate No 686/2024 Environmental Declaration II TYPE, ITB 2024
