From adhesives to sealants to coatings and foams, polyurethane (PU) technology has many uses in modern industry.
There is no alternative to this technology, whose products are versatile, innovative and safe, according to Didier Leroy, technical and regulatory affairs director of CEPE, the European council of the painting, printing, ink and artists colours industry, in an October 2022 webinar organised by it and the association of the European adhesives and sealants industry (FEICA), the European federation of construction chemicals (EFCC) and diisocyanate producer bodies ISOPA and ALIPA.
The raw materials to make PU technologies are known as diisocyanates. They have a reactive chemistry, explains Leroy, and that means they can react with the body. Above a certain level, this can create respiratory sensitisation; asthma. The body of a sensitised person must be prevented from future exposure to guard against a strong reaction. Apart from its effect on quality of life, asthma can lead to the dangerous allergic reaction of anaphylactic shock.
Preventing exposure requires understanding how to use these products and how to be protected from dermal (skin) and inhalation exposure.
Safety through education
The European chemical regulation system REACH (which continues to apply in the UK) has not restricted the use of the products. But in August 2020 it imposed a mandatory training system when working with products with more than 0.1% of diisocyanate monomer concentration.
One method to determine that concentration is Currenta’s CAM-0642303-18E standard, FEICA reports; it has licenced this and offers it at a reduced rate for members.
Training is required for industrial and professional users, following changes to general consumers implemented a few years ago. As the REACH rules don’t specify how suppliers deliver training, FEICA, with CEPE, EFCC and ISOPA, has developed a central e-training platform, available on www.safeusediisocyanates.eu. (FEICA’s representative in the UK, BASA, will speak on this subject at Engineering Solutions Live, 23 March 2023 at the National Motor Museum, Gaydon: see also pp26-7).
The website offers a number of self-guided e-training modules, plus support and materials for company trainers, and a list of expert trainers for those that want to organise bespoke training. Although each course has a listed price of EUR5, FEICA provides free access for European end-users free of charge, with the use of code FEICA_21_G.
Once they register, users can book and then attend the e-training sessions (see box), after which they are presented with a quiz to check their comprehension. After an opportunity for feedback, learners receive a certificate valid for five years.
Employers have until 24 August 2023 to train for users and supervisors using diisocyanates.
BOX: Overview of e-training on www.safeusediisocyanates.eu
Industrial uses of sealants and adhesives
- 051 Small packaging at ambient temperature: industrial plants and factories (30 mins)
- 052 Room-temperature application (60 mins)
- Industrial bonding at ambient temperature without spraying
- Any other industrial use
- 053 Process steps above 45°C/spraying or lamination speeds above 100m/min (65 mins)
- Uses at high temperatures (above 45°C)
- High-speed and/or spraying applications
- 054 Maintenance and repair of equipment (60 mins)
Professional uses of sealants and adhesives in construction are organised first by scale. Small packaging at ambient temperature is the most basic element, and modules include one-component PU foams, joint sealants, as well as carpentry, plumbing and car and vehicle repair applications. More advanced courses include flooring and waterproofing applications and high-pressure injection resins.
Coatings and construction chemicals are organised by application, including brushing and rolling, dipping or pouring, spraying in a ventilated booth or outside of a booth, warm or hot chemical formulations. Then there are several special cases such as diisocyanates containing inks in print shops and injection resins.
Training is also available covering safety for manufacturing and formulation of diisocyanate-containing products, handling open mixtures, cleaning and waste and maintenance and repair of equipment with possible diisocyanate contact.
