Is polyurethane foam an absolutely environmentally friendly material?
This statement is very close to reality. If you "look around," you can't help but notice that polyurethane foam is used almost everywhere in daily practice, including in constant contact with the human body, food, medical equipment, and more. Isn't this an indicator of environmental protection?
But here's an extremely important warning: all this is fair if only high-quality components are used during the painting (pouring) process, professional equipment is used, and the work itself is performed by truly qualified craftsmen.
In fact, the initial ingredients, which are toxic and belong to hazard groups II and III, are mixed, reacted and polymerized to transform into completely safe polyurethane foam. However, low-quality initial compositions, incorrect mixer supply ratios, and other technical violations can alter the desired balance, unreacted components can remain, and the resulting spray can go in one direction or the other. Directions "acquire" very toxic properties. Negative reviews online about polyurethane foam, saying it emits a pungent smell and causes illness, are 100% likely caused by these conditions.
Really high-quality polyurethane foam is an environmentally friendly material!
Another point is that the spraying process itself requires extremely responsible safety measures. Work must be performed using special equipment and mandatory protection of all exposed skin and mucous membranes.
Special attention is paid to ensuring protection of the respiratory system. According to existing technical requirements, fully enclosed masks with a mandatory supply of clean breathing air must be used. Incidentally, this is also another measure of the seriousness and qualifications of the craftsman. If you find that workers are wearing ordinary clothes for spraying operations, and only gauze bandages are used among all protective equipment, it is definitely a "treasure hunt". If their manager doesn't care about the health of his employees, he is less likely to have a "headache" about the quality of the insulation performed.
Typically, the most environmentally friendly materials are natural insulating materials – such as moss, sawdust, flax tows, straw, etc. Everything seems to be correct here except one thing. Specifically, such materials become rich breeding grounds for microorganisms and insects and actively absorb a variety of substances from the surrounding air, which may well pose a risk to human health. High-quality closed-cell polyurethane foam does not suffer from such disadvantages.
One can immediately notice the chemical resistance of polyurethane foam to the vast majority of substances used in daily life. He is not afraid of acid and alkali solutions (except those of high concentration). Unlike extruded polystyrene foam, it can be decorated with any plaster composition and any base of paint.