GEV - Classification Criteria

Transcription

1 Association for the Control of Emissions in Products for Flooring Installation, Adhesives and Building Materials (GEV) GEV - Classification Criteria Requirements for Emission Controlled Installation Products, Adhesives and Building Materials, Award of EMICODE (Edition: , replaces: ) 1. Objective This document specifies criteria for the assessment and control of the impact of installation products, adhesives and building materials in conformance with BRCW 3 1 criteria on hygiene, health, and the environment, and for classification with respect to long-term emissions. 2. Range of Application and Definitions 2.1 Building Materials Installation Products Installation products are building materials that are used in buildings for interior finishing mostly as plane products for preparing surfaces before applying coatings or adhesives, or they will themselves be used for installing or for gluing of floor coatings, wall coatings, or ceiling coatings, or for coating or gluing of materials. Among these products are primers, liquid damp proof membranes, levelling compounds, screeds, screed materials, adhesives, underlays for floor coverings and ceramic tiles, and many more Joint Sealants and Joint Sealings Joint sealants are liquid or pasty construction products with high organic binder contents that are used for sealing joints between adjacent components. Joint sealants also cover compressed joint sealant tapes made of foam plastic and sealing membranes that are used to seal joints around window frames, and repair fillers. Joint insulations are assembling and sealing foams expanding during application. 1 Essential requirements No. 3 of the Construction Products Directive 89/106/EEC, Annex 1 No. 3

2 Page 2 of Parquet Surface Treatment Products Parquet surface treatment products are coatings and primers used for sealing parquet surfaces as well as water based gap filler solutions for parquet. They are used on large surfaces at construction sites for improvement of anti-slip properties and for permanent protection of wooden floorings, or for preparing of such a coating. Products used for temporary cleaning and care products are not considered surface treatment products within the frame of this definition. Criteria for evaluation of surface treatment products are described in a separate document. 2.2 Solvents Solvents are volatile organic compounds and their mixtures with a boiling point < 200 C, liquid at normal conditions (20 C and 1013hPa), which are used for solving or diluting other substances without changing their chemical characteristics. Solvent-free products may contain traces of solvents (< 0.5 weight-percent) due to contamination of ingredients. 2.3 Volatile Organic Compounds GEV definitions For characterising volatile organic compounds that can be emitted into indoor air GEV uses the definitions as common in international standards Volatile Organic Compounds - VOC Organic compounds that are detected in the interval of n-hexane (n-c 6 ) to n- hexadecane (n-c 16 ) under the conditions specified in GEV Testing Method Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds - SVOC Organic compounds that are detected after n-hexadecane (> n-c 16 ) under the conditions specified in GEV Testing Method. 2.4 Emissions Emissions are all volatile organic compounds that are released from installation products and other construction products into the surrounding indoor air under normal conditions. The emissions profiles may be monitored in emissions test chambers. 2.5 Emissions Controlled Installation Products Emissions controlled products fulfill the requirements as specified in clause 3.1 and 3.2.

3 Page 3 of EMICODE EMICODE is a registered mark of the GEV for classification and labelling of emissions controlled products. For classification of products with respect to their emissions, the term EMICODE will always be used in combination with the correct emissions class according to as follows: EMICODE EC 1 PLUS : very low emission PLUS 2 EMICODE EC 1: very low emission 2 EMICODE EC 2: low emission 2 EMICODE can be granted to products included in below product groups: Liquid products (i.e. primers, ready-to-use liquid fixations and adhesives, damp proof primers, liquid sealants, water based gap filler solutions for parquet), Mineral products (cement and calcium sulphate based levelling compounds, tile mortars, joint mortars, cement based waterproofing slurries, cement and calcium sulphate based screeds and screed materials) Pasty products with high content of organic binder (i.e. adhesives for floor coverings, parquet, and ready-to-use adhesives for ceramic tiles; fixations, water based or reactive resin levelling compounds), Ready to use products which do not require chemical curing or physical drying (i.e. underlays, insulation underlays, self adhesive underlays, self-adhesive tapes, decoupling / insulation boards etc.), Joint sealants based on dispersions or reactive resin that expand during installation, pre-compressed joint sealing tapes (DIN 18542), sealing membranes made of plastic and used for window and façade, and repair fillers, Surface coatings for wood floorings (waterborne wood floor coating, waster based joint fillers for parquet). 3. Requirements for installation products, adhesives and construction products Installation products, adhesives and construction products shall be safe in use. They may not, therefore, be hazardous to the health of installers or users and shall have the lowest possible impact on the environment. For these reasons the following requirements are specified for emissions controlled installation products, adhesives and construction products. 3.1 General and substance-related Requirements Laws on Chemicals All legal regulations with regard to production, labelling and packaging must be observed. 2 For usage of the supplemental label R (regulated) see clause 3.1.3

4 Page 4 of 6 A Safety Data Sheet according to local regulations or laws has to be issued for each emissions controlled product even if this is not legally required Restrictions of Chemicals Products that are assigned any of the toxicity categories 1 to 3 are excluded from EMCODE. No substances with any of the following properties must be used in EMICODE labelled products: Substances that are identified as of being very high concern (REACH regulation EG/1906/2006 art. 57) and therefore are listed in the candidate list (REACH art. 59(1)). The most recent candidate list is relevant when applying for a licence. Additional listing of substances shall be adopted within 12 months after publication of the amended candidate list. 3 Substances that are labelled in a Safety Data Sheet with properties that can lead to listing on the candidate list (REACH art. 57) are treated in the same manner as substances already listed.³ This includes e.g. substances with proven carcinogenic, reproduction toxic or teratogenic properties (CMR substances of categories 1A and 1B). Methylethylketoxim (MEKO, Butanonoxim) as such or in mixture as well as Butanoxim abstracting products must not be used for the sake of occupational hygiene. A specific test therefore is not required. Emissions controlled products must be manufactured without any addition of solvents (see 2.2), with the exception of parquet surface treatment products Occupational Health The EMICODE classification label must be amended by the appendage "R" (regulated) for products that comply with the requirements under 3.1.1, and 3.2 but that have to be labelled in accordance with the EU Directives 67/548/EEC (Dangerous Substances) and 45/1999/EC (Dangerous Preparations) or the CLP regulation (EU) No. 1272/2008, or have to be labelled with risk phrases (e.g. H or R phrases), or that have to be labelled as hazardous preparations according to local law where the product is used, and therefore may need special measures for ensuring occupational safety (e.g. reactive resins, cement based products), or that will form and release VVOC (e.g. silan functional reactive resins) by chemical reaction. 3 Use of technical raw material can lead to contamination of up to 0.1% each

5 Page 5 of Requirements on Emissions Building products may contain volatile organic compounds (VVOC, VOC or SVOC) that are released into indoor air partly during application, but mainly during later occupancy of the room. To limit these so called emissions, the below specifications for emissions controlled products are defined Volatile C substances A test shall show that emissions of the sum of all volatile organic C1A and C1B compounds does not exceed 10 µg/m³ after 3 days and the emissions of any such individual VOC does not exceed 1 µg/m³ after 28 days. Testing shall be performed according to the separate document "GEV Testing Method". In addition to above, product emissions after 3 days are limited as follows: Formaldehyde (cat. 1B compound) and acetaldehyde (currently cat. 2, proposed cat. 1B compound), each not above 50 µg/m³, Sum of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde not above 0.05 ppm Silan functional products Silan functional adhesives and primers can only be EMICODE labelled if the most recent German Occupational Exposure Limit of the intentionally released alcohol is not exceeded during installation work Volatile and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds Testing of volatile organic compounds which might be released from an installation product during a longer time period is performed as specified in the "GEV Testing Method". Classification of a product in accordance with its intended use is done on the basis of the results of that test. Emissions are evaluated after 3 days and after 28 days 5. Product emissions must not exceed these upper levels: µg/m³ after 3 days after 28 days TVOC TVOC / TSVOC EC 1 PLUS / 40 EC / 50 EC / In Germany the Bauberufsgenossenschaft showed that products fitting into the category GISCODE RS 10 (or lower) will fulfill this requirement. 5 EMICODE licenses issued before remain valid because several comparative testing projects with a significant number of products showed clearly that the classification values after 10 days are equivalent. In case of control testing the most recent specifications will apply since

6 Page 6 of 6 The label is supplemented with a final letter R (e.g. EMICODE EC 1 R) for installation products that fulfil the specification in clause and that therefore may require measures for ensuring occupational safety during application. In addition, products labelled with EMICODE EC1 PLUS after 28 days have to comply with the LCI limit values resp. the R value of the most recent AgBB evaluation scheme, and with an upper limit value of 40 µg/m³ for the sum of non-assessable VOCs (VOCs without LCI value and nonidentified VOCs). Compliance is also given if all limit values are respected at an earlier point of time than 28 days, but not earlier than after 10 days. 4. Classification of Products 4.1 Responsibility of the Manufacturer Manufacturer is responsible for correct classification and conformity with the specifications. 4.2 Testing Testing of product emissions shall be carried out by a laboratory holding an accreditation in accordance with ISO that covers GEV testing method. Documentation and recording of the test results is performed according to the manufacturer's own internal system. 4.3 Licensing the EMICODE Application for a License An application for a licence to use the EMICODE label can be sent to the GEV if the relevant installation product meets the specifications of 3. A special form is available from the GEV and shall be used for the application Grant of the License After the license is granted the product may be labelled with the EMICODE. The word EMICODE shall only be shown in combination with the correct emission class. Only the GEV document Licence for Use of the Trademark EMICODE may be used for showing compliance of the product with the GEV Specifications and Classification Criteria. 4.4 Control Checks The GEV reserves the right to examine the correctness of licensed product classifications done by the manufacturers. GEV follows advice from third parties on incorrect classifications and punishes these according to the sanctions that are specified in the GEV statutes.

7 Page 7 of 6 For this purpose GEV uses one or several independent experts who check compliance with the specifications in 3. Evaluation of and only shall be performed using the analytical procedures described in GEV Testing Method 3.4 "Testing for C-Substances" and 3.5 "Testing for long-term Emissions" (Tenax / Thermal Desorption) by a testing laboratory accredited for that type of testing in accordance with ISO If the manufacturer doubts the results he may request a repetition of the test with the same control sample at his own cost. 4.5 Authorised Testing Laboratories The Technical Council of the GEV decides on which testing laboratories are accepted for testing in cases of dispute and for control testing. The basic requirement is an accreditation of the chamber testing and of the involved analytical methods according to ISO Participation in round robin tests open to any laboratory to show their performance gives additional indication of qualification to the Technical Council. 5. Accompanying Documents GEV-Constitution GEV-Testing Method Form Sheets: Application for License and Grant of License 6. Changes and Adaptations The Technical Council of the GEV is responsible for setting specifications and classification criteria. Documentation and adaptation of changes is the responsibility of the GEV.