Helping Make

Products Better TM

Interoffice

Subject: Isocyanate testing during Spray Roof Appli c ation at Whitehouse, OH

April 29 & May 4, 2009

Executive Summa r y

Industrial hygiene a i r monitoring was cond u c t ed at the BASF Whi t ehouse, OH facility on

April 29 and May 4, 2009 to assess airborne concentrations of MDI and TDI during

application of a s p ray roof system.

Testing was performed during MDI

- based po l yurethane spray foam installation and

application of three spray top coatings : Sonoguard® Basecoat

, Neoguard Pe r m athane®

Topcoat

– White Trial (70613F) and Neoguard Permaguard® FR High Build

– Black Trial

(7419F)

. The three coatings were identified as containing up to 0.1% TDI.

Results from the monitoring indi c ate

• Personal expo s ure to MDI during the polyurethane foam application was 34% of the

OSHA ceiling limit of 20 ppb.

• Personal expo s ures to TDI based top coatings were non

- detectable.

• Area samples for MDI and TDI taken downwind at ground

- level were all non

detectable.

Recommendations

• The personal protective equipment protocols in use at the time by the sprayer were

appropriate for isocyanate protect i on and should be continued. Othe rs on the roof

near the spray operation should follow similar protocols.

• Conduct additional sampling to evaluate TDI exposure when spra y i ng the

Topcoat

- White Ne Coating (70612A) and repeat sampling for the four coatings to

increase statistical validity of the dataset.

• Conduct sampling to evaluate solvent emissions from spray coat systems.

• Advise facility maintenance engineers to close off air intakes and exhausts

necessary to prevent vapors from being drawn into buil d ing.

B A S F Co r po r at i o n

1609 Bi d dle A v enue

W y and o tt e

, M I 48 1 92

- 3729

Tel: (7 3 4) 3 24

- 60 0 0

ww w

. ba sf

. c o m / u s aB A S F Co r po r at i o n

1609 Bi d dle A v enue

W y and o tt e

, M I 48 1 92

- 3729

Tel: (7 3 4) 3 24

- 60 0 0

ww w

. ba sf

. c o m / u s a Introduction and Scope

At the request of Terry McGee, Mar k eting Manager for BASF Pol y urethane Foam

Enterprises (BPFE), isocyanate expo s ure assessment was conducted during a spray

roofing system applica t ion that included an MDI

- based spray foam and top spray coatings

containing up to 0.1% TDI.

Personal b r eathing zone samples were taken of the spray appli c ator while a r ea samples

were taken directly downwind at ground le v el approximately 30 feet from the building.

Site Conditions

The R&D f acility shut off air intakes and exhausts near the spray area and cl osed the

parking lot to the south which was generally downwind. Otherwise, n o rmal operations were

conducted.

The weather conditions on day one included light rain in the morn i ng with cl e aring by late

afternoon. Winds ranged from 5

– 15 mph in the early afte r noon to less than 5 mph in the

evening. Sampling during polyurethane foam application occurred in the afternoon while

the Base Coat coating tests occurred in the evening when the winds had calmed.

The weather conditions on day two were sunny with winds ranging from 5

– 15 mph in the

early afternoon to less than 5 mph in the evening. Topcoat and High Build

testing also occurred in the evening when the winds had calmed and temperature were

above 60 o F.

Regulated Limits

The Occupational Safety & Health Administr a tion (OSHA) specifi e s a ceiling limit of 20

parts per b i llion (ppb) for both isocyana t es while the American Con f erence of

Governmental Industrial Hygieni s ts (ACGIH) has established a Threshold Limit Value (TLV)

for both isocyanates of 5 ppb as an 8

- hour Time

- Weighted Average (TWA).

Methodology

Sampling was performed using SKC AirCheck Hi

- Flow pumps to collect personal brea t hing

zone and area samples of isocyanate aerosol and vapor. The pumps were c alibrated to a

flow

- rate of approximately 1.0 L/minute using a BIOS dry piston calibrator. The average

flowrate before and after sampling was used to calculate air volumes.

The samples were collected on 13 mm glass f i ber filters impregnated with 1

- (2

- pyri dyl)

piperazine (1,2 PP). As soon as a sample was collected, the filter was removed from the

cassette with tweezers and plac e d in a vial containing two millilite r s of a solution containing

90% acetonitrile and 10% dimethylsulfoxide.B A S F Co r po r at i o n

1609 Bi d dle A v enue

W y and o tt e

, M I 48 1 92

- 3729

Tel: (7 3 4) 3 24

- 60 0 0

ww w

. ba sf

. c o m / u s a The vials along with a blank filter in a vial of solution were shipped to the BASF lab in

Wyandotte, Michigan. The samples were analyzed using a modified version of OSHA

Method 47 at this American Industrial Hygiene Association (AI H A) accredited laboratory.

The concentrations reported in ppb include the vapor and aerosol form of the isocyanates.

Observations

1) Solvent odors were evident on the roof, inside the R&D building and dow nw ind

outside the building during spraying. A slight negative pressure relative to outdoors

existed inside the building.

2) Solvent thinning of the coatings using xylene was perf o rmed. Grounding and

bonding of solvent transfer equipment was lacking.

3) Roofing p e rsonnel w o rking near the spray appli c ator did not follow same PPE

protocol as the spray applicator. W i nd direction occasionally shifted and roof

equipment (HVAC, etc.) created turbulent wind currents.

Results

The MDI result for the spr a yer while appl y i ng the MDI

- based urethane foam was below t h e OSHA ceiling limit of 20 ppb. The area s a mple taken approximately 30 feet downwind was

non

- detect. Continuous spraying over a n entire shift could result in a sprayer expo s ure at

or above the ACGIH TLV of 5 ppb. The s p rayer used appropriate PPE to prevent over

e x posure to MDI.

Table 1: MDI Results

Sample ID Date T y pe Material S p r a y ed Result (ppb)

04 2 9

- MFA 04/29/ 0 9 Area MDI

- bas e d Ur e thane Foam *ND @ 0. 2 2 p p b

04 2 9

- MF

- SR 04/29/ 0 9 Perso n al MDI

- bas e d Ur e thane Foam 6.8

All TDI results were below detec t i on limits.

Table 2: TDI Results

Sample ID Date T y pe Material S p r a y ed 2,4 TDI

Result (ppb) 2,6 TDI

Result (ppb)

04 2 9SA 04/29/ 0 9 Area Son o g u ard® Spr a y C o at ND @ 0.21 ND @ 0.53

04 2 9SP

- DH 04/29/ 0 9 Perso n al Son o g u ard® Spr a y C o at ND @ 0.32 ND @ 0.81

05 0 4NEO W

- A 05/04/ 0 9 Area Ne o gua r d Pe r matha n e® W h ite ND @ 0.40 ND @ 0.99

05 0 4NEO W

- D H 05/04/ 0 9 Perso n al Ne o gua r d Pe r matha n e® W h ite ND @ 0.43 ND @ 1.1

05 0 4NEOB

- A 05/04/ 0 9 Area Ne o gua r d Pe r mag u ard® Bl a ck ND @ 0.49 ND @ 1.2

05 0 4NEOB

- D H 05/04/ 0 9 Perso n al Ne o gua r d Pe r mag u ard® Bl a ck ND @ 0.42 ND @ 1.1

*ND = Not D e tected at s pe c ified det e c ti o n limit.B A S F Co r po r at i o n

1609 Bi d dle A v enue

W y and o tt e

, M I 48 1 92

- 3729

Tel: (7 3 4) 3 24

- 60 0 0

ww w

. ba sf

. c o m / u s a Conclusions and Recommendations

1) The results indicate T D I was not detectable when appl y ing any of the top spray

coatings containing 0.1% TDI.

2) The MDI concentrations encountered by the sprayer w hen appl y i ng the

polyurethane foam was 34% of the Ce i ling Limit, however, the TLV could be

exceeded if continuous spraying occurred over an entire shift.

3) The personal protective equipment protocols in use at the time were appropriate for

isocyanate protection and shou l d continue. Others per s onnel on the roof near the

spray operation should foll o w similar protocols.

4) It is recommended that additional sam p ling be conducted to evaluate TDI expo s ure

wh en spra y i ng the White Topcoat Coating (70612A) (which contains up to

0.39% TDI) and repeat sampling for all four c oatings to increase statistical validity of

the dataset.

5) It is also recommended that further evalua t ion of solvent emissions from spray coat

systems be performed to determi n e nuisance, industrial hygiene, safety and

environmental impacts related to solvent usage in these systems.

6) Instruction should be p r ovided to building maintenan c e personnel regar ding proper

building p r essurization and precautions ne c essary for air intak e s and exhausts to

prevent vapor entrainment during spray operations.

7) Grounding and bonding of sol v ent transfer should be initiated and enforced. It would

be preferable that no solvent be added to the spray top coat formu l ations.