State Bodies Gave Permission to Use Polyurethane as Facing Material

Local media have analyzed the fact of licensing procedures in the production and use of cladding material (polyurethane for forms). Investigations revealed the provision of a certificate of conformity to state standards and permission to use it as a facing material.

According to the revealed documents polyurethane products manufactured by the company Global Stone have been certified by the Experimental Test Centre (AzTEST) under the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent. Tests of production took place in the private laboratory of CJSC Dernegul Pipe Plant.

The State Fire Supervision Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations has authorized the use of polyurethane forms as a facing material, since as a result of the tests it showed "a high resistance to fire."

Some experts tend to believe that the polyurethane for forms produced in Azerbaijan is not qualitative. The fact is that this material has a reduced fire hazard. In other words, polyurethane burns only at very high temperatures, and only by direct contact with an open flame. After the contact of polyurethane with fire is prevented, it will cease to burn.

However, polyurethane also has a minus. When burning polyurethane forms, very hazardous gases come out, including HCN. These gases are capable of killing or poisoning a man in a few minutes. At temperatures above + 170º C polyurethane begins to decompose with the release of toxic and flammable volatile gases. The thermooxidative degradation products of incomplete combustion of polyurethane contain isocyanate fumes, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and dioxide, methane, ethane, butane and other saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. The concentration of the vapor of isocyanate and hydrogen cyanide is high and poses a risk to human life. The gases emerging from the combustion process of polyurethane, phosphorus-containing flame retardants and other phosphorus containing substances are found more toxic than carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide. In the pyrolysis of chlorinated polyurethane, chlorine, hydrogen chloride and chlorinated hydrocarbons are produced.

Note that a special state commission has been formed to investigate the fire, which had a lot of victims. -0--