Naldzhiev, D; Mumovic, D; Strlic, M; (2019) Robots can reduce the exposure of people to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during application of spray foam insulation. In: Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2019. International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ): Changsha, China.

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Abstract

An experimental study was conducted to determine whether, and by how much, worker exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) would be reduced when robots are used to apply spray foam insulation. The study was undertaken in a test room where the ventilation rates were controlled and temperature and relative humidity were recorded. Four independent spraying experiments were conducted where robots were used to spray foam onto a suspended timber floor. The environmental conditions were recorded and VOCs were actively sampled using thermal desorption tubes during the periods of spraying (15 min) and curing (10 min). The tubes were analysed using thermal desorption-gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Four VOCs were quantified in two locations- near the spraying surface and near the worker operating the robot (outside the room). Measurable concentrations of 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,4-dioxane, chlorobenzene and triethyl phosphate (TEP) were quantified inside the room, whilst the concentration near the worker were below the detection limits. The experiment indicates that if workers wear ineffective personal protection equipment, they could be exposed to multiple airborne pollutants due to their close proximity to the spraying surface. Our study is the first to quantify the reduction of workers exposure to four VOCs when robots are used compared to conventional manual spraying.

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