DURABILITY OF ROCKFON HYDROCLEAN BOARD. Resistance to active chlorine disinfectant in high concentration

Transcription

1 DURABILITY OF ROCKFON HYDROCLEAN BOARD Resistance to active chlorine disinfectant in high concentration report Opdrachtgever / Client Rockwool Rockfon B.V. att. Mrs. K. Palmen P.O. Box KD ROERMOND Ons kenmerk / Our reference Autorisatie / Authorisation /WKl dr. ir. G. van der Wegen Datum / Date August 29 th, 2007 Auteur / Author W.H.M. Klarenaar

2 CONTENTS Page SUMMARY INTRODUCTION PROCEEDINGS TEST RESULTS CONCLUSION... 6 page 2 of 6

3 SUMMARY Rockfon sells ceiling boards which are suitable for use in medical care. This concerns the Hydroclean product code 565.NXX.700 with a water repellent white finish. The board is mounted into a T-grid system. In this application, Hydroclean ceiling boards should be resistant to disinfection conditions. Disinfection of the ceiling in medical care should be considered as a random occurrence with a low frequency. Rockfon has asked INTRON, the smart solution for building materials, to test the durability of Hydroclean boards to disinfection with active chlorine. For this reason the board and T-profile grid are 10 times exposed to a solution containing active chlorine, prepared with Suma Tab D4 disinfectant. This product contains sodium dichloro isocyanurate which converts in solution to active chlorine. The product is typically used for disinfection purposes. Each test cycle includes an exposure time of 5 minutes, a rinsing of the board with tap water and a 48h drying period after which the board is assessed for any change or damage. In this investigation a disinfection procedure is applied comprising application of the active chlorine solution by spraying of the disinfectant to the white finish of the ceiling board and to the T-profile. The test results show that the Hydroclean board exposed to a disinfection treatment by spraying, shows after exposure to 10 disinfection cycles no visual deterioration. Both types T-grid show no sign of corrosion or discoloration of neither metal nor coating surface. Key words: Ceiling boards, active chlorine, disinfection, durability. page 3 of 6

4 1. INTRODUCTION Rockfon BV sells ceiling boards which are suitable for use in medical care. This concerns the Hydroclean product with a white finish which is mounted in ceilings with help of metal mounting brackets. In a medical care application, Hydroclean ceiling boards should be resistant to disinfection conditions. Disinfection in medical care should be considered as a random occurrence with a low frequency. Rockfon has asked INTRON, the smart solution for building materials, to test the durability of Hydroclean boards to disinfection with active chlorine. For this reason the board and metal brackets are 10 times exposed to a solution containing active chlorine, prepared with Suma Tab disinfectant. This product contains sodium dichloro isocyanurate which converts to active chlorine in solution. The product is typically used for disinfection purposes. Next to each treatment, the board is allowed to dry during 48 hours after which it is assessed for any change or damage. This report presents the findings. 2. PROCEEDINGS Samples Hydroclean ceiling boards are delivered by Rockfon, together with two different types of metal brackets. Info regarding the different test materials and samples is presented in the next table. Table 1. Sample information material code description Rockfon ceiling board Hydroclean 565.N white finish Mounting bracket CMC 9850 white coated steel Mounting bracket CMC 850 uncoated steel Disinfection solution The disinfectant solution is, prior to each treatment procedure, freshly prepared from Suma Tab D4 disinfection active chlorine tablets (JohnsonDiversey). Each tablet holds 2.7 g sodium dichloro isocyanurate which contains 55% active chlorine [1]. To prepare a solution containing 1000 mg/l active chlorine (= 1000 ppm), each time 7 tablets are dissolved in 10 litres of tap water. 1 Label data page 4 of 6

5 Exposition The Hydroclean board is completely mounted in the two different types of metal brackets in a horizontal position with the white finish facing down as it would be in a ceiling assembly. In this position, the board is treated with the active chlorine solution respecting an exposure time of 5 minutes. This period is corresponding to the procedure given on the product label. The application procedure concerns a treatment by spraying the solution on to the finish. After exposure, the board is rinsed with tap water by gentle use of a hose. The disinfection cycle is finished by allowing the board to dry for 48 hours at a constant temperature of 20 C and a relative air humidity of 65%. This procedure is repeated 10 times, simulating a ten fold disinfection procedure. Assessment After drying, the board and mounting brackets are inspected for any damage or change in appearance. During the different exposure cycles this inspection concerns the intact board, mounted in the T-grid. After finishing the 10 th disinfection cycle, the dried board is taken off, divided in 12 even cross sections and scrutinized. 3. TEST RESULTS During the test period no deterioration of the board, finish or metal brackets is detected, even after finishing the 10 th disinfection cycle. Observational data to the board after finishing the 10 th disinfection cycle are presented in table 2. Microscopically inspections show no additional details. Table 2. Observational data at the end of 10 disinfection cycles. Test sample discoloration chalking * Hydroclean reference board ** 1 Hydroclean board spray disinfection none 1 Mounting bracket CMC 9850 white coated steel none 0 Mounting bracket CMC 850 uncoated steel none 0 * chalking class 0 5 where 0 presents no chalking and 5 presents severe chalking ** The reference board is not exposed but stored wrapped in paper. page 5 of 6

6 4. CONCLUSION The test results show that the Hydroclean board exposed to a disinfection treatment by spraying, shows after exposure to 10 disinfection cycles no visual deterioration. Both types T-grid show no sign of corrosion or discoloration of neither metal nor coating surface. page 6 of 6