You and I both know that spray foam insulation is a technical application that requires expensive equipment that should be managed by trained and skilled professionals, right?
So employees of all spray foam companies should have training before they work with any materials, whether they are processing & spraying, working with the equipment or even handling and moving materials around the shop, they need to be aware of what’s going on and there are a lot of resources available in the industry.
There are training and continuous education resources from various places where you can find information like OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 courses, your SPF manufacturer or distributor probably has some form of training information available to you, you can make CPI’s health and safety training program, which is FREE, mandatory for all employees, the SPFA accreditation program is fantastic, and I highly recommend it to everyone out there.
Of course, we also have training and continuous education videos available here at Spray Foam Advisor, which you can find at www.SprayFoamAdvisor.com. You can use Spray Foam Advisor as a reference, refer your employees and other personnel, even your competitors in your local market to resources like these.
It’s very important from a safety standpoint that you and your employees are familiar with the materials they are working with and aware of some of the issues related to these materials, to help mitigate and prevent potential risks in the field.
Now let’s talk about some aspects of safety as it’s related to spray foam insulation.
I want to talk about proper handling of component chemicals.
Employees should review the manufacturer safety data sheet, the SDS, for detailed information about their materials, this includes the SDS for the ISO, the resin and of course the finished foam. Employees should read and understand the entire SDS because it contains very important information like the chemical constituents, potential health effects, the appropriate PPE associated with the products, first aid recommendations and of course the storage, handling and transportation and disposal guidelines for these products.
OSHA does require the SDS to be readily accessible on the job site, so maintaining some type of document binder is a good best practice used in the spray foam insulation industry.
It is important to take special note of any recommended storage temperatures per the manufacturer’s guidelines, this should be in the SDS. It is important that you store the materials at the right temperature so you don’t have any failures in your application process due to temperature storage issues.
General chemical drums should be stored in a secured cool area away from direct sunlight and excessive heat and you want to limit the risk of contact of MDI with water and other components, like acids and caustics.
Water reacts with MDI, with isocyanate, and releases carbon dioxide which can create pressure inside of a drum, so you want to be very cautious about moisture in the air or liquid water getting inside of ISO drums.
Then when it comes to disposal cured foam is not considered hazardous waste and can be disposed of in typical garbage.
When it comes to drum disposal, make sure that you are following the proper federal, state, and local requirements. There will be some guidance on the SDS, and you can also check with your manufacturer r distributor.
You may also check with local metal recyclers in the area, they may be able to give you guidance for a good way to dispose of your metal drums.
And a final word on safety, OSHA requires a hazard communication standard.
Employers are required to have a written hazard communication program in place, including labeling, SDS’s and employee training.
The two most common labeling systems are the HMIS, the hazard material identification system, and NFPA, the National Fire Protection Association.
This has been a general look of the world of safety as it applies to spray foam insulation.
Of course, you have additional resources out there, OSHA, CPI, SPFA and here at SprayFoamAdvisor.com. Make sure that you are looking into the requirements and details for whatever process you’re dealing with and that your employees are trained when they are working with chemicals like spray foam, because there are hazards and it is important to minimize the risk of accidents and make sure that the overall industry is growing while limiting risk.
