Spray foam VOC: trans 1,2-dichloroethene
Hi everyone,
We had a closed-cell spray foam installation go horrible wrong. It was installed on the underside of the roof and had that horrible fishy smell everyone else complains about. The contractor did remove about 98% of the spray foam. After the removal the house still smelled of the spray foam so they did an air quality test. The test came back with a 820 ng/l / 210 ppb of trans 1,2-Dichloroethene VOC compound in the house.
Does anyone know what this is? Is it toxic? I know it’s related to spray foam insulation.
I’m afraid to let my young children back into my house until I get a better understanding of this VOC and it’s remediation process.
Thanks for your help.
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Replies
Ian,
Online research reveals the following:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=82
"1, 2-Dichloroethene, also called 1, 2-dichloroethylene, is a highly flammable, colorless liquid with a sharp, harsh odor. It is used to produce solvents and in chemical mixtures. You can smell very small amounts of 1, 2-dichloroethene in air (about 17 parts of 1, 2-dichloroethene per million parts of air [17 ppm]). There are two forms of 1, 2-dichloroethene; one is called cis-1, 2-dichloroethene and the other is called trans-1,2-di-chloroethene. Sometimes both forms are present as a mixture."
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=462&tid=82
"Breathing high levels of trans-1,2-dichloroethene can make you feel nauseous, drowsy, and tired. Breathing very high levels of its vapor can kill you. When animals breathed high levels of trans-1,2- dichloroethene for short or longer periods of time, their livers and lungs were damaged. The effects were more severe with longer exposure times. Animals that breathed very high levels of trans-1,2- dichloroethene had damaged hearts. Animals given extremely high doses of cis- or trans-1,2- dichloroethene by mouth died. Lower oral doses of cis-1,2-dichloroethene caused effects on the blood, such as decreased numbers of red blood cells, and effects on the liver. The long-term human health effects after exposure to low concentrations of 1,2-dichloroethene are not known."
Ian,
I think that your case isn't really a chemical or a toxicological issue; it's a legal issue. You don't have to accept a house with 2% of the smelly spray foam still clinging to your home's framing and sheathing.
What you need (if you don't already have one) is a good lawyer.
For more information on this type of contamination, see Spray Foam Jobs With Lingering Odor Problems.
Ian: Follow Martin's advice and get a lawyer, with experience litigating construction defects, asap. I'd also engage your own tester. If, as Martin's link says, you can smell this stuff at 17 ppm, I'm skeptical that the test done only shows 210 ppb, or much less than 1 ppm.
Ian,
Could u please email me as I have a similar issue with 1,2 Dichlorethene in my spray foam insulation
Did anyone get any resolution? I am desperately seeking solutions! Thanks!
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Allison
My guess is that the only way this type of problem gets fixed is with a law suit and a settlement that contains a non-disclosure agreement. If I am correct no one with any experience can make any comment.
Sorry we can’t be more helpful maybe Google can find you a good spray foam lawyer if your home is unlivable.
Walta
Very true, welcome to our legal system, where the options are (a) be too poor to afford a lawyer and just live with it, (b) be rich enough to afford a lawyer and get your NDA / hush money, (c) bankrupt yourself trying to have a voice only to be ignored by the voiceless, who are overwhelmed with static/BS from the industry whose cover you're trying to blow.
To anyone else... in spite of its increasing familiarity, CCSPF is risky. I think that in many cases, it works out just fine. But ultimately, you're paying someone to replicate, on site, the type of process usually done in factories under controlled conditions. It's like Lasik... the odds of you having lingering problems are quite low compared to the benefit of a successful surgery, but those problems may have you praying to the dark gods to take you back to your glasses-wearing days for the rest of your life.
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