Tartan Flooring Mercury

The mercury floor problem and health effects rubber like polyurethane floors using 1 000 to 2 000 parts per million ppm of phenyl cercuric acetate pma catalyst have been installed in schools and elsewhere since the 1960s.

Tartan flooring mercury.

In order to spread and level out the polyurethane a mercury containing catalyst was used called phenyl mercuric acetate pma. The type of flooring that may have mercury in it is a synthetic rubber like type of floor composed of polyurethane. Track flooring and other synthetic rubber like gym floors originally marketed by other manufacturers as chemturf or tartan may contain mercury. Most of these floors seem to have been installed between the 1960s and 1990s.

Bulk sampling is a method that involves testing the actual flooring material to determine if mercury is present. Concerns related to gym floors are mostly related to airborne vapors. Pma breaks down and releases odorless colorless mercury vapor. Floor covering is a solid rubber like polymer floor covering that was developed in the 1960 s.

Other manufacturers followed 3m to develop similar products. According to the epa elemental mercury and all of its components are toxic exposure to excessive levels can permanently damage or fatally injure the brain and kid neys pathways are through inha lation absorption and ingestion. Not all flooring that contains mercury emit mercury vapors into the air but generally mercury vapor exposures are worse if floors are damaged or deteriorated in warm hot rooms with little to no dilution i e outside air ventilation or without air conditioning.