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What is the most used surface in your building?

A moment's reflection will indicate that it is the floor. A building could not be occupied without accessible, durable and suitable floors. Given that the floor base is strong enough and resistant enough to hold the weight and the traffic, the nature of floor treatments are selected to serve the expected use. For example, carpet would not be suitable in a chemical laboratory environment, but would be ideal in a library.

Less appreciated, is the role that flooring plays in the control of indoor environment, and particularly indoor air quality.

The quality of indoor environment and the choice of flooring is dependent on a number of factors namely:

• Visual and aesthetic.
• Noise control.
• Tactility or underfoot feel.
• Cleanability and maintenance.
• Odour.
• Chemical emissions -- volatile organic compounds.
• Particle emissions.
• Impact resistance.
• Slip resistance.
• Wear resistance.
• Fire resistance.
• Embodied energy.
• Capital and recurrent cost.
• Replaceability.

Rarely are all these factors taken into account when choosing a floor covering or finish.

The adverse experience in 1997 by the Queensland Government with flooring in schools throughout the State, led to their appointment of CETEC to quantify and develop remediation methods to control volatile chemical emissions from liquid seamless flooring and carpet tile products.

The total risk management approach used by the Queensland Public Works - Built Environment Research Unit and CETEC team required outrage management, risk assessment, risk remediation, residual risk management, continuing community consultation and communication and a strategy of continuous improvement.

A central element of risk management and continuous improvement required testing of all available products for a range of properties to optimise State purchasing policy and to set targets for critical parameters.

CETEC and FORAY Laboratories tested seamless floor products from about 20 suppliers with the following results:

• Dynamic volatile chemical emissions between one and 28 days ranged from 0.007 to 27.5 mg total volatile organic compounds per square metre per hour.
• Coefficients of friction ranged from 0.3 up to 1.0 .
• Impact resistance ranged from 2 to 20 joules.
• Wear resistance ranged from 46 to 621 mg per 1000 revolutions.
• Fire resistance, measured as total fire ratings for smoke developed, heat evolved, flame spread and ignitability ranged from 15 to 40.
• Odour assessments scores ranged from 1.3 to 10 with 10 being the lowest.

In other projects CETEC has investigated, tested and developed remediation plans for problems with carpet tile adhesives, carpets, vinyl flooring, parquetry, timber flooring, concrete, ceramic tiles in applications as diverse as freezers, tennis courts, swimming pools, airports, homes, factories and office buildings.

The problems ranged from the parameters above, plus microbial growths, cleaning, delamination, colour fading, embodied energy, electrical dissipation, electrical conductivity, adhesion, glazing, appearance, asbestos, chemical carcinogens and particle emissions from wear and entrapped dirt.

Arising from our experience, we are continually reminded of the delays and disruption caused by unsuitable flooring, especially once the premises are in full occupation. For example, a major airport opening was delayed until tile adhesion problems were resolved and schools were closed until floors were remediated. Litigation has resulted in damages being awarded for occupational and environmental health, structural stability and even demolition claims.

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