Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Insulation and cladding companies have blamed each other in a public inquiry investigating the Grenfell Tower Fire that took place in 2017 that led to 72 deaths. During closing statements to the inquiry the Press Association reports that the legal representation for Ireland-based Kingspan said, "In its phase one report the inquiry concluded that the cladding system on Grenfell Tower did not comply with the building regulations and that the PE ACM [polyethylene cladding] manufactured by Arconic was the principal reason for the rapid fire spread." The lawyer went on to summarise that Kingspan’s Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product was safe when used appropriately and not relevant to the nature and speed of the spread of the fire in this instance.

In a written statement though Arconic blamed the cause of the fire upon the failure by those involved in the refurbishment of the tower in assessing the fire performance of the building materials used and their configuration. It added, "A failure which was in significant part the result of the efforts made by the manufacturers of the insulation, Celotex and Kingspan, to hide or downplay the combustible and hence (under the prevailing regulatory regime) non-compliant nature of their product, an awareness of which would otherwise and in any event have led inexorably to the choice and configuration of the components being re-visited and amended."

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower prior to the fire in June 2017 was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. However, Kingspan confirmed in July 2017 that a small amount of its Kooltherm K15 product had also been used without its knowledge and that it had no involvement in the design or specification of the refurbishment.

UK: Jonathan Roper, a former assistant product manager at Celotex, has described the company as ‘dishonest’ by ‘overengineering’ a cladding fire safety test to achieve a pass for its RS5000 insulation product. After a first test failure in January 2014, a second system passed in May 2014, which the firm used to erroneously market the combustible rigid foam boards as being safe for use on high-rise buildings, the inquiry has heard, according to the Press Association. Covert changes were allegedly made to the set-up of the second test to make the outcome more favourable. Roper added that the motivation for getting the RS5000 product to market was to compete with rival firm Kingspan and its K15 insulation.

Celotex, part of the French multinational Saint-Gobain group, has maintained it promoted RS5000's use on buildings taller than 18m only on a "rainscreen cladding system with the specific components", used when it passed the fire safety test. The inquiry has previously heard Celotex saw Grenfell as a "flagship" for its product and exploited the "smoke of confusion" which surrounded building regulations at the time.

The current stage in the inquiry is examining the production, testing and sale of the materials used in the tower's refurbishment which resulted in the June 2017 fire, killing 72 people. The proceedings continue.

Ireland: Kingspan has written to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to withdraw fire test reports on its rigid thermoset phenolic insulation Kooltherm K15. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that, speaking at the inquiry into the Grenfell tower fire in London, a representative of the company admitted that the fire test reports on Kooltherm K15 may not reflect the actual product. This was due to possible compositional changes arising from “process shortcomings” that “fell short of the high standards which Kingspan sets itself." In 2007 it failed a fire test in which it was reportedly tested with a cladding system that also failed subsequent testing with another company’s insulation.

The Grenfell inquiry has asked Kingspan why it had not previously withdrawn the Kooltherm K15 fire test reports with the BRE. A distributor supplied the insulation to contractors for use in the refurbishment of Grenfell in 2012 – 2016.

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower prior to the fire in June 2017 was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. However, Kingspan confirmed in July 2017 that a small amount of its Kooltherm K15 product had also been used without its knowledge and that it had no involvement in the design or specification of the refurbishment.

UK: A public inquiry has heard that Grenfell Tower cladding subcontractor Harley Facades and staff of Saint-Gobain subsidiary Celotex discussed the use of Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation as a “case study” to determine “the U-value achieved by the product.” The insulation product was also sold to the contractor at a 48% discount. Ben Bailey, project manager at Harley Facades, denied that the price had anything to do with the final choice of product for the project. However, other documents showed that Harley Facades staff also enquired about the price of a Kingspan K15 insulation product.

In January 2020 Stephanie Barwise Q.C. told the inquiry that Celotex treated the 67m tall building as a "flagship" project for its RS5000 insulation product.

The Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 killed 72 people. The inquiry continues.

UK: The UK government plans to adopt the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her review of building regulations and fire safety published following the Grenfell Tower fire in mid-2017. Other commitments the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has made include creating a new regulatory and accountability framework to provide greater oversight of the industry and introducing clearer standards and guidance, including establishing a new Standards Committee to advise on construction product and system standards and regulations. It says it will place residents at the heart of the new system, with new routes for engagement and redress, and that it wants to help create a culture change and a more responsible building industry. In addition to setting out its plans to implement the changes called for by Hackitt, the government says that a full review of fire safety guidance within building regulations has also been launched.

UK: An investigation by the BBC’s Panorama news program has alleged that a safety test for Celotex’s RS5000’s polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product used extra fire retardant in safety tests. The programme believes that a different product was eventually sold to the public. It also accused the subsidiary of Saint-Gobain of mis-selling the insulation with misleading marketing.

Celotex said that it was unaware of this allegation and had not identified anything that would support it. It is investigating this allegation as a ‘matter of urgency.’ It added that it had not used any special formulation for a recent successful BS-8414 system test in May 2018 or Class 0 fire testing.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following its use as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The building had a fire in June 2017 that killed 72 people.

UK: A review by the government into building regulations and fire safety has found that the local buildings regulation system is broken, However, it has not recommended a ban on combustible cladding, according to Reuters. The independent review followed a fire at a residential tower block in June 2017 that killed 71 people. An aluminium cladding with a flammable plastic core is thought to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.

Judith Hackitt, the engineer and former Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive presiding over the review, defended existing regulations and blamed poor implementation of the rules by builders and contractors. She has recommended that the building regulations system be changed to focus on high-rise residential buildings first and then to improve building safety during design, constriction and refurbishment. She also called for greater enforcement powers with ‘serious’ penalties for individuals who infringe the rules.

Organisations including Kingspan Insulation, Knauf Insulation, the Mineral Wool Insulation Manufacturers Association and the Constructions Products Association provided written evidence to the review.

A separate public inquiry is examining the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire and a police investigation is also looking at the incident.

UK: Celotex says that a rainscreen cladding system using its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product has passed the BS 8414:2 safety test. The insulation producer previously announced in January 2018 that it had found errors between a previous test and the description of the system in the report of the test. It added that the rainscreen cladding system conformed to the BR 135 fire test. It is now notifying the relevant bodies and is contacting its customers about results of this latest test.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following its use as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The building had a fire in June 2017 that killed 71 people. The suspension remains in place.

UK: A leaked report by the by fire investigation specialists BRE Global has blamed a poor cladding refurbishment on a lethal fire at the Grenfell Tower in London on 14 June 2017. The document, leaked to the Evening Standard newspaper, found multiple deficiencies in the installation of the windows, cavity barriers and cladding system, and their failure to meet building regulations.

The report described insulation used in the refurbishment as ‘combustible’ and said that it provided a medium for the fire to, ‘spread up, across and within sections of the façade.’ BRE noted that the 75mm insulation foam used on most of the spandrel beams had, ‘no markings to identify the manufacturer of the foam.’ The Evening Standard says that 100mm Celotex foam insulation was also used in the columns but that the BRE report does not further distinguish between the two types.

71 people were killed in the fire that took place on 14 June 2017. The draft BRE report was submitted to the Metropolitan Police Service as part of its investigation.

UK: Celotex has found errors in a safety test for its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product that was used as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. As part of a review of the product the company has determined that there were differences between the system as tested for BS 8414:2 and the description of that system in the report of the test. The BS 8414:2 safety test was originally conducted prior to the RS5000 product being launched.

The insulation producer is exploring whether any safety issues arise from the differences in the test. It says it has notified the relevant bodies and is contacting its customers.

“It is a matter of real regret for us that this issue has arisen: we fully recognise its potential seriousness and that it will give rise to concern. We are working hard to arrange the further testing as quickly as possible and we will make a further announcement once the results of that testing are available,” said Celotex in a statement.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following a fire at Grenfell Tower in London that killed 71 people.