Tartan Flooring Mercury

Bulk sampling is a method that involves testing the actual flooring material to determine if mercury is present.

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. History of mercury in gym floors in the 1960s 3m introduced a gym flooring material called tartan that was touted as an improvement over old wood floors for gymnasiums as well as outdoor track and field facilities. Sampling and data a few methods are commonly used to measure the form of mercury used in manufacturing the 3m tartan flooring. Pma breaks down and releases odorless colorless mercury vapor.

Us epa reports that certain polyurethane flooring materials installed between 1962 and today contain mercury. Concerns related to gym floors are mostly related to airborne vapors. 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. Most of these floors seem to have been installed between the 1960s and 1990s.

In order to spread and level out the polyurethane a mercury containing catalyst was used called phenyl mercuric acetate pma. Other manufacturers followed 3m to develop similar products. Floor covering is a solid rubber like polymer floor covering that was developed in the 1960 s.