[GBlist] Thermco Foam

["Garrick Maine" <garrick_maine@flad.com>]

Does anyone have any knowledge of Thermco Foam, a foamed in place insulation,
manufactured by Thermal Corp. of America, Mount Pleasant, Iowa?  The
manufacturer describes it as a "two component system consisting of an aqueous
resin (Polymethelene Carbmide)" which when combined with a "nucleating
foaming catalyst" (described as a modified poly ammio reactant) forms a
low density foam with an R of 4.46 per inch.  The purpose is to insulate
CMU cell cavities in an industrial building application in which the split-face
block is the finished face.

Their literature claims it's water-based, non-corrosive, degrades into nitrogen in the combined presence of  water and sunlight, and is "...one of the few truly environmentally-friendly insulations".  When we reviewed their UL test literature, however, the letter described smoke and flame spread numbers derived from Surface Burning Characteristics tests conducted on 1-5/8" thick ureaformaldehyde foamed plastc material.  The manufacturer acknowledges that "some formaldehyde is used in the production of the resins" but that the product does not offgas during application or use because the aldehydes are locked into the chemical matrix.

This material description is reminiscent of the CoreFill 500 discussion on this list last year (which I believe described the insulation as a phenol-formaldehyde). We know that their are "greener" foam choices (Icynene and Air Krete come to mind but at higher cost and R-values of about 3.6 per inch); the question is how "bad" is Thermco?