Kortlægning af kemiske stoffer i forbrugerprodukter, Nr. 83 2007 – Kortlægning af kemiske stoffer i rengøringsmidler til brug ved rengøring efter ildebrand eller røgskade i private hjem

Kortlægning af kemiske stoffer i rengøringsmidler til brug ved rengøring efter ildebrand eller røgskade i private hjem

Summary and conclusions

This project describes professional cleaning up in private homes after a fire or smoke damage.

The project includes registration of the after-damage companies carrying out cleaning after fire and smoke damage in private homes, the products used and their chemical substances according to the products’ health and safety data sheets. Furthermore, the working methods in use have been observed and described.

In this project, 20 after-damage companies, some with several departments, have been registered. As a total per year, the companies carry out well over 11.800 cleaning jobs after fire or smoke damage in private homes. The cleaning companies carry out a varying number of jobs (from 5 to 5000 per year) and operate all over Denmark. Half of the registered companies carry out more than 100 cleaning jobs of this type per year. Through contact to the 20 companies, 82 products from 14 suppliers or producers have been registered. The products are partly ordinary daily household cleaning agents, partly ordinary or stronger basic cleaning agents and products especially designed for the tasks – including a range of odour-treatment products.

Some 43, i.e. approximately half, of the registered products are labelled with indication of danger. Of these, 13 are labelled C (Corrosive), 27 are labelled Xi (Irritant) and two products are labelled Xn (Harmful). One product is labelled R10 (Flammable). The proportion of labelled products is evaluated to be higher than among ordinary household cleaning products. The proportion of basic cleaning agents labelled C (Corrosive) is evaluated to be higher than among ordinary basic cleaning agents for cleaning in private homes.

The products’ chemical substances are registered from the suppliers’ health and safety data sheets. From these it appears that 23 substances are present in three or more products, while 45 substances are present in two or less products. Of the most frequent substances, five are organic solvents, four are acids (organic and inorganic), six are tensides and four are alkalin. Furthermore the products contains odorants – unspecified essential oils.

A series of different cleaning jobs have been observed, partly in smoke- and soot-damaged residences and partly in the after-damage companies’ workshops in which household contents and other movables are cleaned and treated. Based on the observed working methods and the quantity of products used, it is evaluated that the ordinary household cleaning agents and the basic cleaning agents are not likely to affect the indoor climate after the cleaning after fire and smoke damage to any noticeable degree. However, there may be a risk that slowly evaporating odorants from cleaning agents or odour-treatment products will be released to the indoor climate over a period of time after the cleaning or the odour treatment and affect the indoor climate for the residents. No toxicological evaluations have been included in this project.