UFFI class action lawsuit:

This article reports on class action litigation involving RetroFoam Canada, a company based on Breslau Ontario, and a cease and desist order to the company's dealer-installers prohibiting the insulation companies from installing RetroFoam.

This article series on UFFI insulation illustrates and describes UFFI - urea formaldehyde foam building insulation and describes where it is found, when it was used in buildings, how to look for it, how to distinguish this from other building foam insulation products, and its health effects.

UFFI Urea Formaldehyde Insulation Class Action Lawsuit in Canada 2009

Watch out: The Spring 2009 issue of The Canadian Home Inspector, published by the CAHI, the Canadian Association of Home Inspector, reports on a lawsuit involving contemporary installation of UFFI urea formaldehyde foam insulation in a Canadian home during 2008 despite the fact, as CAHI reports, that the Canadian government has banned the use of UFFI in homes since 1980.

The Canadian Home Inspector indicated that Rob and Michelle Cecile are plaintiffs in a $500-million class-action lawsuit against RetroFoam, a foam retrofit insulation product that Health Canada says contains "... a toxic substance ...".

The Cecile family indicated that the AmeriSpec home inspector, licensed through the Canadian federal EcoEnergy program, had a financial interest in the local RetroFoam franchise.

Our understanding is that the inspector was hired as Federally licensed energy auditor, not as a home inspector.

He was not doing a home inspection. There are many inspectors and contractors who recommend products in which they have a financial interest in the energy audit business.

We are informed that one energy audit company pays its auditors nothing for the audit work. The auditor only gets a percentage for the stuff that they get the homeowner to buy.

The Canadian Association of Home Inspectors includes a code of ethics that may have precluded a home inspector from making such a recommendation.

According to CAHI, the Canadian federal government has issued a cease and desist order to RetroFoam Canada, a company based on Breslau Ontario, and has issued a cease and desist order to the company's dealer-installers as well, prohibiting the insulation companies from installing RetroFoam.

Retrofoam, according to Health Canada, contains urea formaldehyde - UFFI. "The substance causes respiratory problems and cancer" the article continues. "A posting on retroFoam's website does not deny the presence of UFFI, but says its product is safe."

As it was reported, U.S. manufacturer did not disclose to the Canadian company importing the product that there was any UFFI in the product.

Robert and Michelle Cecile also assert that the installation of UFFI in their home using the Retrofoam product that contains urea formaldehyde foam insulation has stigmatized their property and thus reduces its property value.

See ENVIRO-SCARE DEFINITION, EFFECTS for more information about the common effects of environmental hazards and scares on property values and property resale time.

Beginning at UREA FORMALDEHYDE FOAM INSULATION, UFFI we provide history and information about the health concerns associated with this product.

A rough summary: early research suggesting a cancer link with UFFI was later found not to be substantiated; a possible formaldehyde sensitivity remains for people suffering from MCS.

Where UFFI contained measurable formaldehyde outgassing, that process was found to diminish to below 0.01 ppm or possibly even below the limits of detection as the foam cured.

Current sources of formaldehyde in buildings where old UFFI is present can be expected to be traced to other materials than the UFFI, such as laminated or pressed-wood products.

However, regardless of any ongoing argument about the level of health risk with a UFFI installation, as reported by CAHI, a home inspector, having a financial interest in the insulation company, recommended home insulation retrofit installation of a material banned in Canada.

Readers concerned about exposure to formaldehyde gas indoors should

see FORMALDEHYDE HAZARDS - topic home, where we describe the sources of this contaminant, exposure levels,

and steps to reduce formaldehyde levels indoors, and

see FORMALDEHYDE GAS HAZARD REDUCTION

Readers should also see a similar looking but modern foam insulating product

at ICYNENE FOAM SPRAY INSULATION - How to Identify Icynene Foam Insulation

If you are having trouble determining what type of foam insulation product has been installed in a building,

see FOAM SPRAY INSULATION TYPES - How to Make a Sure Distinction Among UFFI, Icynene, and Latex Foam Insulations for more detail on the identification of these products in the field.

Health Canada Statement on UFFI

UFFI, which is foamed in place and used to insulate buildings, has been banned in Canada under the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) since December 1980.

UFFI was banned due to the high levels of formaldehyde that were given off during the installation process, as well as the continued off-gassing of formaldehyde from poorly installed insulation.

The amount of formaldehyde released by UFFI was highest when first installed and decreased over time.

As a result, UFFI installed before 1980 would have little effect on indoor formaldehyde levels today. If UFFI gets wet, however, it could begin to break down and may release more formaldehyde. Wet or deteriorating UFFI should be removed by a specialist and the source of the moisture problem should be repaired.

Some provinces require homeowners to declare if they have UFFI installed, and this issue is generally raised during the re-sale of older homes.

For more information on UFFI please see Health Canada's It's Your Health factsheet on Formaldehyde or the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) - Health Canada, "Formaldehyde in Indoor Air", Health Canada . Sante Canada, retrieved 29 March 2015, original source: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/air/formaldehyde/fact-info-eng.php

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

How can the Health Canada IAQ Test for formaldehyde GAS in the Building Envelope?

How can the Health Canada IAQ Test for formaldehyde GAS in the Building Envelope in any way be a fair test procedure when their are 267 other formaldehyde sources of Formaldehyde being tested inside the indoor contaminated test area?

2nd How can this test result of a GAS in one area possibly relate in any way to a Quasi Pre-polymer Solid Cellular Plastic (UFFI) in a completely different Outside Area, separated by a Canadian Building Code Mandatory Vapor Barrier outside the indoor air test area.

3rd Isn't this just Junk Corrupt Canadian Government Science and Fear Mongering solely to extort industry kick backs, verifyable by UFFI Industry experts clearly advised that testing inside air only provides test results for the ubiquitous indoor formaldehyde gas from other indoor products?

4th How can Health Canada possibly justify the stigmatization of homes all across Canada for no just Scientific Health Safety Reason. Retrofoam Insulation a health safety hazard as claimed by Health Canada is seriously flawed It's impossible

Well what do you have to say about my comments? - On 2011-12-01 by ajefford@yahoo.com -

Reply by (mod) - crumbling and dusting UFFI and no current offgassing issue

Ajefford, we agree with the question you raise, that there can be multiple sources of formaldehyde outgassing in a building.

And breathing any very small dust particles can be a respiratory hazard;

There is no data supporting a claim that homes insulated with UFFI in the 1970s have an ongoing formaldehyde off-gassing problem that would be traced to that insulation today.

Depending on how and where a test is conducted, however, an narrow down or even eliminate that confusion.

In our OPINION the bottom line is that even when improperly mixed and installed so that formaldehyde outgassing occurred in UFFI insulation jobs (typically during the 1970's in North America), the open celled foam outgassed completely over several years at most.

It is unlikely that we will detect formaldehyde outgassing today from 40 year old foam or if we do, it's likely to be at low levels, below 0.01 ppm.

 

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Continue reading at UREA FORMALDEHYDE FOAM INSULATION, UFFI - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• FORMALDEHYDE HAZARDS - home
• UREA FORMALDEHYDE FOAM INSULATION, UFFI - home
  • UFFI, HOW TO IDENTIFY in BUILDINGS
  • UFFI SHRINKAGE, THERMAL BYPASS LEAKS
  • UFFI INSULATION IMPACT ON HOME SALE PRICE
  • UFFI CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, CANADA
• URETHANE FOAM DETERIORATION & OUTGASSING

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