On the occasion of World Air Quality Day, ROCKWOOL, the world leader in rock wool insulation solutions, takes stock of solutions to build better while preserving health.
If the need for better indoor air quality does not date from the health crisis and has mobilized building stakeholders for many years, it is now essential to combine effective solutions, but also more sustainable. According to the latest “HEALTH BUILDING DIAGNOSIS” survey carried out by the Bâtiment Santé Plus association, with the collaboration of the National Council of the Order of Architects, 55% of the actors questioned consider that health is the number 1 concern to be integrated into projects. and product design.
“Indoor air quality is now recognized as a major public health issue, as the concentrations of various pollutants are 5 to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors. Also, it is important that construction products are not sources of emission of pollutants into the air by meeting the requirements of class A + of mandatory labeling. The mineral wools used must have EUCEB certification for exemption from carcinogenic classification. ROCKWOOL stone wool products meet these health criteria. In addition, because of their mineral composition, they do not promote the development of mold " underlines Suzanne Déoux, doctor of medicine, ENT specialist, President of Bâtiment Santé Plus, founder of MEDIECO and initiator of health engineering in the built and urban environment.
Health and sustainability at the heart of ROCWOOL solutions
These two dimensions, health and sustainability, are at the heart of ROCKWOOL's concerns, manufacturing rock wool solutions committed to sustainable buildings that protect health. Indeed, rock wool comes from a natural, inexhaustible and infinitely recyclable material, basalt.
“This is one of the most efficient and durable solutions for thermal-acoustic insulation. Tests carried out by independent laboratories have thus been able to demonstrate that ROCKWOOL rock wools installed on buildings for more than 55 years have retained all their thermal and mechanical performance. In addition, ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation products are very low emitters of volatile organic compounds which translates into an A + health label for the vast majority of our interior insulation products ” explains Colas Lévêque, National Prescription Manager at ROCKWOOL France.
Combined with good ventilation, durable insulating materials, such as rock wool, help improve indoor air quality and therefore preserve the health and well-being of occupants in buildings insulated with these materials. In fact, good insulation helps to regulate the humidity of rooms in particular, the level of which inside buildings must be between 40 and 60% for an improvement in people's health to be observed. The quality of indoor air is also the top concern of those involved in the building industry (86%) followed closely by thermal comfort (65%), again according to the “HEALTH BUILDING DIAGNOSIS” survey.
Waste recycling also contributes to health, because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Rock wool, being infinitely recyclable, ROCKWOOL goes even further with its ROCKCYCLE program which collects rock wool scraps on new or renovation sites as well as packaging plastics and pallets used to deliver the products. Rock wool scraps are used as a secondary raw material to make new rock wool. The packaging plastics are sent to specialized channels for recycling and the pallets are either reused as they are or repaired in a dedicated workshop within the plant with a view to their reuse.