The days are gone when only natural and natural materials — brick, stone, wood — were used for the construction and repair of residential premises. Some half a century ago, even finishing building materials were absolutely safe and did not cause a single gram of doubt about the permissibility of their use. Nowadays, Western technologies are increasingly being used in construction, involving the use of drywall, putties and wood panels. And it is the OSB-plate, the harm to health from its use that causes the most heated discussions among ordinary people and experts.
What is OSB?
OSB (oriented strand board) is a product made from natural raw materials (wood) by pressing. To produce plates, use a small fraction (wood chips), most often it is waste after the manufacture of other types of building materials from wood, and special adhesives.
In production, chips are impregnated with adhesives and resins, after which they form a slab of the desired size, thickness and outer surface.
If mainly natural wood is used for manufacturing, why is it believed that an OSB-plate is harmful to human health? It is all about additional substances, namely formaldehydes and other toxic chemical compounds that are used to improve the performance of the stove.
Stove plate
First of all, it is worth saying that there are significant differences in various products. Their classification takes place according to a special marker created by the sanitary-epidemiological services, and is a direct guide to use. To understand which OSB boards are unhealthy, you need to know what their main difference is.
They come in four types and are marked with numbers from 1 to 4, which directly indicate how the plate is moisture resistant and durable, which means how many adhesives have been used to make it.
So, OSB-1 has low moisture resistance (less than 20%) and is used for internal work. The OSB-2 plate is more durable, it can be used for sheathing structures on which there will be a fairly high load, but only in dry rooms. In wetter buildings, such OSB boards are harmful to human health. Tyrsoplites OSB-3 and OSB-4 have the highest percentage of endurance in relation to a humid environment and increased loads (15 and 12%, respectively), but the percentage of released toxins is an order of magnitude higher.
In order to make the stove stronger, resist dampness, at the production it is added a larger amount of adhesive substances that evaporate toxins. The content of phenols in wood chip products is strictly limited, and the manufacturer must indicate its quantity. It is important for the consumer to know that the stove with the E1 mark is safe for indoor use. But OSB class E2 contains an increased number of toxic compounds, its use is limited to non-residential buildings or the outer cladding of buildings.
Is there any difference in who produces?
In our country, it is generally accepted that everything Western is better, more reliable and safer. In fact, it is not always possible to judge so categorically. The most important thing is the availability of product quality certificates and, importantly, compliance with them. It is in this regard that the products of the countries of Europe, the USA and Canada are different from domestic.
To determine safety, you need to study the markings that the OSB-plate carries. Harm to human health will be determined by the conformity of the signs and the place of use (indoors or outdoors).
It should be noted that even in Western countries there are different standards. Production has reached such a high level that the release of phenol-formaldehyde substances is minimized.
In the USA and Canada, it is customary to erect buildings using the wireframe method, often using an OSB plate as walls and ceilings. The harm to human health is taken into account, and for this purpose different types of plates are used for indoor and outdoor use.
So panels for cladding house facades, roofs, flooring are thickened, have a ribbed surface and cost a little more.
In Europe, such samples are not produced, but very strictly monitor the use of various types of plates, prohibiting some classes for the construction of residential buildings.
Effects on the body
Many people wonder what harm OSB-plate can do to human health. The effect of the vapor invisible to the eye, emitted by it, is nevertheless very serious.
The continuous inhalation of air containing phenol has a number of negative consequences. This compound is a carcinogen that poisons all systems of the human body.
Irritations on the skin and in the respiratory tract are just the first signs of poisoning by toxic fumes. Constant stay in such an environment provokes serious diseases of the heart, nervous system, and oncology.
These diseases manifest themselves with various symptoms. It is worth paying attention to the interior of the room, as well as the materials from which the house is built, if family members often complain of poor health, nausea, dizziness, lethargy. All of these may be symptoms of poisoning with phenol-formaldehyde vapors. Therefore, sometimes the OSB-plate is a source of danger to human health.
Identification of phenol sources
Only specialists can conduct a full-fledged study of air, as well as interior items and other sources that may contain hazardous substances. Their job is to perform a chemical analysis of air and its impurities.
It is worth mentioning right away that it is far from always that the OSB is the culprit of all troubles. Phenol-containing elements can be found even in seemingly completely safe objects. This can be furniture, textiles (carpets made from non-natural materials), decorative elements, and even children's toys.
In order to reduce the cost of their products, manufacturers, alas, do not disdain by any means to achieve their goals, and therefore very often cheap things conceal a danger - this is a harsh reality.
How to reduce the effect of harmful substances on the body
If an OSB board is used in construction, it is necessary to choose high-quality products, where a minimal amount of chemistry was used in the production process. Additional means of protection are methods that are accessible and simple to everyone.
First of all, it is necessary to create stable conditions. Elevated temperatures increase evaporation. The humidity level in the room also matters. Phenol dissolves in water, therefore, when the tyrsoplite gets wet, its secretion increases. It is better to use samples treated with special primers for rooms where flooding is possible, or an increased level of moisture in the air.
It is not recommended to clad OSB-slab rooms with poor ventilation. No matter how safe the material is, it still emits harmful substances, and even in small concentrations they affect the human body. Regular ventilation can reduce the presence of various chemical compounds in the air to acceptable limits.
Is there a safe OSB board?
On the market there is an OSB plate made without phenol. Is there any harm to her health from her? Of course, you cannot vouch for all the products of woodworking plants. It’s so far impossible to connect small particles of a tree so that they have increased resistance to stress, climate change.
Some manufacturers, in fact, do not use formaldehydes in the composition of adhesives, but this does not mean that other substances that have not been fully studied and are not subject to sanitary inspections are safer.
A characteristic feature of the chemical compounds of the phenol group is that they are able to stand out for years. The situation when there is evaporation for some time, and then they erode, is unrealistic with phenols. Chemicals will be released into the air, and then into the body throughout the life of the product.
Benefits of using
No matter how toxic and dangerous OSB boards are, their use is gaining momentum both abroad and in the CIS countries. The explanation is quite simple.
Economic benefits, ease of use, and durability of wood-based panels are very serious advantages. What other strengths does this building material have?
- universality - plates sew up walls, lay floors and use them as roofing material;
- resistance - with proper installation, OSB is not susceptible to moisture, corrosion, scattering, there is no danger that rodents and microorganisms will start in the plates;
- simplicity in construction - this material is easy to cut, fasten, it is not heavy, therefore, it does not require complicated and expensive equipment for its transportation and further use.
conclusions
To summarize, I want to find out: is it true that OSB boards are unhealthy? There is no doubt that this material should be treated with caution, carefully studied who made it and under what conditions, what materials were used for this. But, having approached the issue with all responsibility and attentiveness, it is quite possible to completely protect the house from the harmful effects of formaldehydes. Confirmation of this is the rich practice of its use over the years and the steadily growing popularity among builders.