> The company that sold the combustible insulation used on Grenfell Tower had research which demonstrated that it produced acidic, toxic smoke when burned 18 months before the blaze, a document leaked to Inside Housing reveals
> Celotex RS5000 was the primary insulation material used in the cladding system on Grenfell Tower. It is made from a plastic called polyisocyanurate, which has been found to release choking smoke when burned – including cyanide and carbon monoxide.
>A document obtained by Inside Housing dated 16 January 2016 reveals that Saint Gobain, the giant multinational corporation which owns Celotex, was commissioning research into this toxicity months before the fire ripped through the tower.
>“Fire statistics show that the main cause of death in fires arises from the inhalation of toxic effluents,” says the nine-page ‘technical memo’ sent to senior staff members at Saint Gobain and Celotex.
>“Some of these gases are irritants [such] as hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide [or] asphyxiants [such] as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.”
…
> In response, a spokesperson for Celotex said that the firm had disclosed the document to the inquiry and that smoke and fumes released during the blaze came from “a wide variety of building materials and from the contents of the flats”.
>Celotex RS5000 was specifically marketed for use on high rises from 2014 onwards. Grenfell Tower was targeted by its sales people, who later inquired about using the tower as a “case study” for the insulation.
>The product remained on the market and was advertised specifically for high-rise buildings until the blaze.
>A spokesperson for Grenfell United, a group representing bereaved family members and survivors of the blaze, said that Celotex and Saint Gobain “knew their product was dangerous and a threat to human life”.
>The document obtained by Inside Housing was not released during the oral evidence before the inquiry, which concluded with closing statements in November.
>The memo compares various insulation products. A Celotex polyisocyanurate product was given the highest score on a ‘toxicity index’ of various insulation materials.
Sounds like Saint Gobain need to start getting their chequebook ready.
Hopefully these companies will be made to compensate for every one of their victims. Saint Gobain has a market capitalisation of over €50 billion. They should be made to pay in full for the replacement of every installation of these lethal products.
And still no one of any significance will go to jail
And even then, it was not news. The fact that polyisocyanurate releases cyanide when burning together with carbon is pretty much basic chemistry. The mentioned study just validated this under realistic building conditions.
Anyone in the building industry in the last 30 years knew this stuff burned and gave off toxic smoke.
I remember talking to a building inspector a decade ago who was complaining that the fire test involved putting a flame to the foil side rather than the insulation.
And we haven’t even mentioned the horrible dust you get when cutting or fitting it.
I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I doubt if anything will happen to them. They protect each other. It’s a club and we minions are sacrificial lambs… disposable ones?
The people selling it knew. There was an email trail.
This can only have two truths…They didn’t do research and didn’t know..illegal…they did research, knew and went ahead anyway..illegal!..not knowing is not an option!
Politically I’m on the right but it’s always been my belief that company directors should be liable for losses and things like this. The country would instantly be better.
Worked for the company who did the refurbishment, AMA
Now imagine all of the potentially dangerous things that companies like these know about that haven’t been brought to light. All of the everyday products we all use that we have no way of knowing could contain something potentially hazardous to our health and could be in violation of safety laws…
This is murder why do the rich and establishment always get away with their crimes equivalent of rapist police officers murders someone should pay
72 deaths, 74 injured and dozens of firefighters diagnosed with terminal cancer stemming from this…. Probably a lot more that we simply don’t know about.
So many lives ruined because of greedy profit seeking twunts who will never face the consequences.
Justice will never be served and that’s so heartbreaking. 🙁
Oh man, this is absolutely gonna seal the deal on someone being held accountable. Right?.. Right?
16 comments
> The company that sold the combustible insulation used on Grenfell Tower had research which demonstrated that it produced acidic, toxic smoke when burned 18 months before the blaze, a document leaked to Inside Housing reveals
> Celotex RS5000 was the primary insulation material used in the cladding system on Grenfell Tower. It is made from a plastic called polyisocyanurate, which has been found to release choking smoke when burned – including cyanide and carbon monoxide.
>A document obtained by Inside Housing dated 16 January 2016 reveals that Saint Gobain, the giant multinational corporation which owns Celotex, was commissioning research into this toxicity months before the fire ripped through the tower.
>“Fire statistics show that the main cause of death in fires arises from the inhalation of toxic effluents,” says the nine-page ‘technical memo’ sent to senior staff members at Saint Gobain and Celotex.
>“Some of these gases are irritants [such] as hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide [or] asphyxiants [such] as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.”
…
> In response, a spokesperson for Celotex said that the firm had disclosed the document to the inquiry and that smoke and fumes released during the blaze came from “a wide variety of building materials and from the contents of the flats”.
>Celotex RS5000 was specifically marketed for use on high rises from 2014 onwards. Grenfell Tower was targeted by its sales people, who later inquired about using the tower as a “case study” for the insulation.
>The product remained on the market and was advertised specifically for high-rise buildings until the blaze.
>A spokesperson for Grenfell United, a group representing bereaved family members and survivors of the blaze, said that Celotex and Saint Gobain “knew their product was dangerous and a threat to human life”.
>The document obtained by Inside Housing was not released during the oral evidence before the inquiry, which concluded with closing statements in November.
>The memo compares various insulation products. A Celotex polyisocyanurate product was given the highest score on a ‘toxicity index’ of various insulation materials.
Sounds like Saint Gobain need to start getting their chequebook ready.
Hopefully these companies will be made to compensate for every one of their victims. Saint Gobain has a market capitalisation of over €50 billion. They should be made to pay in full for the replacement of every installation of these lethal products.
And still no one of any significance will go to jail
And even then, it was not news. The fact that polyisocyanurate releases cyanide when burning together with carbon is pretty much basic chemistry. The mentioned study just validated this under realistic building conditions.
Anyone in the building industry in the last 30 years knew this stuff burned and gave off toxic smoke.
I remember talking to a building inspector a decade ago who was complaining that the fire test involved putting a flame to the foil side rather than the insulation.
And we haven’t even mentioned the horrible dust you get when cutting or fitting it.
I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I doubt if anything will happen to them. They protect each other. It’s a club and we minions are sacrificial lambs… disposable ones?
The people selling it knew. There was an email trail.
Why on hell aren’t [https://www.hse.gov.uk/corpmanslaughter/](https://www.hse.gov.uk/corpmanslaughter/) charges being made?
This can only have two truths…They didn’t do research and didn’t know..illegal…they did research, knew and went ahead anyway..illegal!..not knowing is not an option!
Politically I’m on the right but it’s always been my belief that company directors should be liable for losses and things like this. The country would instantly be better.
Worked for the company who did the refurbishment, AMA
Now imagine all of the potentially dangerous things that companies like these know about that haven’t been brought to light. All of the everyday products we all use that we have no way of knowing could contain something potentially hazardous to our health and could be in violation of safety laws…
This is murder why do the rich and establishment always get away with their crimes equivalent of rapist police officers murders someone should pay
72 deaths, 74 injured and dozens of firefighters diagnosed with terminal cancer stemming from this…. Probably a lot more that we simply don’t know about.
So many lives ruined because of greedy profit seeking twunts who will never face the consequences.
Justice will never be served and that’s so heartbreaking. 🙁
Oh man, this is absolutely gonna seal the deal on someone being held accountable. Right?.. Right?
18 months? They knew 15 years ago.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/feb/28/cladding-danger-evidence-15-years-before-grenfell-tower-fire