Safety, health and environment

Safety, health and environment are three very important items for paints and paint related products. The COT laboratory can perform research or tests for all these three items.

Food approval

We perform the tests required to get a food approval, an approval of a paint or coating which is intended to come into contact with liquid or solid food. We perform these tests according to the European Regulation (EU) 10/2011 of the commission dated 14 January 2014 on plastic materials and articles, intended to come in contact with food.

We also can perform the comparable tests of the American counterpart of this Regulation, the specification FDA 21 CFR 175.300 (2012)- resinous and polymeric coatings, substances for use as components of coatings.

Potable water coatings

Potable water coatings can be tested according to the Dutch specification KIWA BRL-K746, but also according to two American standards for “Interior and Exterior of steel water pipelines”, respectively AWWA C210-07 (Liquid-Epoxy Coating Systems) and AWWA C222-08 (Polyurethane Coatings).

Ecolabel

Since 2014 there is one European Ecolabel for paints and varnishes for indoor and outdoor paints. It concerns the EU document titled Commission decision of 28 May 2014establshing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for indoor and outdoor paints and varnishes with number 2014/312/EU.

The Ecolabel for paints requires several measurements and sets various maximum values of content which has to be proved by an independent organisation. Items are formaldehyde, spreading rate, adhesion, weathering, water vapour permeability, liquid water permeability, fungal and algal resistance, crack bridging and alkali resistance. Depending on the type of paint, some measurements are not required.

The COT laboratory has already tested various paints of national and international paint manufacturers according to the European Ecolabel criteria.

Heavy metals and VAH

Analyses of heavy metals and volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (VAH) are done regularly. It is often important to know the content of heavy metals and/or VAH in old paint layers which have to be stripped with maintenance activities on coated bridges, sluices, tanks, pipes or other objects. Our laboratory can determine which metal or VAH is in the old coating and also its amount, using applied analysing techniques. This is important information for the principle and the contractor of the maintenance job.

Emissions

WE can measure emissions of paints, glues, sealants, wood panels and other building products according to various standards. One example is the small chamber method according to EN 717-1.