{"id":10715,"date":"2023-12-05T10:43:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T09:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.gsa-messgeraete.de\/adhesives-containing-pahs-in-old-parquet-floors\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T13:02:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T11:02:32","slug":"adhesives-containing-pahs-in-old-parquet-floors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.gsa-messgeraete.de\/en\/adhesives-containing-pahs-in-old-parquet-floors\/","title":{"rendered":"Adhesives containing PAHs in old parquet floors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Pollutants from PAHs-containing <\/strong>adhesives<\/strong> in parquet flooring can be released into the indoor air through wear and tear <\/em>or during parquet work<\/em> and settle in house dust. PAHs <\/strong>(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)<\/em> are carcinogenic pollutants that are particularly dangerous to health. Parquet floors are considered to be allergy-friendly<\/em>, as they are generally easy to clean<\/em> and do not absorb dust<\/em>. New parquet floors are no longer laid with adhesives containing PAHs, but with substitutes that are harmless to health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAHs – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons<\/em><\/h2>\n\n

PAHS<\/strong> (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons<\/strong><\/em>) are organic components and a collective term for several hundred individual compounds of condensed aromatic hydrocarbons. <\/p>\n\n

The main representative of PAHs<\/strong> for health-influencing effects is the substance benzo(a)pyrene<\/em><\/strong>. This substance <\/strong>is used for the <\/em>analytical determination <\/strong>as well as for a toxicological assessment of PAHs<\/strong>. Limit values<\/strong> exist for PAHs<\/strong>. These signal the critical value at which PAHs can be assumed to cause illness<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

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Parquet adhesives containing tar until the end of the 60s <\/h2>\n\n

Until around the end of the 1960s<\/strong>, tar adhesives<\/strong> were used to apply parquet flooring. These contained the <\/em>PAHs <\/strong>(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)<\/em>. They are proven to be carcinogenic<\/strong>. PAHs can be released particularly quickly during mechanical parquet work. Until around 1969, very high PAHs concentrations of 20,000 mg PAHs\/kg<\/em> and more were detected in analyses of parquet adhesives containing tar<\/em>. These contained the raw materials coal tar pitch<\/strong> or coal tar<\/strong>. They were ideal for bonding work. They were easy to process and could be applied in thin layers to the floors. The tar-containing parquet adhesives<\/em><\/strong> underneath the parquet had the distinctive black<\/em> color. However, the black color of the PAHs-containing adhesives is not a clear indication of the tar-containing parquet adhesives used. In addition to the commonly used PAHs-containing parquet adhesives, bituminous adhesives were also used until the end of the 1960s. bituminous adhesives <\/em><\/strong>were also used. However, these only had a low PAHs content and were less harmful and also had a black color. <\/p>\n\n

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Naphthalene in parquet adhesives containing tar<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Naphthalene<\/strong> in parquet adhesives made from coal tar<\/em> is considered to be particularly hazardous to health<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Naphthalene <\/strong>is one of the PAHs <\/strong>(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons<\/em>). For naphthalene <\/strong>and its naphthalene-like compounds <\/strong>there are guideline values <\/strong>from the Committee for Indoor Guide Values <\/strong>of the Federal Environment Agency. The parquet adhesives containing tar often had a guideline value of 1 (precautionary value) <\/strong>and are considered to be particularly contaminated<\/strong>. Naphthalene is often used in tar-containing floors and is easily recognizable by its “mothball-like” smell. In European hazardous substances legislation <\/strong>naphthalene<\/strong> is classified as a suspected carcinogen<\/strong>. Naphthalene is particularly dangerous if it can accumulate in house dust over a long period of time. There is a higher health risk for small children who have a lot of contact with contaminated parquet floors due to crawling and playing close to the floor. <\/p>\n\n

In recent years, adhesives containing tar and PAHs, which are harmful to health, have increasingly been replaced<\/strong> by substitutes<\/strong> without PAHs<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

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Synthetic resin as a substitute for adhesives containing PAHs<\/h2>\n\n

Since the mid-1970s, adhesives containing PAHs have been replaced by synthetic resin adhesives. The polymer-based synthetic resin adhesives <\/strong>are considered to be technically equivalent substitutes <\/strong>and no longer contain PAHs. <\/p>\n\n

Increased risk of PAHs being released from old parquet floors <\/h2>\n\n

The first signs of increased PAHs contamination from PAHs-containing adhesives can often be seen in parts.<\/p>\n\n

Parquet damage – examples:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n