Powered By Blogger

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Insulation boards used on Grenfell Tower block withdrawn by firm

The insulating product used to clad Grenfell Tower before a disastrous fire will no longer be used on high-rise buildings, the manufacturer has said.

Celotex, which manufactures the RS5000 insulation boards used in the block's rainscreen cladding, says it is ceasing supply of the product in buildings over 18m tall immediately.

The firm had previously advertised on its website that "Celotex RS5000... is suitable for buildings above 18m".

The inferno at 24-storey Grenfell Tower in north Kensington left 79 dead or missing presumed dead.

Nine victims have so far been formally identified.

Earlier on Friday, police said tests had been carried out on both the cladding tiles and the insulation used in the refit of the tower and they "don't pass any safety tests".

Officers also revealed that the insulation was also found to be more flammable than the cladding tiles.

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said: "What we are being told at the moment by the Building Research Establishment is that the cladding and insulation failed all safety tests."

Late on Friday, Celotex posted an update on its website that said: "In view of the focus on rainscreen cladding systems and the insulation forming part of them, Celotex believes that the right thing to do is to stop the supply of Celotex RS5000 for rainscreen cladding systems in buildings over 18 metres tall with immediate effect, including in
respect of ongoing projects, pending further clarity."

No comments:

Post a Comment