1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This laboratory guide has been developed for the assessment of volatile organic
compound emissions from polyurethane foam. It outlines a test procedure for the determination
of volatile organic compounds from the foam and explains why certain test conditions have been
selected. Upon agreement between the purchaser and the manufacturer, this test method may
be used for other materials such as thermal insulation products. 1.2 This laboratory guide is based on ASTM D 5116, which describes a procedure
using small-scale environmental chambers to determine volatile organic compound emissions
from a variety of materials. The chamber methodology only presents a simple picture of the
complex nature and interactions of emissions that may exist in home and work environments.
Therefore, the results from these tests cannot fully represent ?real life? conditions and they will
err on the side of conservatism. However, data from the chamber procedure is useful for
identifying potential sources of chemicals that may adversely affect the health of the occupants.