Hello Staticworx®,

Is your static control floor finish safe to use on an ESD floor in an MRI location at a hospital?  We have a client with an unsightly 2 millimeter vinyl ESD floor and the flooring manufacturer does not recommend any floor finish. The floor is almost impossible to keep clean and it is an eyesore for the client.

Thank you,

Jennifer

Hello Jennifer,

We often supply floor finishes for use on soiled ESD vinyl sheet flooring. The application of a polish or finish usually becomes necessary a few months after installation; as you probably know, when vinyl ages and is exposed to foot traffic, it becomes porous and begins to collect dirt. A good ESD polish will re-seal the pores without hurting the static control properties of the floor.

Additionally, if the flooring in the MRI suite is only static dissipative and not a conductive product, it would not be unusual for people to generate static when they walk on that floor with ordinary footwear – as opposed to special static footwear. Keep in mind, a person would not even realize they were generating charges because it takes at least a 3500 volt zap before the human body can sense a static discharge. The electronics inside MRI equipment is sensitive to a lot less than 3500 volts – hence the reason for installing the ESD floor in the first place. The static control coating would deal with that problem as well.

If you encounter flooring applications for these types of areas in the future, we strongly recommend installing 2 layer Staticworx® EC Rubber. A recent study done by MIT demonstrated the near impossibility of generating appreciable amounts of static on 2 layer rubber – no matter what footwear was worn. As a comparison they measured fewer than 200 volts on rubber versus over 3000 volts on the dissipative vinyl.  And because 2 layer Staticworx® EC Rubber flooring is plasticizer-free, it presents none of the maintenance issues associated with vinyl.

Best Regards,
Technical Department.