The employees’ health and safety are of utmost priority in an industry to safeguard human lives and properties, especially in massive power generation industries such as oil and gas industries, transportation industries, cargo and shipment, steel manufacturing, and mining industries. Here, installing an EPS panel comes to the rescue.
In these industries, accidents are more likely to take place. Therefore, certain safety precautions and measures are laid down for immediate backup in a disaster.
The article covers everything you need to know about having an eps panel to prevent any collateral damage and its key benefits that add sustainable value to the workplace.
What are EPS panels?
EPS or Expanded Polystyrene panel is referred to expanded lightweight polystyrene beads, which are more than 50 times the size of the beads under favorable temperature and pressure conditions. Heat is supplied to increase the size of these beads.
The expanded beads are constructed into panels that support the building’s design and infrastructure.
It had been utilized since the conventional implementations in the 1950s. Over the years, it has achieved quick progress.
The EPS is used extensively in the industries that add value to its sustainable development.
In recent years, explosive growth has been noticed in construction industries because of its entrenched insulation. The material is lightweight but is a rigid foam with high impact resistance and fair thermal insulation properties.
Benefits of eps panels sustaining health and safety requirements
Among many of the advantages, eps is engineered to maintain health and safety measures as well. Some of the vital health and safety properties of the expanded polystyrene panels are:
- Prevents toxicity: The installation of EPS panels ensures that industrial workers do not get affected by harmful radon emissions or toxins. It is one of the most important advantages of having an eps panel in the workplace as it has non-radiative and non-toxicity properties. No extra equipment is necessary when handling eps. This is a significant advantage as this way, and the builders do not overlook health and safety regulations. Smoke toxicity can play a major role in fire encounters, resulting in the majority of people dying due to smoke inhalation. Higher grades of Eps panels contain halogenated flame retardants that have low flammability.
- Lightweight concrete: Expanded polystyrene panel is lighter than other plastic insulations. However, it is a rigid foam that maintains the structure of the Industry. It is lighter than vermiculite concrete. l
- Regulates workplace temperature: The employees need to work in peace without any interruptions and the materials and equipment life. Extremely low and high temperatures can cause the malfunctioning of industrial materials. The insulation provided good thermal resistance. This maintains the workplace temperature where the workers can enjoy working in a quiet environment.
- Mechanical compressive strength: Since the eps have good thermal insulation resistance, correct thickness and density are preferred according to the usage area. Having a superior mechanical compressive strength against heavy and long-term loading does not change its thermal insulation value and hence, maintains the industries’ infrastructure.
- Eco-friendly: Expanded Polystyrene is environment-friendly. The production of methane, water vapor, fluorinated gases, and carbon dioxide, which are considered to be greenhouse gases, is called carbon footprint. Eps helps in reducing the carbon footprint. The polymerized material does lower the labor cost, transportation costs, and fuel consumption and can be installed quickly. The production cost is 20% of the mineral wools.
- Impact-resistant: In any disaster, the priority is to evacuate the workplace as it is the most accident-prone area. Eps installation ensures that there is no physical damage done to the industry or the residents. It is earthquake and weather-resistant, thereby controlling the damage in the industry and the residential areas. In addition, the material is lightweight and non-flammable, which does not cause any collateral damage to the lives of the people and the workers.
- Cuts off moisture: the ps is highly polymerized and has thermal insulation granules stuck firmly to each other. It has a lower absorption rate when it comes in contact with moisture. Even if the material is in contact with water, its properties remain unchanged. Due to low levels of humidity, Expanded Polystyrene panels prevent infestation and growth of microorganisms. Very Tiny porous structure is resistant against passing moisture and condensation in the air. It also prevents the equipment from getting corroded, thereby increasing industrial growth. These are great economical solutions designed to minimize wastage.
Because of the above advantages, many industries use EPS paneling to provide resistance to the impact of natural disasters and accidents.
Some of the Polystyrene manufacturers and suppliers in the UAE use EPS panels to stand against such impacts. Styrene Insulation Industry, for example, is one of the biggest manufacturing companies in the UAE that provides Polystyrene panels for insulation and decoration purposes for the harsh climate. STYRO is a fire retardant Expanded Polystyrene that mitigates fire control, and its low flammable properties give enough time for evacuation in the event of a disaster.
Another industry is the National Polystyrene Packaging Factory. Here, EPS panels are engineered as cold and heat insulation materials and decorative materials.
Conclusion:
EPS is a large chain of monomer styrene. Although it is an inexpensive hard plastic, it is incredibly lightweight, containing just 95% air. Nonetheless, its solid and rigid properties make it a versatile material used in industries to stand against hazards and accidents. The cost of EPS products is meager, which is 33.33% compared to the alternate products, so it comes to the forefront as the appropriate material for minimizing maintenance expenses. In addition, it has a shock-absorbing property which helps in the easy loading and unloading of fragile items. One of the major threats faced by a residential area or industry is the aftermath of natural disasters, which can be tremors or flooded water entering the workplace. Expanded Polystyrene panels are resistant to moisture and prevent the after-effects of hazardous events to some extent. Because of its properties, EPS panels are used extensively.
