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5 Nov, 5 tweets, 1 min read
We've just learned that a global market leading insulation firm has withdrawn its fire testing for a product that has been on the market for 15 years - admitting the test "does not represent" what it has been selling

insidehousing.co.uk/news/kingspan-…
The product, Kooltherm K15, was among the insulation used on Grenfell Tower and has been installed on thousands of buildings around the UK including high rises. It passed a large-scale test in 2005. But in 2006, the chemical composition materially changed but the branding didn't.
This new product had a "poor performance in fire" and when tested internal Kingspan notes refer to the result as a "raging inferno" (lawyers for Grenfell survivors just claimed). But the product marketing continued to refer to the old testing.
It was also tested with "phenomenal" cavity barriers not available on the market, which it is said prevented flames from reaching the top of the test rig, survivors lawyers say.

This 2005 test was fundamental in the widespread use of combustible insulation on high rises
I know I have tunnel vision for this stuff, but if this isn't a really big news story which many, many people should hear about then I have no news judgement whatsoever.

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Peter Apps Profile picture
5 Nov
Having had a bit of time to reflect on this I think it's worth running through the role of Arconic in a bit more detail.

They are the huge Pennsylvania based multi-national which made the ACM cladding which was installed on the walls of Grenfell Tower
Phase One of the inquiry has already concluded that cladding - which had a core of polyethylene, a plastic akin to solid petrol - was the "principal reason" for the spread of the fire up and around Grenfell Tower, as the plastic inside the panels ignited and melted
We now know that in 2005, Arconic's French arm tested these panels in two forms: rivetted (fixed to a building with bolts) and cassette (bent and hung on rails).

The cassette product performed abysymally - the test was stopped due to fire and it got a 'Class E' rating
Read 15 tweets
Peter Apps Profile picture
5 Nov
We've just heard a devastating, detailed account from lawyers for the bereaved of Grenfell Tower alleging that giant cladding and insulation companies were engaged in "sinister" attempts to undermine building regulations and manipulate official testing insidehousing.co.uk/news/grenfell-…
I honestly don't even know where to start in explaining this in a thread, but the above story is in front of our paywall and will remain there. The full opening statement is below. Properly understood this could be one of the great scandals of our time assets.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/BSR00000063_BS…
Some highlights. Internal emails from insulation manufacturer Kingspan referred to its own testing as "complete spin". An internal email from cladding giant Arconic said "we are not clean".
Read 14 tweets
Peter Apps Profile picture
4 Nov
Tomorrow could well be one of the most important days in the Grenfell Tower inquiry since it began two and a half years ago.

I appreciate minds are firmly elsewhere, but here's a quick thread of what's happening and why it matters:
We are about to begin Module 2 of Phase 2. This section will look at 'the testing, classification, certification and marketing' of the deadly materials fitted to the walls of the tower. That sounds technical, and it will be, but it's also really important.
Ultimately, this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime lifting of the curtain to look at how giant multinational companies test, certify, market and sell their products. At Grenfell we're primarily talking about two companies: Arconic (cladding) and Celotex (insulation).
Read 15 tweets
Peter Apps Profile picture
2 Nov
Well, well, well. This - from Paul Hyett's report - is a pretty devastating conclusion for government. Image
By way of explanation - the government has argued since the fire that its guidance was not to blame for Grenfell and the wider cladding crisis because it did not permit Class 0 cladding. Many in the industry have vociferously argued the opposite.
Hyett (the inquiry's architectural expert) has concluded firmly that Approved Document B did in fact permit Class 0. If he's correct, it would mean the govt has been misleading everyone about its own culpability since Grenfell. (Other experts have taken different positions)
Read 6 tweets
Peter Apps Profile picture
2 Nov
An unusual section of the inquiry where expert Paul Hyett and team assembled and disassembled a scale model of the cladding system on Grenfell - including their own 'indicative approach' which would have aligned with regulations Image
Much of what they showed is already known and has been discussed at quite a lot of length, but it was helpful to see it in this way. For example, we've heard a lot about how cavity barriers were not put directly around window openings...
... this shows exactly what was done. They are the grey horizontal lines cutting through the turquoise. You can see how far from the top and bottom of the window they are: Image
Read 6 tweets
Peter Apps Profile picture
20 Oct
Lunchtime update from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry:

- Claire Williams reduced to tears as she is shown email from morning of the fire
- Stopped public meetings because of resident complaints in Dec 2013
- Admits 'cursory' review of fire strategy document
On the first point, Ms Williams has been pressed repeatedly over a claim that Rydon provided an assurance that the cladding wouldn't burn. Rydon firmly deny this and there is no documentation of it, despite her claim that it was minuted.
Today, she was shown an email from the morning of the fire where she was asked to provide all the relevant documents for the refurbishment and made no reference at all to this assurance. But as questioning began, she was overcome by tears, necessitating a 30 minute break.
Read 11 tweets

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