Better Than Other Sound Abatement Solutions
Under the same conditions, PROMASOUND® TL of 1.5mm thickness on a 6mm steel wall treated with rock wool, produces an insulation higher by 1dB than a 0.5mm lead plate (used before), with a weight reduction of 2.5–2.7kg/m2.
From the 1970s until even today it is quite common to see large amounts of lead (Pb) laminated in thin plates in use in the naval and marine sector. After all, lead is an easy material to work and a very good insulator although it does not have significant visco-elastic properties.
Lead also has a very high specifi c weight of 11.34kg/m2/mm of thickness and melts at 327.4°C. However, it has a greylight blue colour, which oxidises easily on contact with normal atmospheric conditions.
As such, lead is rapidly covered with a “blackish” layer of oxide easily absorbed by people through direct contact or via air circulation in the form of detached particles (of lead oxide) following persistent vibration, collision or other accidental causes.
Lead and all its compounds are well known to be poisonous. For instance, workers who handle rolled lead sections or its compounds can be subject to accumulation phenomena. The subsequent chronic poisoning, known as professional illness, is categorised under the name of saturnism.
In order to avoid these risks, strict preventive health measures have been in place for quite some time and in many cases have been legislated into formal compulsory laws. Even though it is evident that the most effi cient prevention consists of strong usage reduction of lead in the industrial field, it is very reassuring indeed that PROMASOUND® TL easily fulfils most sound abatement tasks, among others.