FloorScore standards require independent laboratory testing, a certified site audit, and documented control system requirements to establish compliance with California's Section 01350 emissions limit. The FloorScore label indicates that both the flooring products and the production facilities comply with rigorous indoor air quality emission requirements.

Because of their excellent performance at every stage of the life cycle, high-quality recycled rubber flooring products can also contribute to LEED points (see the LEED chart for details).

Ergonomics Underfoot

In spaces with specific missions, like healthcare and education, even the most sustainable floor must still meet the priorities of healing and learning, and must support the professionals who are making that happen. The good —or bad—ergonomic performance of a floor directly affects the experience of every patient, visitor, doctor, nurse, student, and teacher every day of the floor's service life. In addition to comfort, essential health and safety are improved with properly designed and selected flooring. This can be an important consideration not only in patient and student outcomes and staff performance, but also in risk management and insurance planning.

Strictly speaking, “ergonomics” applies to all aspects of an environment, from a building's layout and lighting to the user friendliness of the electronic devices, and some of the other factors discussed in this course such as sound control, aesthetics, cleanliness, and clean air. But recycled rubber as a material has ergonomic benefits by specific metrics that are particularly important in spaces designed for healthcare and education.

Of course, all the performance criteria discussed below reinforce each other. For instance, a healthcare facility or a school might require both a resilient layer for injury prevention and fall protection, and a cleanable, low-VOC wear surface that provides good mobility and traction.

Comfort

Even the most cushioned shoes cannot remedy back and joint pain caused by standing on hard floors all day. Uncomfortable professionals are less able to provide the positive support needed by patients or pupils. Comfortable, low-impact, anti-fatigue flooring increases productivity for staff, reduces stress, and contributes to healing for patients.

In general, comfort in flooring is related to the material's thickness for cushioning, its tensile strength, and its flexibility. Recycled rubber flooring, including underlayments and advanced products combining surface and underlayment in one product, perform well in these areas due to the inherent resilience of the material.

Major relevant ASTM standards and sample ranges for a high-performing recycled rubber roll or tile product include:

Tensile Strength: (ASTM D412) 150-200 pounds per square inch (minimum)

Flexibility: (ASTM F147) Pass ¼-inch mandrel

Slip Resistance and Mobility

Slip resistance is a crucial attribute in flooring. It protects against falls, a desirable attribute almost anywhere, from traditional retirement homes where mobility has declined significantly to the newly renovated, upscale homes of active retired people aging in place. The danger of falls is certainly not limited to the elderly or disabled. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) keeps a database of slip and fall accidents collected from government, industry, and insurance-related sources. According to their research, more than 50 percent of slip and fall accidents are caused by the condition of the flooring. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the incidence rate of lost-workday injuries from slips, trips, and falls in hospitals was 38.2 per 10,000 employees, which was 90 percent greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.1 per 10,000 employees).

But high-performance flooring in healthcare or education applications has to combine slip resistance with mobility. People must be able to walk and turn easily, move equipment efficiently, and maneuver walkers and wheelchairs.

One particularly important measure for slip resistance is Coefficient of friction: (ASTM D2047). This number indicates traction—the higher the number, the less slippery the surfacing. The ADA standard for coefficient of friction is .5. High-quality recycled rubber flooring products typically have coefficients of friction in the range of .85 to .9 (as measured for flooring on concrete base), and some are available with ratings of .90-1.10. Measurements should be high in tests for both leather and rubber soles and for surfaces with various coatings, as the coating can play an essential role in slip resistance.