Is static control floor finish appropriate for an MRI suite in a hospital?
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
