 
Glazing Contractors Wait for More Information
on Defective Sealant
June 16, 2010
Glazing contractors around the country have been asking questions
about how they might be affected by potential problems with insulating
glass units (IGUs) using certain batches of 982 silicone insulating
glass sealant - but few answers have been received.
Viracon in Owatonna, Minn., sent a letter to customers last week
notifying them that they may have received IGUs using a problematic
batch of sealant from the company's silicone supplier, Dow Corning.
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Members of Dow Corning's construction leadership team have been
meeting this week on the problem but had yet to release a statement
as of press time.
The biggest questions are just how serious this problem is and
whether other fabricators have used these same batches of sealant
in their units.
According to one contract glazier, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
"I have no idea based on the information provided if this is a major
concern for Viracon and Dow … Nowhere in the documentation that
was sent to us do I find a statement that tells anyone what may
or may not result from the use of what is, for all practical purposes,
being referred to as defective sealant. Will the units for prematurely?
Will they come apart? Or do they just look bad?"
As of yet, neither Dow nor Viracon has released information as
to the total number of installed projects have been affected, or
whether the sealant has been used in structurally glazed applications,
which could pose a safety risk.
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