Methodology and Fact-Checking

Every value on RefractoryAdditives.com comes from a named primary source, carries its edition or date and its label, and is left out when it cannot be traced to that source. Three label types, one edition rule and one unit rule apply to every number, from a 538 °C (1,000 °F) definition boundary to a 50 µg/m³ silica limit.

The sections below cover sources, value checks, labels, units, hazard lines and prices. The same rules apply to every page on refractory materials, from brick classes to dry-out schedules.

Every value names its standard and edition, the product data sheet or the dated source it comes from; see our methodology and fact-checking process.

Which Sources Does RefractoryAdditives.com Use?#

RefractoryAdditives.com compiles its facts from standards bodies (ASTM, ISO, CEN, API, BSI, JIS, BIS), official registers and regulators (EUR-Lex, ECHA, eCFR, OSHA, NIOSH, IARC, USGS, USITC), peer-reviewed journals and conference papers, and producer data sheets used only as product examples. Each source type answers one kind of claim.

An encyclopedia is never a source. A copy of a standard on another host is never a source either: the issuing body is cited even when a secondary copy was read, and a value found only in a secondary summary stays out.

Standards Bodies, Regulators and Official Registers#

Each type of claim has one kind of source, as Table 1 shows.

The official catalogue page supplies the edition: the ASTM store, the ISO catalogue or the CEN catalogue. ASTM Committee C08 covers specifications, classifications, methods of test and definitions of terms for nonmetallic commercial refractory products, so its catalogue is the reference for US designations. The full designation list with editions is on the page for refractory standards.

Producer Data Sheets as Product Examples#

A producer data sheet describes one product and never overrides a standard. When a standard and a data sheet differ, the standard sets the requirement and the data sheet remains the value of that product.

The producer is named only as the source of that value, and links to data sheets carry nofollow. No producer is ranked, recommended or called preferred.

How Is Each Value Checked Before Publication?#

Each value is traced to its primary source, recorded with that source's edition or publication date and the date it was read, and published only when the source states it; a value found only in a secondary summary is left out rather than hedged. A newer official publication replaces an older value, and a producer data sheet never replaces a standard.

When official sources differ, both are printed with their scope. ISO 836:2001 term 107 defines a refractory by its properties for use in a high-temperature environment and sets no temperature threshold, while ASTM C71-12(2024) draws the US boundary at 538 °C (1,000 °F). A single figure such as 1500 °C (2,732 °F) is therefore not a standard definition.

Standard Requirement, Typical Product Value or Class Range#

Every property value on the site carries one of four labels, and the label tells the reader whether a specification can rely on it.

ISO 2245:2006 classifies shaped insulating products in groups 80 to 180, the test temperature from 800 to 1800 °C (1,472 to 3,272 °F) at which the permanent change in dimensions is 2 % or less: a standard requirement. Korea Refractories AMR-70, an alumina-magnesia-carbon brick, lists a bulk density of 2.98 g/cm³ (186 pcf) and an apparent porosity of 7 % on its data sheet, which makes both a typical product value of that product and not a class limit. What each value means is explained on the page for properties of refractory materials.

Editions, Reapproval Years and Replaced Standards#

Every standard is written with its edition, and every ASTM designation with its reapproval year, such as ASTM C71-12(2024).

ASTM Committee C08 meets twice a year, in March and October, and its ballots change reapproval years: ASTM C861-93(2026) and ASTM C874-20(2026) carry new years for that reason.

European test methods change too. EN ISO 10059-1:2025 (cold crushing strength) and EN ISO 5014:2025 (modulus of rupture) replaced their EN 993 parts on 2025-12-09. Standard revisions are reported under refractories news.

Metric Units First, US Units in Parallel#

Values are written in metric units first with US customary units in parallel, converted exactly from the source unit and rounded only in the second unit.

The conversions are fixed: °F = °C × 1.8 + 32, 1 kg per tonne = 2.000 lb per short ton, and 25.4 mm per inch. Chemistry is written in mass % with its basis, calcined or as-received. A value from a US source keeps its US rounding and receives an exact metric value.

How Are Hazard Classifications and Exposure Limits Reported?#

A hazard classification is written as the harmonised CLP Annex VI entry with its index number where one exists, otherwise as the majority ECHA C&L notification, otherwise as "see the supplier SDS"; it is never derived from one product's SDS. Calcium aluminate cement (CAS 65997-16-2) is the worked example: the line reads "No Annex VI entry; no hazard statement in a majority of ECHA C&L notifications (H315, H318 42.5 % each; H319 38.3 %); classification is product-specific, see the product SDS" (ECHA C&L, 2026-10-22). Hazards by material are on the page for refractory health and safety.

A US exposure limit always names its CFR section. OSHA limits respirable crystalline silica to 50 µg/m³ as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with an action level of 25 µg/m³ (29 CFR 1910.1053, effective 2016-06-23). The EU limit for respirable crystalline silica is 0.1 mg/m³ (Directive (EU) 2017/2398, OJ L 345/87, 2017-12-27). The site gives no medical advice.

How Are Prices and Market Figures Handled?#

Prices appear only as dated ranges with region, currency, unit and source, built from at least two price points of the same product type and pack size; where no such range exists, the page lists quote factors instead. Quote factors are class and grade, raw-material origin, shape complexity, quantity, packaging, freight, trade-remedy duties, and installation and dry-out. Prices for consumers never appear.

An index is a trend, never a price. The US BLS producer price index for clay refractories (WPU1352, 1982 = 100) stood at 405.818 in September 2026, a trend, not a price (not seasonally adjusted). Market sizes appear only as named estimates with publisher and year: the World Refractories Association put the refractories market at over USD 30 billion in 2018 (association statement).

How Pages Are Updated and Corrected#

Pages are reviewed when their sources change: an ASTM reapproval or revision, an ISO or CEN revision, a CLP adaptation, a REACH amendment, a new OSHA rule or the yearly price update.

Errors are corrected in the text, and the change is noted on the page. No company pays for placement or ranking; the editorial policy on independence and corrections sets out the rules.

How to Report an Error#

To report an error, write to editorial@refractoryadditives.com with the page address, the value and the source that shows a different value. All content is published as RefractoryAdditives.com Editorial Team, and the site runs no analytics or advertising vendors.

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