In the majority of building projects, sealants are used solely to protect the building. However, when the building is a correctional facility, behavioral health unit, school, or child care center, there is much more at stake. It’s important that sealants cannot be pulled from joints. To remove sealant material could mean exposing a joint opening in which someone could hide contraband, causing injury from misused material, or ingestion of loose material. Security sealants contain properties that prevent any tampering that could endanger incarcerated persons, patients, workers, children, and the general public.
Most caulking and construction materials are easily tampered with, meaning, the ability of the material can be disturbed to the point of removal, and put to uses other than what were intended. Commonly used silicone-, STPU-, and urethane-based elastomeric sealants can be pulled away to expose a joint.
Sometimes the vandalism can be as tame as a bored high school student pulling out sealant while waiting for the bus. But more threatening is the growing trend in today’s correctional facilities of incarcerated persons using various construction materials, including sealants, to cause bodily harm to themselves or others. Sealants have been removed by incarcerated persons to conceal dangerous weapons and illicit drugs, to fashion weapons from the removed materials, and to induce illness by ingesting or smoking the material.
Because complete incapability of movement is sometimes unacceptable, while retaining tamper “resistance” as a requirement, the need for a new class of sealants arose.
Anti-pick sealants, also known as secure sealants, are a type of sealant specifically designed to resist tampering or picking. They are often used in environments where maximum security is required, such as prisons or certain construction projects. These sealants are typically formulated as a hybrid of silicone and polyurethane, creating a chemically curing solvent-free sealant.
This combination provides a high degree of resistance to picking compared to traditional sealants. In addition to their anti-pick properties, these sealants maintain all the necessary properties of a joint sealant, such as preserving the integrity of the building or structure. They are known for their durability, wear and impact resistance, excellent adhesion to most surfaces, and resistance to chemicals.
These formulated materials which can be classified as tamper resistant as opposed to tamperproof. These products can be classified as having limited movement capability and can be used in properly designed joints, performing as a moving joint, while also providing an acceptable level of tamper resistance.