Cleanlink News October 1 2009
A Green Building Is Different Than A Healthy Building
As seen on SchoolFacilities.com.
A “green” building is not necessarily a “healthy” building. That’s according to Dr. Marilyn Black, the founder of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), and a member of the institute’s advisory board. Black addressed indoor air quality issues during the June 2008 meeting of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Indiana chapter.
“If you build a green building, it isn’t necessarily a healthy building,” Dr. Black said. “The health of the buildings’ occupants needs to be a high priority when specifying sustainable products.”
One of the most important factors in making a green building a healthy building, according to Black, is indoor air quality (IAQ). Good IAQ is essential to a green building and is one of five segments of the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of green building.
Black says current research shows an increase in the diagnosis of respiratory problems in children, as well as autism, and that some of that increase is being caused by chemicals off-gassed into the air by building products. In fact, he says, 96 percent of the 50 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) most frequently found in the air are product-specific.
“This is why source control is so important. It is the most effective way to control IAQ problems.”
A product can be green and still have a negative impact on the health of building occupants, according to Black. Paints and finishes, flooring, ceiling and wall systems and office equipment all contribute to off-gassing chemicals such as formaldehyde into the indoor air environment.
“Everything produces VOCs,” Black says, and “beware of ‘VOC-free’ product claims. Choose by performance … look for emissions versus content.”
Black also advises that it is important to seek products that are verified as low-emitting by a third party. That way, you can be certain that the product is doing what the label says and that the product has faced some rigorous testing.
“About 40 percent of products that we test don’t pass the first time,” according to Black. GREENGUARD tests products for off-gassing of 2,000 chemicals, and once certified, products are checked quarterly and completely re-tested annually.
IAQ is so important, according to Black, because people spend so much time indoors.
“Air pollutants are two to five times higher – and sometimes 1000 times higher – indoors than out,” Black says, adding that people spend 90 percent of their time indoors. Those numbers add up to one thing: “You need to choose low-emitting, non-toxic products that are not going to contribute to IAQ problems.”
