Material Health
Pursuing material health in the building industry involves avoiding or eliminating toxic chemicals from building products. Toxic chemicals are those that can bring harm to factory workers, installers, or building occupants. There are tens of thousands of unregulated chemicals used in our building products, and they can increase the risk of everything from asthma to obesity to cancer.
Materials containing these toxic chemicals include carpet, insulation, wet-applied products like adhesives and sealants, and many others. It’s possible to improve material health through better design decisions and product selections.
Material Health
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Scorecard Shows Some Plastics Are “Cleaner” Than Others
Explainer
Plastics are made from petrochemicals whose environmental profiles are complicated at best. But some stand out as, if not cleaner, at least less dirty.
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Putting a “LID” on Harmful Stormwater Runoff
Explainer
Low-impact development (LID) minimizes pavement and maximizes rainwater infiltration, filtering out pollution and preventing erosion.
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Safety Sheets Getting New Format—And Some New Data
Explainer
The new Globally Harmonized System for the MSDS will make reporting requirements stricter and should make the forms easier to read.
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Building Products and Health: A Look at Risk vs. Hazard
Explainer
Use of "hazard avoidance" versus "risk assessment" for understanding toxicity of building materials is hotly debated. Why, and is there a common-sense answer?
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Tile
Product Guide
Porcelain tiles that meet third-party environmental standards, and BPA-free adhesives
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Concrete
Product Guide
Producing cement, the primary ingredient in concrete, generates significant amounts of CO2, mercury, and other pollutants, so maximizing its performance and finding substitutes when possible can improve the environmental footprint of a building.
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Wallboard
Product Guide
Wallboard with high recycled content and Greenguard Gold certification
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Metal Coatings
Product Guide
These coatings have VOC levels below 50 g/l and contain no chromium, cadmium, or hazardous airborne pollutants.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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PFAS in Building Products Ubiquitous, Says Report
News Brief
The Green Science Policy Institute details how common PFAS compounds are in our building products.
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Antimicrobials Generally Not Recommended for COVID, CDC Confirms
News Brief
The CDC updated its guidance, stating that the risk from COVID transmission from surfaces is low risk and that disinfecting is typically not required.
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Justice, Circularity Overhauled in Cradle to Cradle v4
News Analysis
The latest version of the Cradle to Cradle product standard also expands embodied carbon requirements and replaces the controversial “banned list” with a new approach.
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10,000 Cancers in Canada: Building Hazards a Major Job Risk
News Brief
Many carcinogens associated with buildings and construction are to blame for a variety of cancer cases.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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HBCD Isn't the Only Problem
Op-Ed
Tom Lent argues that we should be looking beyond HBCD when thinking about toxic chemicals.
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Polystyrene Chemicals Widespread
Op-Ed
Polystyrene chemicals may be more widespread than most people think.
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Rethinking Polystyrene Insulation
Op-Ed
We should avoid using polystyrene made with the flame retardant HBCD in our buildings, using rigid mineral wool, polyurethane, cellulose, or other alternatives instead.
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USGBC Supports Screening of PVC
Op-Ed
Tom Lent of the Healthy Building Network explores the recent PVC report from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Just For Fun
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