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
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Making Carpet Environmentally Friendly
Feature Article
Carpets are the most popular floorcovering in the U.S., but they have also been associated with environmental problems including indoor air emissions and intensive resource use. However, manufacturers have worked to curb their environmental footprints by recycling carpet, examining their life-cycle impacts, and pursuing broad-based certification.
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Antimicrobial Chemicals in Buildings: Hygiene or Harm?
Feature Article
Carpets, door handles, and a myriad of other building products now contain pesticides targeting fungi and bacteria, offering potential benefit to the indoor environment, but also raising health concerns. This article asks whether antimicrobial products live up to their marketing claims and whether relying on them is a sound path to a hygienic environment.
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Making Air Barriers that Work: Why and How to Tighten Up Buildings
Feature Article
Incorporating a continuous air barrier into a building's design and construction can save energy and improve the indoor environment, among other benefits. The right materials and assemblies can help accomplish that goal, but careful attention during design and close oversight during construction are essential.
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The Living Building Challenge: Can It Really Change the World?
Feature Article
The Living Building Challenge, with its stringent, all-or-nothing requirements, is out to change the way we build. But is it actually achievable?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Nanomaterials: How Big a Concern?
Explainer
Anytime the "nano" label is applied to a product or technology, it's worth getting clear about what it means.
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Obesogens-A Fatty Issue
Explainer
A number of common chemicals are being found to influence the development of fat cells and contribute to obesity.
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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?
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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.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Wallcoverings
Product Guide
These durable wall treatments have no PVC and no toxic phthalates. This mitigates health concerns with this important design choice.
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Textiles
Product Guide
These high-performance, low-impact fabrics are painstakingly vetted and include biobased synthetics and some natural fibers.
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MDF and Particleboard
Product Guide
Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and interior-grade plywood can emit formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Some materials come from non-sustainable sources.
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Countertops
Product Guide
Select the surface that meets the design objectives, meets health and environmental criteria, and has the greatest durability.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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MP Global's Fibrous Underlayments Achieve Indoor Advantage Gold
News Analysis
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Healthcare May Take LEED in New Directions
News Analysis
The draft of the LEED for Healthcare covers new ground for a LEED rating sytem, including requiring integrated design and offering a credit for avoiding certain chemicals. If approved by the members of the U.S. Green Building Council, these concepts may find their way into other LEED rating systems.
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SierraPine Offers Improved Fire-Retardant MDF
News Analysis
SierraPine has reintroduced its popular fire-resistant, medium-density fiberboard, which contains no added urea-formaldehyde.
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Formaldehyde-Free Bamboo Flooring from EcoTimber
News Analysis
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Finding the Building Products You Need to Do WELL
Blog Post
The WELL Building Standard has stringent transparency and health criteria for products and materials. Here’s how to find what you’ll need for certification.
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An Embarrassment of Riches: Products and Materials at Greenbuild 2017
Blog Post
A new focus on embodied carbon and LEED v4 are driving designers to dive deep into what we choose for our buildings
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Material Transparency for LEED v4: EPDs and HPDs for Metal Studs
Blog Post
Reducing your building’s carbon footprint or health impacts? Going after new LEED credits? Transparency documents for steel studs can help.
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Google Goes Public with Ambitious Carpet Tile Standard
Blog Post
With a new procurement program, Google adopted comprehensive sustainability requirements for modular carpet tile that raise the bar for major manufacturers.
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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