Unsafe Levels of Formaldehyde in New Homes
Being green means saving energy. However, being green also means staying healthy. A study released today indicates those two goals may be at odds with each other in new homes.
Today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a study of indoor air quality in new homes. The report found that new homes have too little ventilation and too much formaldehyde.
Ventilation in the majority of homes did not meet code.
The median 24‐hour outdoor air exchange rate was 0.26 air changes per hour; 67 percent of the homes were below the California building code requirement of 0.35 air changes per hour…
Inadequate ventilation causes formaldehyde to concentrate inside homes. All homes in the study had unsafe levels of formaldehyde.
Nearly all homes had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation, while 59 percent exceeded guidelines for acute irritation.
Formaldehyde causes asthma, bronchitis, sinus infections, and headaches. Formaldehyde is also a carcinogen, and it has been linked to leukemia.
Testing is the only way to know the formaldehyde concentration in a home. Test badges cost as little at $40 each, including laboratory analysis. An industrial hygienist can locate materials that emit formaldehyde.
I think home buyers need to research the builders before diving head first into a purchse.
I’m important to know what companies are “going green” and which are claiming to.
I found some info on tips to start going green in your existing home first at this website http://www.fischerandfrichtel.com/blog/index.php/category/green-living/ that I think will help some people out.
I think too many people make the mistake of not being selective because they dont want to be perceived as a pest. Do you agree?
Do we really need pre-formed, pressed, pressure treated, chemical-filled materials to build our houses? Does “Green” have to be purchased? I mean, if it is true Green Living that we are after, shouldn’t we just consider what is the absolute minimum we need to live and carefully build our dwelling up from there? … Just as an exercise, for fun, whatever, let’s say we start construction with an earthen dwelling of some sort, as this architect suggests:
“The wise man will build his house inside the Earth… Once a suitable site is located, he or will have it tested for harmful, naturally occurring gasses that sometimes come from cracks in bedrock. Even the enterprising and energetic “she”, as is done in the wilds… often has need to build her own dwelling in which to raise her cubs, and so builds for herself a den! If we men are to take what we can in the way of knowledge from nature, then, we cannot ignore the often underestimated role of the female where home construction is concerned…
For heating and ventilation, we can look to unlikely allies – termites and ants, quite the masters of subterranean building! Indeed, it has recently been discovered that in Africa, many species build quite large and, one might say, even graceful homes; these creatures, though seemingly our enemy and opposite in every way, share our need for warm and cool air, and systems to modify the temperature inside these dwellings to suit their needs, as man does. They accomplish this by utilizing laws of physics that mankind is only now beginning to understand [sic.]. Hot air is pushed out and … (the vacuum) that this creates pulls in cool, fresh air from without…”
- Charles Darninger, 1814 (Scottish architect, writer, and apparent supporter of the wacky-wild idea of female equality… LOL.)
Anyway – I guess my point is, that if we want to live in Green environments, much of what we need to do to accomplish goals of living in healthy, natural spaces is already outlined for us – both by Nature and people too far ahead of their time to be appreciated. (Darninger died in the winter of 1816, penniless and ridiculed, after presenting one too many green, organic designs to clients, who thought he had gone mad – the lot of the visionary, all too often…sigh.)
[...] Linda Kincaid at Green Building Elements points us to a new study (<a href="http://www.arb.ca….Read the full story on [...]
[...] and yet there is no legal requirement for heat recovery ventilators. Now Linda Kincaid at Green Building Elements points us to a new study (Read the full story on TreeHugger Fuente: [...]
We should never confuse “green” home and “healthy” home. While there can be some overlap, green homes are typically about using materials and designs that maximize energy efficiency and renewable energy. Green homes also typically feature materials that are (or, more frequently, merely claim to be) sustainable.
In contrast, truly healthy homes feature materials and designs that minimize indoor air pollution issues, mostly through source elimination. Healthy homes are also energy efficient and more comfortable.
Ventilation is important to healthy homes and the California Air Resources Board and California Energy Commission study referred to in the article confirmed that fresh air ventilation rates in new homes are typically quite low. The abstract states:
“The median 24-hour outdoor air exchange rate was 0.26 air changes per hour; 67 percent of the homes were below the California building code requirement of 0.35 air changes per hour; and 32 percent of the homes did not use their windows. . . The median indoor formaldehyde concentration was 36 micrograms per cubic meter (range of 4.8 to 136 micrograms per cubic meter). Nearly all homes had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation, while 59 percent exceeded guidelines for acute irritation. In conclusion, new single-family detached homes in California are built relatively airtight, can have very low outdoor air exchange rates, and can often exceed exposure guidelines for air contaminants with indoor sources, such as formaldehyde and some other volatile organic compounds. Mechanical ventilation systems are needed to provide a dependable, continuous supply of outdoor air to new homes, and reductions of various indoor formaldehyde sources are also needed.
This makes sense if you think about it. Most new homes are built tight to be energy efficient. But tighter homes are more prone to potential indoor air pollution with the many VOC- and formaldehyde-emitting building materials, including ordinary fiber glass batt insulation (i.e., pink or yellow batts). Since most new homes do not have continuous mechanical ventilation like commercial office buildings and classrooms do, new home indoor air pollution can be a potential problem. That’s why it’s important to specify as many non-emitting building materials as possible.
Here’s the full disclosure – I am with Johns Manville, which has the industry’s only full line of certified Formaldehyde-freeTM building insulation. Think of Johns Manville as Warren Buffett’s insulation company since we are part of Berkshire Hathaway.
We switched to a no-added-formaldehyde formulation in 2002 because it seemed like a smart thing to do and because pollution prevention is part of our corporate culture. This has turned out to be a good move, especially given the important agency action last month on formaldehyde hazard.
Our Formaldehyde-freeTM building insulation is also sustainable because we use a lower-energy, lower-carbon, and lower-emitting manufacturing process. In fact, our HERMTM process can meet the EPA Clean Air Act fiber glass NSPS without added abatement equipment and our dedicated HERMTM plants have such low GHG emissions that we will be exempt from both California AB-32 and proposed federal climate change regulatory schemes. Our products are made mostly from recycled glass beverage bottles and sand, a rapidly renewing and widely distributed material.
Bruce Ray
Johns Manville