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California tests conventional and "green"products for emissions
By Ted Smalley Bowen

	By measuring emissions of paint, furniture, and finishes, California officials aim to develop a list of acceptable products for use in public buildings, such as libraries.
	For emissions testing, products like office chairs (above) are sealed in a chamber where offgasses are tested.

Weighing the health and environmental effects of building products typically means sifting through incomplete, mismatched, or out-of-date manufacturers’ literature, government documents, and lab data. Officials in California, perennially the green-building trendsetter among states, recently stepped into the breach by publishing the results of emissions tests on paint, ceiling panels, carpeting, wall components, flooring, and other indoor products that are manufactured both conventionally and with recycled content. Their work will make it easier for designers to compare available products and anticipate their impact on indoor air quality (IAQ).

The tests were coordinated by two different groups—a state agency, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), and the nonprofit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS). They were based on the state’s special environmental requirements specifications (Section 01350) for sustainable building projects. The tests screened for more than 70 substances, including ammonia, benzene, chlorine, and toluene. To establish the limits in the specifcations, researchers drew up a list of chemical compounds typically found in indoor air, calculated safe exposure levels for a 20-year period, and halved those figures to establish maximum allowable emissions.

So far, the data suggest that conventionally manufactured products and those that contain recycled content have roughly similar emissions profiles. Many of the products failed to meet the state’s public health emissions standards for this criterion, most on the basis of a single chemical, according to officials. Big chemical offenders included naphthalene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde, which are tied to respiratory and eye problems. The 01350 tests helped counter the perception that products containing significant recycled content are worse for IAQ than standard products, according to Tom Estes, manager of the waste management board’s sustainable building program. “Emissions are really dependent on what you put into the material, regardless of whether it’s virgin or recycled,” says Anthony Bernheim, FAIA, managing principal and head of green design at SMWM in San Francisco and an adviser for the state’s research efforts.

The tests funded by the waste management board were conducted by the California Department of Health Services (DHS), which evaluated 77 samples of interior building products. After a 10-day airing-out period, products were prepared as they would be for assembly or installation (e.g., adhesives applied to carpets) and tested for 96 hours in a sealed chamber. The measured concentrations are used to model estimated concentrations in typical classrooms or offices, based on assumed spatial dimensions and ventilation rates.

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