Unbedenkliche Bauprodukte für Umwelt und Gesundheit: Wie viel ...

1. Report No.
UBA-FB 000944
2. 3.
4. Report Title
Safe Construction Products for Health and the Environment: How much testing is necessary
to implement the EC Construction Products Directive?
5. Author(s), Family Name(s), First Name(s) 8. Report Date
Rheinberger, Ulrike 1.3. 2006
Bunke, Dirk 9. Publication Date
6. Performing Organisation (Name, Address) January 2007
Öko-Institut e.V. 10. UFOPLAN-Ref. No.
Büro Berlin, Novalisstr. 10 FKZ 202 95 384
D-10115 Berlin 11. No. of Pages: 141
7. Sponsoring Agency (Name, Address)
Umweltbundesamt
Wörlitzer Platz 1
D-06844 Dessau
15. Supplementary Notes: none
12. No. of References:
90
13. No. of Tables: 16
14. No. of Figures: 8
16. Abstract
The European Construction Products Directive requires that harmonised standards and
approvals for construction products fulfil the Essential Requirement nr. 03 “Hygiene, Health and
Environment” of the directive. The so-called first generation of about 500 product standards and
approval guidelines is being published since 2001. With few exceptions, they do not contain any
requirements concerning health and the environment. These shall be implemented in the next or
second next revisions of the standards in question. To specify the task of implementing requirements,
the European Commission has provided a mandate to CEN concerning the standardisation
work for the development of horizontal assessment methods relating to dangerous
substances under the construction products directive.
To minimise the burden of testing and to avoid that construction products, which have
already been demonstrated to be safe for health and the environment, have to be repeatedly
tested, the mandate includes the option of exempting groups of construction products by classifying
them as WT (accepted without testing) and WFT (accepted without further testing).
The research project had the task to show, how such a classification could be carried out,
and which criteria or assessment methods could be applied to product groups to make sure that
a high level of health and environment related protection is given. For the purpose, two product
groups were chosen as examples: plasters, mortars and gypsum boards for questions related to
emissions to indoor air and road construction products for questions related to emissions to soil
and groundwater. Representatives of industry, standardisation bodies and public bodies were
involved through 6 workshops to gather the state of knowledge and to aim at concepts, which
would be supported by the stakeholders.
Assessment methods, criteria and procedural approaches were identified, which allow to
classify product groups as safe for human health and the environment from the point of view of
German protection levels. It was shown that the chosen product groups could be assumed
classifiable as WT, but that in most cases further evidence is required to allow a classification
on a scientifically valid basis.
17. Keywords
Construction Products, Dangerous Substances, Indoor Air Quality, Soil and Water Protection,
Sustainable Products, Plasters, Mortars, Gypsum boards, Road construction products, Construction
products directive, Test methods