LEED Report - Environment & Human Health, Inc.

The Green Building Debatematerial in the workplace is associated with asthma in adults. A clinicaldiagnosis of bronchial obstruction has been shown to be more commonamong children living in homes with PVC flooring than in homes withwood flooring, and more common among children in homes with textilewallpaper than with painted walls. If the PVC flooring gets wet, it can leadto elevated indoor air concentrations of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (2E1H), avolatile organic compound (VOC) that is a hydrolysis product of DEHP. 33A growing list of companies has committed to a PVC phase-out, and theAmerican Public Health Association has called for an industrial chlorinephase-out. Other nations have also taken action: Denmark has called forthe minimization of PVC use in public buildings; Norway’s secondlargest city, Bergen, made the decision in 1991 to phase out PVC; and inthe United Kingdom, numerous local authorities have policies banningvinyl windows in public buildings. 34Some groups advocate for vinyl-free alternative purchasing policies inconstruction. Several U.S. municipalities—including Portland, Seattle,New York and San Francisco—are also developing policies to reducethe use of vinyl. These movements are not without challenges from thevinyl industry. When New York State began offering a green buildingtax-credit program designed to encourage sustainable building materials,and excluded vinyl flooring, the vinyl flooring industry filed a lawsuitcontesting the State’s refusal to recognize vinyl flooring as a greenbuilding material. 35Studies in children noteassociations betweenindicators of phthalateexposure in the homeand risk of asthmaand allergies....In 2000, a LEED credit was proposed to award the avoidance of PVC inbuilding products used in new construction to “Eliminate the use ofvirgin PVC and any chemical listed in the OSHA Toxic & HazardousSubstances.” 36In response to criticism from industry groups, the Green BuildingCouncil appointed a committee to evaluate whether PVC-basedmaterials are consistently among the worst of the alternative materialsstudied in terms of environmental and health impacts. The committeeconcluded that the credit should not be offered, noting that alternative33