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Blogs

Take an inside look into emerging markets and trends. Gain valuable new perspectives from HBN experts and our partners. Be inspired to know better.

PEER hits coal waste in building products

Bill Walsh | August 19, 2010 | Materials

If you have been working to eliminate mercury exposure and contamination, it is well worth reading the comments filed yesterday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (http://www.peer.org) objecting to EPA's proposal to promote the beneficial use of coal ash wastes in a wide array of products from cement to cosmetics.

As a PEER w...


Trends in Transparency

Bill Walsh | July 14, 2010 | Policies

Think "transparency" is an established, maturing theme? You ain't seen nothing yet. Trendwatching.com

The news this summer provides more insight into why the assortment of eco-labels and certifications that define green products today is a transitional stage, soon to be eclipsed by an unprecedented convergence of better information a...


Healthy Paints Part 2: Beyond VOC Content – Getting the Toxics Out

Tom Lent | June 24, 2010 | Policies

Last week we described the major reductions in VOC content we are seeing in paints (Paint Industry Drives Toward Zero VOCs -- Will Certifications Catch Up?). But does a low-VOC content number mean these paints are actually safe from the perspective of environmental health? Not necessarily.

As we described in an earlier blog (Sorting Out The VOCs),...


Congress passes CA-based formaldehyde limits for composite wood

Tom Lent | June 24, 2010 | Policies

The US Congress has approved legislation[1] to limit allowable emissions of formaldehyde from composite wood products, specifically hardwood plywood, particleboard and medium-density fiberboard sold in the United States. The new limits in are based on the levels established for the State of California in 2007 by the California Air Resources Board (...


Mossville, at the Crossroads of Environmental Justice and Green Building

Paul Bogart | June 02, 2010 | Policies

As I spend my days within a world of data, certifications, lunch and learns, and labels, I often remind myself why I do this for a living. I think of people living on the front lines of industrial production that I hope will one day benefit from my work. People that I have met in communities struggling for the basic right to clean air and uncontami...


Shine and Color Matter: Paint Tints, Sheens and Human Health

Julie Silas | June 02, 2010 | Materials

There are thousands of paint products on the market today.  For interior paint products, manufacturers offer a variety of sheens: flat, eggshell, gloss, semi-gloss.  And, for each sheen, the product is offered in a whole host of base tint options: neutral, white tint, pastel tint, dark tint, etc.

In Pharos, we started the standard paint...


"LEED Standards Insufficient to Protect Human Health," Finds New Report

Bill Walsh | June 02, 2010 | Policies

A new report released last week concludes, "[LEED] 'platinum,' 'gold,' and 'silver' status conveys the false impression of a healthy and safe building environment, even when well-recognized hazardous chemicals exist in building products," and, "LEED standards are insufficient to protect human health." The...


Fly Ash: More Questions than Answers from EPA

Bill Walsh | May 19, 2010 | Materials

On May 4, 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a long-awaited proposal that addresses “coal combustion residuals,” known as CCRs, which include fly ash that is frequently used as recycled content in building materials. The EPA proposal aggressively promotes this use of fly ash as a “beneficial use.” To drast...