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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.

USGBC: PVC Is Not a Healthy Building Material

Tom Lent | March 09, 2007 | Materials

"When we add end-of-life with accidental landfill fires and backyard burning, the additional risk of dioxin emissions puts PVC consistently among the worst materials for human health impacts..." USGBC Technical Science Advisory Committee (TSAC) final report. The verdict is in. On February 26, 2007, the Technical Science Advisory Committee...


Vinyl Institute Defends Lead In Children's Lunchboxes

Bill Walsh | February 23, 2007 | Policies

Within days of asserting in a letter to leading US playground manufacturer BigToys that "the use of lead and cadmium to stabilize PVC has declined dramatically in the United States," [1] the Vinyl Institute has publicly defended the industry's use of lead stabilizers in children's lunchboxes.


Delivering On the Promise of Green Building

Bill Walsh | February 02, 2007 | Policies

The Unity Homes Team: Lillie Bender, Jim Vallette, Paul Bogart With one home now built, and deepening relationships with our non-profit community organizations, economic development officials, leading modular housing engineers, and structured finance experts, the Unity Homes Project is well-placed to establish, by the end of 2007, a factory in Mis...


A Climate Change In The Green Building Movement

Bill Walsh | January 19, 2007 | Policies

The first Healthy Building News for 2007 is a week late. On the eve of publication last week, our scheduled topic was rendered moot by the US EPA's decision to prohibit the residential use of a toxic pressure treated wood formula known as ACC (acid copper chromate). Its main ingredient, hexavalent chromium, is the human carcinogen that made Eri...


GreenSpec Says: "Avoid PVC"

Bill Walsh | October 27, 2006 | Policies

GreenSpec [1], the UK construction industry's definitive guide to sustainable construction, has completed a comparative evaluation of numerous building materials, including PVC building components. GreenSpec's easy-to-use guide provides both detailed and summary analysis. A section entitled "We Would Specify" directs users to mate...


Green Chemistry at Greenbuild

Bill Walsh | September 29, 2006 | Policies

"Green chemistry is the foundation of our desire to replace design that does no harm with restorative and regenerative design." -- Vivian Loftness, FAIA

The greening of chemistry and building practices emerged contemporaneously in the early 90's. The seminal book in the field, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice [1], was published i...