Take an inside look into emerging markets and trends. Gain valuable new perspectives from HBN experts and our partners. Be inspired to know better.
James Vallette | July 26, 2018
For Immediate Release, Thursday, July 26, 2018
Contact: Jim Vallette, jvallette@healthybuilding.net (cell: 646-522-1605)
Landmark report provides little known details of plastics production: asbestos, mercury, global warming, and ocean pollution.
The Healthy Building Network today released Phase 1 of a landmark report on chlorine based plastics that are widely used in common building and construction products such as pipes, roofing, flooring, adhesives, and many more. It is intended to inform the efforts of building product manufacturers to reduce pollution in their supply chains.
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Gina Ciganik | July 2018 Newsletter
Knowing better is the first step to doing better. Our updated tagline - Know Better - is part of Healthy Building Network’s new brand and website, and captures the essence of our work. Our research, data tools, and education related to the impacts of human and environmental health from toxic chemical use, provide you the opportunity to avoid chemicals and products that expose you, your children, and your planet to unwanted and unnecessary health implications.
We invite you to explore our new website and learn from our resources. Together, it is possible to achieve a healthy future for all of us, and the generations to come.
Wishing you good health,
Gina Ciganik, CEO - Healthy Building Network
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Rebecca Stamm | July 2018 Newsletter
In our 2017 report, Eliminating Toxics in Carpet: Lessons for the Future of Recycling, HBN identified toxic chemicals and materials that are commonly found in carpet. We also outlined pathways to optimize these products for lower health impacts and improved recyclability. Ensuring the use of materials with lower toxicity and designing carpet for recyclability is key for California to responsibly reach its mandate of doubling the rate of carpet recycling by 2020. Several recent steps in California show promise in this optimization process.
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Bill Walsh | July 2018 Newsletter
This year, Greenbuild has created a People’s Voice track, and HBN has proposed a session that we hope will earn your vote: the first conference presentation of our forthcoming global inventory of chlorine and PVC production.
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Billy Weber | July 2018 Newsletter
The JPB Foundation has awarded Healthy Building Network funding to continue and expand the work of our pioneering HomeFree initiative, which improves the health of marginalized communities by advancing and accelerating the adoption of healthier materials in affordable housing. HomeFree connects the dots between the toxics in our built environment and human health implications – like asthma, developmental delays, cancer, and more. This funding will allow us to build capacity through new educational options, co-create actionable solutions with our regional and national partners, and scale our impact.
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Rebecca Stamm | July 2018 Newsletter
Healthy Building Network has introduced a new sealant category on HomeFree, our national initiative supporting affordable housing leaders who are improving human health by using less-toxic building materials. The new recommendations and hazard spectrum were developed by HBN for the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) Healthier Affordable Building Materials project.
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Tom Lent | July 2018 Newsletter
The Healthy Building Network (HBN) has rolled out a new tool for identifying chemicals of concern and finding less hazardous alternatives. The Chemical Hazard Data Commons combines the power of HBN’s Pharos Chemical and Material Library with new tools for visualizing hazard scoring, comparing hazards for chemical lists, staying on top of changes, finding safer alternatives, surveying other databases, and tapping the wisdom of the Data Commons community to collaborate on problem solving and solutions.
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Michel Dedeo | July 2018 Newsletter
The Pharos Chemical and Material Library, our flagship database, extends its reach as the unmatched tool for researching chemical hazards with the addition of hazard data for 26,000 previously uncharacterized chemicals. The bulk of this data (almost 50,000 distinct hazards for 25,000 chemicals) are modeled hazard associations using QSAR (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship) from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. This type of computer modeled data is used extensively by the pharmaceutical industry to predict beneficial and non-beneficial impacts of chemicals. The hazard data for an additional 1,000 previously uncharacterized chemicals were submitted by manufacturers to the European Chemicals Agency under the EU law known as REACH (European Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).
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Rebecca Stamm | July 2018 Newsletter
Organotins are common additives in a wide variety of building products. They have replaced other toxic stabilizers and catalysts—like lead and cadmium—in plastic products, but have their own issues, and are another emerging example of regrettable substitution.
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Bill Walsh | July 2018 Newsletter
Building product retailers, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, are showing welcome leadership in the drive toward healthier building materials. Their efforts are important both in scale, which could change the national supply chain, and scope, as these retailers are offering healthier products in all market segments, including lower priced items.
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