Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality

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Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality

by SHELLY SANDERS GREER, Toronto Star

Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality Boost ventilation to

clear toxic gas Particleboard now subject of debate

http://www.imakenews.com/pureaircontrols/e_article000612777.cfm?

x=b7Fk9yr,bvtv58G

Jul. 1, 2006. 01:00 AM

SHELLY SANDERS GREER

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

While building " green " has been gaining momentum over the past few

years, indoor air quality has actually taken a back seat.

The level of energy efficiency in new homes has increased, and will

continue to increase when the updated Ontario Building Code,

requiring better energy efficiency, takes effect next year.

But, unless there is a stronger emphasis on ventilation and an

avoidance of building products that release or off-gas toxic

chemicals, indoor air quality will continue to erode. And it doesn't

matter if you buy a $300,000 home or a $2-million home. Toxic

building products are used in every home built in Ontario.

In a recent report from Environmental Defence (a charity) called

Polluted Children, Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadian

Families, lab tests found that adults in their test group had an

average of 32 toxins in their bodies, while children had 23.

Although the test group was small, just 13 people from across

Canada, it has spurred Health Canada to begin a larger, national

program tracking toxic substances next year.

The report revealed three significant findings that cannot be

ignored. First, the toxins found are known carcinogens; second,

every child tested had at least one toxin at a higher level than the

adults; and third, many of the toxins exist in all homes.

Probably the most ubiquitous building product in every new home is

particleboard, which can be found in subfloors, cabinet boxes,

shelves, closets, interior doors, window bases, moulding and kitchen

cabinet doors. Particleboard can take the form of plywood, MDF or

oriented strand board.

Particleboard is a composite product made with sawdust and

formaldehyde, explains Dan , an engineer who is president of

Healthy Building Inc. and teaches a program on sustainable building

at Seattle Community College.

" It is used anywhere in a house that used to be wood, and it is one

of the worst things we have ever put into housing " he says. " Its

half-life is between 10 and 40 years, which means it will off-gas

formaldehyde for a long time. MDF has a higher density than plywood,

so the formaldehyde comes out a bit slower than in plywood. "

Dr. Kapil Khatter, director of health and environment for Pollution

Watch and president of Canadian Physicians for the Environment, says

formaldehyde is a carcinogen. He suggests particleboard should never

be used.

But Bergeron, media relations officer for Health Canada, says

formaldehyde is present at low levels in all Canadian buildings. In

an email, she explains that most homes tested in Canadian studies

have had formaldehyde levels below the Health Canada guideline.

However, she does suggest we can lower our exposure to formaldehyde

by increasing the flow of outdoor air to the inside, which means

increased ventilation. She also agrees " wood-based products

assembled with urea-formaldehyde resins (particleboard or MDF) emit

more formaldehyde than those assembled with phenol-formaldehyde

resins (such as oriented strand board), and bare products emit more

than coated products. "

Although Canadian-made particleboards are tested on a regular basis

for the Japanese market, and have the best rating going into this

market, we import a lot of the particleboard used in our own new

homes.

Dale Black, manager of quality management systems for the Canadian

Plywood Association, says Canada does not test for formaldehyde for

imported plywood or MDF.

, who says the same problem exists in the U.S., attributes it

to free trade.

" In the late '80s we had lowered formaldehyde by 70 per cent, " he

says. " In the late '90s, with free trade, formaldehyde was going up

again. The reason is we can't tell any other country what to do or

how to make products. So we are importing lots of particleboard from

Mexico which has lots of formaldehyde. "

Complicating the increase in formaldehyde levels is the tighter,

more energy-efficient homes being built, where pollutants build up

and are harder to get rid of, says , who believes the biggest

problem is inadequate ventilation.

" In houses with poor ventilation, dust can get to be 500,000

particles per cubic foot of air that you breathe. I think there is a

conflict between green building and indoor air quality. "

's advice to homebuilders is simple: " If in doubt, keep it

out " and provide good ventilation in all new homes.

He would like to see heat-recovery ventilation systems in all energy-

efficient homes. This would allow fresh air to enter the house

through a single intake and then be distributed through ducts to

other rooms. Stale, polluted air would be removed through a separate

exhaust duct.

Winterton, executive director for Environmental Defence, says

we should be getting rid of known products with toxic chemicals as

soon as possible.

" It's a matter of mandating industry to implement pollution plans

and implement products with safer materials, " she says. " Should

products with toxic chemicals be created in the first place? "