Better Living Through (Green) Chemistry

(Originally published in the December '09 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

If you’re like me, that phrase brings back memories of nerdy high school science films extolling the modern marvels of convenience, value and progress, made possible by the Chemical Industry. It was a huge post-war economic engine that expanded its reach into nearly every product category and helped fuel the rise of the American suburb. There are now about 80,000 chemicals on the market, but only a few hundred have been tested for human or ecological safety. One unintended consequence is that many of these chemicals have reached into our ecosystems, including the very top of our food chain – us.

“Body burden” is the term toxicologists use to describe the toxic load an individual might be carrying at a given moment – several hundred substances, some of which will accumulate, others metabolized and excreted. Pregnant mothers will pass these substances to her child. One of the common pathways for exposure to toxic chemicals is through inhaling airborne pollutants. Most people have heard by now that indoor air can be far worse than outdoor air, and that the rise of asthma, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases could be caused by long-term, low-level exposures to the chemicals that surround us in daily life. And of course, we spend most of our time indoors.

The LEED rating systems aim to drastically reduce potential exposures to building occupants by limiting the use of emitting materials in the first place, and promoting active measures for improving indoor air quality. I always recommend stocking products that contribute to LEED credits, especially low-emitting, less-toxic products, that appeal to the green builders in your area. Products like formaldehyde-free plywood and cabinets, formaldehyde-free insulation, zero-VOC adhesives, zero-VOC paints and coatings – the list of less-toxic alternatives is long. But the list of emitting products, products that would not meet LEED’s requirements for indoor air quality, is much longer.

I invite you now to get up (after reading the article first, of course!) and follow your nose around your store. Pick up a few products and pronounce their ingredients. The paints, strippers, cleaners, pest killers, weed killers, plywood and treated lumber – what is the quality of this air that you and your staff breathe everyday? There’s a very good chance that some nasty neurotoxins, carcinogens, and endocrine disruptors are floating around in the mix. Unintended consequences, yes. More importantly, the people who might be exposed to off-gassing chemicals are probably the people you most care about. Swapping out the high-emitting products in your inventory, in favor those with zero or dramatically fewer toxic emissions, contributes to a healthier workplace with fewer liability issues.

In the long run, there are large-scale initiatives underway that will eventually lead to safer alternatives through greener chemistry. The Toxic Substances Control Act, the current federal chemical oversight regime, will likely be strengthened, giving the EPA more power to eliminate toxics and require manufacturers to prove health and safety before bringing new formulations to market. In California, the Green Chemical Initiative is undertaking a range of activities designed to make rapid progress eliminating toxics and stimulating growth of greener alternatives. However, the positive effects of these efforts won’t be felt for years.

In the meantime, the motivated dealer can learn more about body burden, LEED and indoor air quality from dozens of informative online resources – start Googling! SCS, GreenGuard and GreenSeal publish lists of their certified products, and there are other green product databases out there, too. The intended consequences could be felt immediately, leaving those you care most about breathing a little easier.