Commercial Architecture September 2016 - 12

healthcare FEATURE Beyond Transparency And Material Reporting While several transparency documents and certificates have been created and are available to assist in purchasing decisions, Tarkett, Solon, OH, believes "simply knowing a certain chemical exists in a product is not enough," according to a recent whitepaper released by the company. To that end, Tarkett, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) has developed the Material Health Statement (MHS). The new disclosure declaration, Tarkett said, strives to cut through the confusion, go deeper than the others, and still maintain a manufacturer's Palomar Medical Center, Escondido, CA, designed by CO Architects, Los Angeles, is the first phase of development of a new 35-acre campus that includes the 360-bed acute-care hospital and a new central plant. Photo: Tom Bonner privacy in regard to proprietary information. As outlined in the whitepaper, the MHS process encompasses the following four steps: multiple instances where manufacturers have told him or sugars, you might start looking through the ingredient * about losing bids because they didn't have the documents. list for those things, and you may make a judgment call Material Inventory: In collaboration with suppli- based on that information," he said. ers, identify and disclose the raw materials used in * products to 100 ppm (parts per million) and identify SPECIFIER JUDGMENTS them by their Chemical Abstracts Service Registry EPDs do not imply that a product is environmentally su- are going to give you that comfortable feeling, but if you Number (CASRN). perior to another. It's simply a declaration of the life-cycle have a specific issue you want to target you might want to Material Screening: Individual chemicals are environmental impact. It is, however, a single source for look at the Type IIIs, the EPDs," Firth said. screened for their hazard rating using the Green performance information, saving a specifier from having "Every purchase is going to have four, five, or 10 differ- Screen List Translator (GS-LT), along with more to go to multiple sources. What it is not going to do is say ent things that are evaluated-sustainability, environmen- than 100 other chemical- hazard lists and scientific that a product is silver, gold, or platinum-good, better, tal impact, and health are going to be just some of those sources of toxicological information in use at the best. things," he added. The specifier must decide. Since several product EPEA. * Material Assessment: The cradle-to-cradle mate- life-cycle aspects are listed, it's up to the specifier to decide WHAT TO DO? rial assessment is specific to the manufacturers' which ones are most important. Water efficiency, for ex- Asked what he would advise architects and designers material ingredients and suppliers. Materials are ample, is likely to be more important to a property owner who are trying to sort out EPDs, HPDs, and certification assessed over their lifecycle, including sourcing, in the West or West Coast. schemes, Firth was optimistic. "I think, in general, partic- production, use, and post-use handling. Chemical EPDs provide a specifier with a holistic view of the ularly if you're focused on LEED certification, there are ingredients are profiled for their safety using product impact along the overall supply chain, Firth not- products that have the correct information that you need eco-toxicological information, scientific literature, ed, but the Type I labels, the kind that rate products as to be able to design and put together your project in a way supplier data, and analytical testing. The chemical good, better, best, or merely environmentally friendly, are that satisfied the requirements in LEED," he said. role in the finished product and its effect on occu- not without value. amount of information and feel they can't understand the Optimization: Products are reformulated using are meant to complement one another. So when you look transparency documents. "You can build your own educa- cradle-to-cradle principles, by selecting materials at the Type I label, it is meant for your everyday individu- tion as you go, but the documents do exist today. If you that are safe, healthy, and beneficial for humans al," Firth said. Comparing EPDs to nutrition labels, he have questions, find a trusted provider who can help guide and the environment, and that can be perpetually noted that the average person isn't going to spend 30 min- you and show you where those documents are and what cycled. utes analyzing each item they pick up at the grocery store. you need," he said. Source: Advancing Transparency and Material Someone who is interested in organic or whole-grain If you're not trying to follow a LEED building model Health, Tarkett products is going to look for the little indicator that says but you do want good products-say your mandate is to the product is organic or all natural. build a healthy building but also see if you can target wa- "On the other hand, if you are concerned about MSG 12 He advised specifiers not to be overwhelmed by the "They don't inherently conflict with one another; they pant exposure is evaluated. * The same is true for Type I and III labels. "The Type Is COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE SEPTEMBER 2016 commercialarchitecturemagazine.com ter reduction-then look for and educate yourself on the http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture September 2016