Healthcare Design - August 2013 - 69

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EPDs vs. HPDs:

Health and Hypocrisy

The hidden toxic truths the building products industry doesn't want you to know.
By Denis Darragh,
General Manager, Forbo Flooring Systems, North America

T

oday's architects, designers, developers and building owners
have more information about the safety of building products
than ever before. Despite this wealth of data, the tragic
fact is that they still aren't receiving the whole truth about the
environmental impact of the products they specify.
This lack of knowledge is no accident. It is actively perpetuated
by some within the building products industry who wish to create
the appearance of openness and disclosure, while simultaneously
working behind the scenes to keep the full facts out of view.
The curtain is drawn tightest around issues of ecotoxicity (the
harmful effects of a substance on ecosystems) and human toxicity
(the potential of a substance to do harm to human life). Most
manufacturers provide very little information on the way their
products affect people and the natural environment that surrounds
them. Many trade organizations that represent them are similarly
unwilling to touch on toxicity issues. It is quite likely that some
manufacturers and trade associations are afraid of taking an honest
look at the issue for fear of what they'd find, on the misguided belief
that what you don't know won't hurt you.
Right now, a team of construction industry experts are hard at
work on a new standard tool that could open the door to a new era of
full disclosure. The work is focused on improving the Environmental
Product Declaration (EPD), a standardized tool used to communicate
the environmental performance of a building product. An EPD
is similar to a nutrition label on food products. In theory, the EPD
should help designers and construction professionals make reliable
judgments on the environmental impact of the products they
specify. A building's owner or occupant should be able to use EPD
information to gain assurance that the interior spaces they manage
or inhabit are healthy ones.
Unfortunately, the real performance of the EPD falls short of
the ideal. Some major manufacturers have used loopholes within
this standard to cover up toxicity issues connected with their
building products. The loopholes were created by manipulating the
data requirements for Product Category Rules (PCR), the technical
documents from which EPDs
Some industry insiders draw their information. Some
insiders have created
have created their own industry
their own PCRs which remove
PCRs which remove
measures of ecotoxicity and
toxicity, rendering
measures of ecotoxicity human
the resulting EPDs toothless.
and human toxicity,
They justify their efforts on
debatable claim that
rendering the resulting the
insufficient data exists to
EPDs toothless.
apply life cycle assessment
to these impact categories.
While the debate rages, products like PVC flooring go to market with
a clean environmental bill of health...an image which falls far short
of the truth.
A group of leading architects, building managers and product
manufacturers have responded to the information gap by creating
the Health Product Declaration (HPD), a whole new standard for
product hazard reporting that more responsibly reflects issues of
human health and environmental toxicity.
The new standard represents a major step forward in

The HPD contains everything in the EPD, plus two
essential missing points: Ecotoxicity and Human Toxicity
transparency. It incorporates the data from the EPD, combining it
with trustworthy, verifiable measures of ingredients that impact
ecotoxicity and human toxicity. It creates a disclosure document
that truthfully indicates the toxicity impact of a product on the
people who live with it, and the natural environment that it exists
within.
Best of all, the HPD uses an open-source approach to deciding
which criteria are included. This places some of the decision-making
power in the hands of architects, specifiers and others who don't
have a vested interest in the outcome. By using the open-source
approach that has proved so successful in the computer software
development industry, the HPD becomes a standard that no
individual or group can unduly influence. Radical environmentalists
cannot distort it, nor can industry insiders with a toxicity issue to
disguise.
No matter what role you play in the design, construction or
real estate management industries, you have a role to play in
improving the future of the built environment and the living things
that share our world with it. By taking a few simple steps, you
and other professionals like you can promote an environment of
healthy transparency and create a more sustainable world for future
generations.
Step 1: Insist upon full disclosure. If you specify building
materials, demand the information found in both the EPD and
the Health Product Declaration (HPD). Ask for full transparency. If
your request isn't met, ask why. If you are on the manufacturing
side of the equation, advocate for greater transparency.
Step 2: Ask yourself the tough questions. Before you make a
decision on a building material, be willing to consider all the ways
it could contribute to a healthy environment. Is it sourced from
sustainable materials, and designed to minimize construction
waste? Does it emit compounds that might impact human health?
Are excessive amounts of energy or scarce raw materials used in its
creation? Can it be safely removed and naturally recycled at the end
of its working life?
Step 3: Be an advocate within your industry. By willingly
speaking to others in your company about the need to pay
attention to ecotoxicity and human toxicity, you can use
your influence to spread the word. Get involved in trade or
professional organizations to advance the goal of transparency.
Please visit www.forboflooringNA.com/truth to learn more.
http://www.forboflooringNA.com/truth
Healthcare Design - August 2013

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