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At face value, cabinetry may seem to be made of one type of wood, but its construction is much more complex. Many prefabricated cabinets are built using a combination of three or more wood composites and veneers, which typically use toxic glues containing formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.

By comparing the material contents and construction in prefabricated cabinets, we created a spectrum that indicates the relationship between affordability and health. We typically consider the health effects during all phases of product development, but these diagrams are focused on the health effects during installation and inhabitation.

Currently, prefabricated cabinets are composed of 5%-30% healthier materials. Designers can increase this percentage by requesting manufacturers to build with NAF (no added formaldehyde) composite woods. This often comes with an increased price. Our Composite Wood Product and Spec Guidance gives a range of healthier substitutions.

This guidance document aims to give an overview of potential hazardous substances that might occur in construction products and when appearing as waste need attention during renovation and demolition activities. Focus in this guideline is on hazardous substances regulated by EU or international agreements or national legislation.

Although the present legislation restricts the use of many hazardous substances in new building products, there is a considerable concern for compounds present in old construction products, since their presence in construction and demolition waste may limit the recyclability of the material and potentially cause waste management problems. One group of substances that has recently received attention are persistent organic pollutants (POP substances) such as e.g. some brominated flame retardants.

Important characteristic of the construction and building products is the relatively long life span. Because of long lifespan the restricted substances will enter the waste stream many decades after a ban has been placed on their use and they can therefore be found in renovation or demolition waste for a long time. Many of these substances provide important functionality in a wide range of products, e.g. flame retardants.

Besides hazardous substances also degradation in composition and quality aspects (e.g. mould) of construction products needs to be considered.

This document is part of the pre-demolition overall guidance document developed in the PARADE project.

Tarkett have introduced an eco-innovation programme with the aim of providing more comfortable, healthy and people-friendly indoor spaces without compromising performance and design experience. Key initiatives include:

• Phthalate free technology in their New Generation Vinyl flooring;
• Low VOC emissions in flooring;
• ReStart Takeback and Recycling Programme, and use of recycled materials in new products.

In this report, we present a list of Chemicals of Concern (CoCs) in plastic toys, with supporting information on the applied selection criteria. To identify the CoCs, we started from a literature review of available plastic toys compositions studies, and obtained the chemical mass fraction in plastic toy as well as the chemical functions. The chemical emissions from the plastic toys and subsequent human exposures were then estimated using a series of models and the coupled nearfield and far-field exposure assessment framework. Finally, the human exposure doses were compared to toxicity measures such as the reference dose (RfD), or median effective dose (ED50) for cancer effects, to evaluate the health risks on children. Chemical-material combinations that have a hazard quotient (HQ) > 10, a margin of exposure (MoE) < 100, or a lifetime cancer risk > 10-6 were included in the list of CoCs. In total, 35 (less than 10%) of all chemical-material combinations studied were identified as CoCs. The results indicate that a relevant amount of chemicals used in plastic toys may pose a non-negligible health risk to children, calling for more refined investigations and more human- and eco-friendly alternatives.

This document has been developed within the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ID: 9771 on Global Best Practices on Emerging Chemical Policy Issues of Concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP and executed by the SAICM Secretariat.

Buyer’s guide from Havard University for specifying furniture and materials free from flame retardants in university procurement