Materials Air Quality Testing

CARB Formaldehyde Chamber Materials Air Quality Test
Materials Air Quality Testing Since news broke that Lumber Liquidators distributed composite wood flooring in California that did not meet California Air Resource Board (CARB) formaldehyde emission standards, we’ve been getting lots of questions about materials air quality testing. Some folks are interested in joining the class action law suit, some distributors and installation companies
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Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde Testing

Low Prices often equal Low Quality - You get what you pay for?
Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde Testing Recent investigative journalism exposed a Lumber Liquidators formaldehyde content issue and revealed an unfortunate tale that may affect hundreds of thousands of homes across the US. During active federal investigations for suspicion of using illegally harvested lumber from Russia, it turns out one of the largest flooring distributors in the US
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Are Antimicrobials the Next Cigarette?

Even Your Kids Prefer Chesterfields
What is the Next Cigarette? When people learn of the similar legislative history of tobacco, lead, and asbestos… the astute audience often asks, “What is the next cigarette?” The road to law in the US is covered in pot holes and more curvy than Lombard Street. A quick look at the history of cigarette laws will
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What is Asbestos?

Asbestos with muscovite
What is Asbestos? How Dangerous Is It and What Is It Doing In My House? These are all questions we’ve asked ourselves at one point or another.  We’ve all wondered WHY would something as potentially carcinogenic have been used with near abandon for so long? Why would this potential carcinogen be lurking our homes, our
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Understanding LEED IAQ Testing Requirements

MODERN COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Understanding LEED IAQ Testing Requirements LEED 2009 and LEEDv4 both have credits that require building flush-outs or building air quality testing prior to occupancy. The credit requires that after construction ends, the GC must install new filtration media and flush-out the building by supplying a total air volume of 14,000 cubic feet of outdoor air per square
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Microwave Ovens and EMR Exposure Precautions

EMR from microwave ovens
Microwave ovens work due to the fact that radio-frequThis technology is in the majority of homes and businesses. Precautions to reduce exposure of EMR from microwave ovens encies/microwaves produce dielectric heating of water molecules when produced with enough wattage.  This effect generally affects outer 1” to 1-1/2” of the foodstuff’s water molecules, hence the reason reheating a thick
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Safe Cookware

safe cookware
Does Stainless Steel Leach Chemicals? There is a lot of information in the blogosphere about health and safety in cookware, but when a client asked whether stainless steel leached dangerous chemicals, I was unable to find a quick answer to her question. I decided to look into the issue of safe cookware myself. In one 2013
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What is in that New Car Smell?

Testing a new car for VOC’s and Formaldehyde Healthy Building Science recently leased a brand new 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Clean Diesel for use by the inspection department.  While the car is very nice, low emissions and great mileage, it definitely has that New Car Smell.  Being the science geeks we are at HBS, I
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Not All LED’s are the Same (Addendum)

LED Dirty Electricity
Dirty Electricity Concerns? In the recent blog of September 10th, 2013, EMI and LEDs – Not all LEDs are the same! we described dirty electricity and examined several brands of CFLs and LEDs.  This blog tests several more brands of LEDs to determine which produces the least amount of LED dirty electricity . It has
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Lead in Ceramics

lead in ceramics
Recently I was helping a client select ceramic tiles in her new home, and my initial instinct was to approve all the tiles as “healthy” without much research into their contents. I couldn’t imagine there would be any toxicity issues with lead in ceramics. Wasn’t Lead Banned in Ceramics Along with Paints? After reading that one
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