Magnetic Field Guidelines for the New Home  EMF is a broad umbrella term encompassing many aspects of electromagnetic issues that can affect human health. Subcatagories of EMF issues include RF Radiation (also known as ElectroMagnetic Radiation [EMR]), Interior/Exterior Magnetic Fields, Interior/ Exterior Electric Fields, Transient Voltage Fluctuations (also known as Dirty Electricity or ElectroMagnetic Interference

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

High Magnetic Fields Exterior Net Current Mitigation: EMF Mitigation for Magnetic Fields Intermittent MF Issues: Exterior-sourced Net Current  EMF Mitigation for Magnetic Fields Problems in Detail: A child’s bedroom showed a line of higher than anticipated magnetic fields running up the guest bedroom wall from the main electrical panel situated in the garage below.  This

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

Lead is a natural elemental metal that has many uses and has been used through antiquity. Though it has many uses it is extremely toxic to humans and as such, has been regulated by government agencies throughout the world. Awareness is growing, but people are still exposed to lead. Lead: an introduction to help you

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

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

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

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

When performing EMF surveys many “EMF consultants” only evaluate low-frequency magnetic fields.  When folks call and say they “have an EMF meter” and are measuring “high emf,” they generally have a Gauss meter and are measuring magnetic field field strength or magnetic flux. Most Building Biologists focus on Alternating Current (AC) electromagnetic fields, and in addition