Watch a Funny Video About Healthy Building Science!

Funny-Video-Graphic-Artist-Drawing-Characters
We decided to lighten the mood at Healthy Building Science by creating a funny building science video about what we do. What started off as a standard informational video soon turned into something very different. We hope you enjoy the results of this building science video. In October 2013, we assembled a team consisting of
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Testing EMF and Magnetic Fields on BART

I have seen blogs and articles on the increase in RF (Radio Frequency) radiation in public places, especially Public Transportation, due to the ubiquity of Wi-fi and personal devices containing transmitters such as smart phones & tablets.  However, I have not seen any information on the low frequency magnetic fields that may be emitted on
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Nanotechnology and Coatings

In helping our clients choose healthy building materials, I tend to be weary of coatings in general, but nanocoatings are of particular concern. In building materials, manufacturers advertise nanocoatings on carpets, upholstery, photovoltaics, and even toilets. I’ve seen these coatings used as stain repellants, waterproofing coatings or as finishes that create a smooth and easily
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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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Magnetic Fields – EMF Consulting

Magnetic Fields - EMF Consulting
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
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Alliance Against Greenwash

Greenwash Green Building
Sierra Club, GreenPeace, and Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) are getting behind a new initiative called the “Alliance Against Greenwash.” Launched by Jason Grant in San Francisco, the Alliance Against Greenwash sets out to fight false advertising around environmental impacts. As wealthy corporations continue buying air-time to proclaim their greenness… there is still no third-party
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Smog and Particulates

Particles_Blue Oxygen
Smog and Particulates How Fine Particulates Affect Exterior and Interior Air Quality No matter how well our “Green and Healthy” homes are designed and built, our interior air quality can only be as good as our exterior air quality (our “source air”), unless we add active air filtration into our building design.  But how do
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EMI and LEDs – Not all LEDs are the same!

Dirty Electricity from LEDs
EMI and LEDs –  Not all LEDs are the same! Electromagnetic Interference (EMI, aka: “Dirty Electricity,” or “High Voltage Transients”) is a term coined for quick transient pulses, harmonics, spikes and dips in the electrical power in a home’s wiring that deviates from a purely 60Hz sine wave.  These often occur due to computers, other
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Blown-in-Cellulose Insulation

blown-in-cellulose insulation
Blown-in-Cellulose Insulation Test Results On a recent project, we recommended a homeowner try Blown-in-Cellulose insulation as a healthy alternative to other insulation choices. Blown-in-cellulose is known in the healthy materials world as a pretty safe insulation choice. But just to be sure the product was safe, we sent a wet sample to a lab for
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CO2 in Air – Why is my Air Stale and Stuffy?

CO2 in the air
CO2 in the Air – Why is My Air Stale and Stuffy? Carbon Dioxide and Its Relation to Your Interior Air Quality. CO2 in the Air. Why is my air “Stale?” Many of my clients often complain of either specific symptoms, general malaise, or “just not feeling right” when in a building they spend a
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