Getting Toxics Out of the System

Description | Indicators | Scoring Criteria | Definitions | Issues

PROBLEM
Many of the chemicals used to manufacture and install building materials or created in manufacture or elsewhere in the life cycle are known or suspected of being toxic to human and animal health as carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants or teratogens, neurotoxicants, endocrine disruptors, acute toxicants or chronic toxicants. Many more have not yet been adequately tested for toxicity. Of particular concern are persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals (PBT) that remain in the environment without breaking down to safer compounds, travel long distances from their origin, and concentrate as they move up the food chain leading to high concentrations of concern in humans. Dioxins and furans are given the highest priority due to their identification in the Stockholm POPs treaty as chemicals of concern.

GOAL
Eliminate the use or creation of persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, and/or untested chemicals.

IDEAL
There are no persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic and/or untested chemicals used or generated in the extraction and processing of feedstocks, manufacturing of products, use, disposal or elsewhere in the life cycle of a product. Optimal materials and products will not be made with PVC or other halogenated compounds, not require or emit any PBTs throughout the life-cycle of the product, and be made from bio-based materials harvested with no use of toxic compounds

NOTES
Ratings beyond 8 are under development. The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals, under development by Clean Production Action (www.cleanproduction.org) and GreenBlue is proposed to set threshold values for high, moderate and low persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity to establish ratings for chemicals. We plan to use GreenScreen to refine ratings levels 9 and 10.

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