Comments on: Green Insulation http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/home/green-insulation/ Green Eco Products Reviewed Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:31:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David Nielsen http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/home/green-insulation/#comment-21225 David Nielsen Sun, 20 Feb 2011 01:02:35 +0000 http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/home/green-insulation/#comment-21225 I would like to use the image of the woman blowing in cellulose insulation on my website which I found on Google Images. Is that OK with you ? Thanks ! David I would like to use the image of the woman blowing in cellulose insulation on my website which I found on Google Images. Is that OK with you ?

Thanks !

David

]]> By: rich http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/home/green-insulation/#comment-858 rich Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:41:19 +0000 http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/home/green-insulation/#comment-858 Unfortunately, formaldehyde in conventionally built residential homes has become a serious health issue over the past decade. The introduction of fiberglass wall insulation, double pane windows, and/or vapor barriers such as Tyvek for energy conservation combined with laminate floors, MDF doors & trim, plywood and particle board for improved resource utilization in either original construction or added during subsequent \'upgrades\' contributes significantly to the problem. Combine these practices and you have the perfect storm. This is what we have been doing over the past decade. The California Air Resources Board\'s report published December 15, 2009 states: \"Nearly all homes (98%) had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation, while 59 percent exceeded guidelines for acute irritation.\" The executive summary: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310exec_sum.pdf The full report: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310.pdf The principal researcher\'s power point presentation: http://iee-sf.com/resources/pdf/ResidentialVentilation.pdf The only media coverage was published the day before Christmas and it would seem nobody read it: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/two-of-three-california-homes-had-excessive-formaldehyde-levels/1 The Synergist is a peer reviewed journal with a cover article in their February 2010 issue. This includes a schedule of the annual conference in May 2010 in Colorado were the poor quality of residential indoor air of Silicon Valley homes will be discussed. This will included data showing that Green Point Rated homes have even higher formaldehyde concentrations and exceed the formaldehyde concentration found in the typical but infamous FEMA trailers. The FEMA trailers have clearly demonstrated the negative health impacts of formaldehyde. Currently, \'green\' is good for the environment but not necessarily for the occupants. Many municipalities have adapted \"green\" building ordinances that essentially require a builder to build homes that are guaranteed to negatively impact the health of the occupants. Yet people still wonder why the occurrence of health complications linked to formaldehyde have been increasing rapidly. Nearly everyone agrees the cause has to be environmental, yet they refuse to look at residential homes as that environment exposure. This isn\'t exclusively a California issue. Instead it is nationwide and worldwide issue. High levels of formaldehyde were found in the drywall study including the control houses built using USA drywall. Other countries are also having issues like Canada and Australia. Following the Sierra Club\'s procedure used to discover the FEMA trailers costs only $39 including the lab analysis. The Sierra Club used a passive ACS badge for formaldehyde. The test procedure is simple enough that anyone can perform the testing. Testing is the only way to know that your home is healthy. Unfortunately, formaldehyde in conventionally built residential homes has become a serious health issue over the past decade. The introduction of fiberglass wall insulation, double pane windows, and/or vapor barriers such as Tyvek for energy conservation combined with laminate floors, MDF doors & trim, plywood and particle board for improved resource utilization in either original construction or added during subsequent ’upgrades’ contributes significantly to the problem. Combine these practices and you have the perfect storm. This is what we have been doing over the past decade.

The California Air Resources Board’s report published December 15, 2009 states:

”Nearly all homes (98%) had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation, while 59 percent exceeded guidelines for acute irritation.”

The executive summary: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310exec_sum.pdf

The full report: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310.pdf

The principal researcher’s power point presentation:
http://iee-sf.com/resources/pdf/ResidentialVentilation.pdf

The only media coverage was published the day before Christmas and it would seem nobody read it:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/two-of-three-california-homes-had-excessive-formaldehyde-levels/1

The Synergist is a peer reviewed journal with a cover article in their February 2010 issue. This includes a schedule of the annual conference in May 2010 in Colorado were the poor quality of residential indoor air of Silicon Valley homes will be discussed. This will included data showing that Green Point Rated homes have even higher formaldehyde concentrations and exceed the formaldehyde concentration found in the typical but infamous FEMA trailers. The FEMA trailers have clearly demonstrated the negative health impacts of formaldehyde.

Currently, ’green’ is good for the environment but not necessarily for the occupants. Many municipalities have adapted ”green” building ordinances that essentially require a builder to build homes that are guaranteed to negatively impact the health of the occupants. Yet people still wonder why the occurrence of health complications linked to formaldehyde have been increasing rapidly. Nearly everyone agrees the cause has to be environmental, yet they refuse to look at residential homes as that environment exposure.

This isn’t exclusively a California issue. Instead it is nationwide and worldwide issue. High levels of formaldehyde were found in the drywall study including the control houses built using USA drywall. Other countries are also having issues like Canada and Australia.

Following the Sierra Club’s procedure used to discover the FEMA trailers costs only $39 including the lab analysis. The Sierra Club used a passive ACS badge for formaldehyde. The test procedure is simple enough that anyone can perform the testing. Testing is the only way to know that your home is healthy.

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