Some materials provide a better alternative in an application dominated by products for which there are concerns about toxic constituents, intermediaries, or by-products. With the panoply of products made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants, some products are green simply because they provide an alternative. Examples of this are natural wall coverings, drain and vent piping, and roofing membranes. Some green products are free of hazards common to the product category; for example, LED lighting is inherently free of the mercury found in fluorescent lighting sources.
However, it’s worth noting that without transparency about actual ingredients, there’s no guarantee that a product won’t have less common or less well-known hazards that the manufacturer isn’t talking about. We use Pharos’s Chemical and Material Library to assess less well-known hazards, and we encourage manufacturers to review the hazardous properties of all chemicals they use and seek out safer materials.
Greenlink and ChemLink Construction Adhesives
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Just how low the VOC level needs to be for a given product to qualify for inclusion in GreenSpec depends on the product category. For most products, we require certification to California’s health-based emissions standard, CDPH Std Method v1.1 standard (also referred to as California Section 01350), which tests a product’s resultant VOC concentrations in the space after a given period of time. For wet-applied products like paints, caulks, and adhesives, we still also look for VOC content instead of, or in addition to, verified low emissions; this is because emissions testing doesn’t adequately test initial offgassing, and VOC content is currently the only widely available proxy.
ChemLink has a wide range of solvent-free and non-hazardous polyether based adhesives and sealants for contractors along with their Greenlink brand consumer-focused products. Chemlink's WallSecure has quick grain strength, or grab, because its 100% solids formulation is moisture-cured. Installation is faster than water-based adhesives and because there are no solvents that need to be flashed off it saves a step in installing drywall. Chemlink's BuildSecure meets the AFG-01 performance specification and bonds most construction materials—working best in a clean low-dust construction area. FloorSecure is a troweled on adhesive for bonding wood flooring, tile, and stone.
While adhesives must perform well, they are also a significant potential source of indoor air quality concerns, so these products should be selected with care. While some adhesives are multipurpose, others are specific to a particular application or product. Consider use of mechanical fasteners where they provide a reasonable alternative. With mechanical fasteners, look for products that improve building performance, facilitate design for disassembly, or contain recycled content.
Look for adhesives that have both low VOC content and are certified low-emitting.
GreenSpec lists adhesives that exceed SCAQMD 1168 VOC content limits and also meet California Section 01350 or other more stringent emission protocols as verified through related certifications such as Greenguard Children and Schools. We don’t stop there, however. Lots of adhesives meet 01350 requirements, so we look for manufacturers with whole product families that meet these requirements, along with keeping an eye out for the additional green features below.
EBN subscribers: read more in the 2006 EBN feature article Get a Whiff of This: The Lowdown on Product Emissions Testing
Make sure the adhesive you select is appropriate to the real composition of the substrates you’re trying to adhere. There are no foolproof tests for long-term performance and manufacturer recommendations are key. If a manufacturer recommends a specific low- or zero-VOC, water-based product for use with its material, then use it; otherwise, check to ensure the low-emitting product you are considering is appropriate for the application. Low-VOC water-based adhesives may be less tolerant than solvent-based adhesives of dust or other suboptimal application conditions—keep a clean construction environmental and follow recommendations.
It doesn’t stop at VOCs. There are some non-volatile hazards that are common in adhesives.
GreenSpec will also select products where the manufacturer provides a written promise that the product contains no chemical hazards of high concern.- GreenSpec would like to see products that provide full disclosure of material composition to Pharos demonstrating that the product contains no chemical hazards of high concern.
Flooring adhesives can be a major source of indoor air quality problems, often more so than the flooring products they go with. While some adhesives are multipurpose, others are specific to a particular application or product (linoleum, for example, requires special adhesives due to its linseed oil content).
Look for adhesives that have both low VOC content and are certified low-emitting.
GreenSpec lists only adhesives that meet SCAQMD 1168 VOC content limits and also California Section 01350 or other more stringent emission protocols as verified through related certifications such as Green Label Plus or FloorScore. We don’t stop there, however. Lots of adhesives meet 01350, so we look for the additional green features below in the products listed here.
EBN subscribers: read more in the 2006 EBN feature article Get a Whiff of This: The Lowdown on Product Emissions Testing
Make sure the adhesive you select is appropriate to the real composition of the substrates you’re trying to adhere. There are no foolproof tests for long-term performance and manufacturer recommendations are key. If a flooring manufacturer recommends a specific low- or zero-VOC, water-based product for use with its material, then use it; otherwise consider a product known to minimize indoor air pollution and check with the flooring product manufacturer to find out whether that product can be used with their flooring material.
If a floorcovering that is in GreenSpec has recommended adhesives that are certified low-emitting, we’ll mention that in the listing for that floorcovering.
It doesn’t stop at VOCs. There are some non-volatile hazards that are common in adhesives -- epoxies used for resilient flooring commonly contain bisphenol-A (BPA) compounds and many polyurethane adhesives used for wood and resilient flooring contain polyisocyanate compounds in uncured form. Acrylic or latex adhesives typically used with carpets may contain other chemicals of concern.
GreenSpec will select products where the manufacturer provides a written promise that the product contains no chemical hazards of high concern.- GreenSpec may also select products or product lines where the MSDS shows no chemical hazards of high concern, but be aware that the MSDS provides only a limited view of hazard content.
There are currently no up-to-date certifications for adhesives that go beyond emissions. However, you could consider asking resilient flooring manufacturers certifying toward NSF-332 to achieve the points related to eliminating hazards from adhesives. If manufacturers start claiming adhesives meet both NSF-332 point 7.3 and 5.4.3, we’ll likely include those adhesives. We’ll also keep an eye out for anticipated updates to Ecologo CCD-046, and any products certified to Green Seal’s GS-36, not just meeting GS-36 VOC requirements.
GreenSpec would like to see products that provide full disclosure of material composition to Pharos demonstrating that the product contains no chemical hazards of high concern.
LEED Credits
EQc4.1: Low-Emitting Materials—Adhesives&Sealants
IEQc4.1: Low-Emitting Materials—Adhesives and Sealants
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