Get The Facts - Indoor Air Quality & Toxic Building Materials

group tasked with enforcing the Toxic Substances Control Act and maintains the official inventory of chemical substances that are manufactured or processed in the United States. You can access the list here.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG)

The EWG is just a phenomenal group chock full of all kinds of useful consumer information on a full range of household health hazards with Toxic Chemicals being just one of seven of their major Areas of Focus. Their Consumer Guides to things like sunscreens, pesticides in produce (their so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ report), and tap water are superb and need to be a part of everyone’s arsenal of information on day-to-day products used and consumed around your home. For over 20 years, HBN has been on the forefront of researching healthy building materials, advocating for their use and educating others so everyone can more easily make informed decisions about the chemical hazards within the building products industry HBN was founded by one of the giants in the healthy building space, a man named Bill Walsh. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Walsh but the Internet has allowed me to look over his shoulder and surreptitiously check-in periodically to see how his ventures are doing. It is clear that this organization very much reflects Mr. Walsh’s own values and ideals. I especially like HBN’s Mission Statement and Values, and their eloquently simple ‘Aspirational Statement’ which very much reflects my own Mission (as given on my Home Page) and my own wishes for my healthy home development work:  HBN Mission: To advance human and environmental health by improving hazardous chemical transparency and inspiring product innovation;  HBN Values: Collaboration, Equity, Excellence, Independence, Innovation, Transparency, Trust, Science-Based; and  HBN ‘Know Better’ Aspirational Statement: When we know better, we can build a world where human health takes priority over toxics, and chemicals of concern are simply eliminated from our products. We will create a world where all people, and the planet, thrive. When we know better, we do better. Two absolute “Must Bookmark” pages from HBN are their Transformation Targets page and their Hazards Spectrum page. Both contain critical information for those making decisions about what products to specify in any home building project. Healthy Building Network (HBN)

Pharos