Get The Facts - Indoor Air Quality & Toxic Building Materials

Pharos is a database founded and maintained by the Healthy Building Network. As I mention above, HBN’s goal is to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and improve the inherent safety of materials and products. Pharos is the most comprehensive database that I know of that assesses the human and environmental health hazards of chemicals and building materials. Through its Common Product Profiles and various other data sources, users can investigate the health hazards posed by generic, non-manufacturer-specific products like “Drywall Joint Compound” or “Cork Flooring” or “Closed Cell Spray Foam Insulation.” HBN then uses these profiles to provide building product guidance on their sister website ‘HomeFree’. Parts of Pharos are free to use and other parts require a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual fee. Users without a paid subscription can access the Pharos Discussion Board and get limited building product content information under the Common Product Profiles I mention above. Healthy Building Network’s HomeFree is a national initiative supporting leaders in affordable housing who are improving human health by using less toxic building materials. Though their web site’s educational tools and product spec sheets and workshops and webinars are really geared to developers, architects, contractors and material specifiers working in the affordable housing sector, they welcome anyone striving to create a healthier world. Their introductory course, “Why Materials Matter” is a killer course and really does offer a great overview of healthy building materials and why they matter. Another giant in the healthy home space is Alex Wilson, Founder of BuildingGreen and publisher of a newsletter which back in the day was called Environmental Building News (EBN). I was a subscriber for a number of years and EBN quickly became my go-to reference for unbiased reviews of the latest healthy and sustainable building products. BuildingGreen like Pharos is another subscriber-based resource. But unlike Pharos, it conducts name-brand product reviews which is helpful for my work. Some might view the name brand reviews as problematic until you learn that they accept no advertising or sponsorships in any of their publications. They are a name you can trust. If you subscribe you will gain access to feature articles, news analysis, webcasts, product guides, and what I like most about their work, their opinions. BuildingGreen Two additional absolute “Must Bookmark” pages: HomeFree