Greenguard Introduces Standard for Schools

The Greenguard™ Environmental Institute, a nonprofit certifier of products with low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has created the Greenguard Standard for Children & Schools™, which sets emissions criteria for building materials, furnishings, finishes, and cleaning products to be used in schools and daycare facilities. Recognizing that children have higher inhalation rates per pound of body weight than adults and are more susceptible to chemicals in other ways, the new standard applies a “body burden correction factor of 0.43” to current allowable emission levels and introduces a limit on phthalate emissions, among other adjustments. More information on the new standard is online at www.greenguard.org. For more information on Greenguard, seeEBN Vol. 12, No. 10.