On 8/4, we spoke to the San Jose City Council about elevated formaldehyde in GreenPoint Rated homes. We recommended measuring formaldehyde in all new homes.
We suggested the City require Item K8 on the GreenPoint Rated worksheet. Item K8 specifies measuring formaldehyde in room air to verify that concentration is less than 27 ppb.
We measured elevated formaldehyde in five GreenPoint Rated developments in Santa Clara County. One home had nearly 300 ppb in room air.
We have approached Build It Green with our data on numerous occasions. We have offered to share our data and our firm’s expertise in exposure assessment.
On 8/7, Build It Green responded with, “Ms. Kincaid’s testing methodology is highly questionable”. They suggested that chamber testing of individual building materials is a more appropriate measurement.
EPA and OEHHA recommendations are based on formaldehyde concentration in room air. CDC research on formaldehyde in Katrina FEMA trailers was based on concentration in room air.
Children do not spend their days inside sealed test chambers. They are not exposed to just one building material at a time.
Young children spend much of their time at home, and children can be harmed by as little as 30 ppb formaldehyde. Measuring room air is the only way to know total formaldehyde concentration that a child is breathing.
Since February, we have approached Built It Green with our concerns about indoor air quality. Kris Knutsen responded with the following email on 6/15,
The GreenPoint Rated program offers builders “points” for choosing materials which have no added formaldehyde. Whether or not a home is built to achieve those points is at the discretion of the builder.
In an early July phone conversation, Amy Dryden stated several times, “There are many ways to achieve GreenPoint Rated.”
In their 8/7 posting, Built It Green added, “we do not offer a guarantee for performance”.
Built It Green’s statements about their program’s deficiencies should be adequate encouragement for any parent to require formaldehyde testing.
In their 8/7 posting, Build It Green invited us to, “approach Build It Green with meaningful and thoughtful discussion”. We have done so many times.
We encourage parents to approach Built It Green with concerns about the health of children in GreenPoint Rated homes.
Photo of GreenPoint Rated condo by Linda Kincaid.
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Comments
I think it is important to note that the relevant committee of the San Jose City Council has rejected Ms. Kincaid's recommendations regarding formaldehyde testing in GreenPoint rated homes. The committee that was dealing with the issue voted unanimously to accept the Staff Report and Recommendation to simply move forward with the continued implementation of the Build It Green program with no requirement for testing and monitoring of formaldehyde in new residential construction.
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