CRI Green Label Plus, Carpet, VOCs and Indoor Air Quality
Since 1992 the Carpet and Rug Institute has pioneered setting limits on carpet’s emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to establish a higher standard for indoor air quality. The Carpet and Rug Institutes explains how this program developed on its blog:
The Green Label program developed out of consumer and governmental concerns about carpet’s effect on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The original standard, developed in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, measured four compounds against an established criterion, as well as total volatile organic compounds, or TVOC.
Carpet, Asthma and Allergies. Myth or Reality?
We have all heard that the carpet in our homes may contribute to asthma and allergies. What is the truth? Myth or reality?
The Carpet and Rug Institute recently conducted a Survey of Asthma & Allergy Doctors. The CRI reported:
“While many doctors are still recommending carpet removal to their allergy and asthma patients, they were very open to information about proper carpet care and maintenance as a viable alternative to taking carpet out.”
So before you rip out all the carpet in your home you might want to read the latest (May 19, 2008) and most comprehensive report on the subject that backs up the CRI’s position on carpet and asthma. (more…)
An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality
We hear a lot these days about VOCs. What are they?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) explains:
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
EPA’s Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in rural or highly industrial areas. Additional TEAM studies indicate that while people are using products containing organic chemicals, they can expose themselves and others to very high pollutant levels, and elevated concentrations can persist in the air long after the activity is completed.
