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Reminder -- you are registered for the free webcast, Green Product Certifications: Picking Out Green from Greenwash, scheduled next Wednesday, May 18th, from 3:00 - 4:00 Eastern Daylight Time. This webcast is very heavily subscribed, so please be sure to sign on a few minutes early by clicking the link we'll send you next week in a reminder email.
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Welcome to GreenSpec Insights, an independent resource for architects, green consultants, and building product specifiers. Each week, we aim to bring you not only unbiased new product reviews, but also insights into what's really important for environmental performance in specific product categories. We hope you find it useful -- send your suggestions and other comments to Insights@GreenSpec.com.
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- Jim Vallette
The Pharos Project has just announced the opening of a new category in its Building Product Library: decorative laminates.
While the term "laminate" can refer to any product with layers of material glued together (such as plywood), the laminate products currently covered in this section of Pharos are decorative laminates - specifically the "high pressure laminates" (HPLs) that are commonly used as water resistant, decorative surfacing for countertops, work surfaces, casework and paneling. Variations include the application of decorative paper, sometimes with fire-resistant or chemical-resistant additives.
Pharos evaluations of decorative laminates show wide variances in the number of indoor air quality and sustainable forestry certifications achieved, as well as the amount of material content disclosure by manufacturers.
The general lack of content disclosure in public
documentation hinders attempts to understand the range of toxicological issues associated with these products, which all share a common and worrisome attribute: laminate surfacing materials are formaldehyde-intensive particleboard.
One exception to the industry's lack of transparency is Wilsonart, which manufacturers all of its laminates in the United States. Wilsonart has fully participated with the Pharos Project, and worked to disclose all ingredients in its submissions for the Pharos evaluation. Their records provide the most complete public information about ingredients used in decorative laminates.
For Further Information:
Laminate Production Processes
Arpa Laminati
Wilsonart
Formaldehyde in building materials
Formaldehyde fact sheet
Formaldehyde in Homes: Not just in FEMA Katrina trailers
Pharos information on Formaldehyde
All About Formaldehyde
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