Washington Post

As Natural as Breathing
Clearing the Air With Eco-Friendly Home Products

By Rebecca R. Kahlenberg

When Rick Harlan Schneider remodeled his 80-year-old Glover Park townhouse last year, he used Benjamin Moore Eco Spec low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint on the walls, low-VOC water-borne sealer on the floors and natural-fiber carpets made from wool and sisal.

Schneider, a principal at Inscape Studio, an architecture and design firm in Dupont Circle, installed fans to maximize natural ventilation and minimize the need for air-conditioning. He chose cabinets made with formaldehyde-free wood products and chose formaldehyde-free insulation.

Karen Rindge, wife of environmental consultant Reid Wilson, made curtains for her baby's nursery using cotton instead of synthetic fabrics that can contain petrochemicals. She put down a wool rug instead of wall-to-wall carpeting because she worried about chemicals in the carpet that could contaminate the air. She bought used furniture to avoid vapors given off by new compressed-wood dressers and beds. "I'm not a complete purist," says the mother of two, "but where I can and where I think it matters, I do something."

Green remodeling and redecorating is going mainstream. From the increasing number stores selling nontoxic products to the jump in circulation of magazines that focus on environment-conscious housing to the mounting hits on environmental Web sites, there are signs of a growing public awareness and interest.

In a 2002 nationwide study of more than 400 homebuyers conducted by American LIVES, a California-based market research and consulting company, more than half the respondents said they were willing to pay extra for formaldehyde-free insulation, environmentally friendly paints, solvent-free adhesives and other materials that do not release chemicals into the air.

"It is part of the whole living health movement, along with yoga, eating right and exercising," says Betsy Taylor, president of the Takoma Park-based Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers use resources wisely.

Moreover, government is leading by example, says Arthur Weissman, president and chief executive of Green Seal, a private, nonprofit environmental labeling organization in the District. "There has been an explosion in green buildings everywhere in government," he says, noting that much new government construction complies with green standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. That influences the residential market, he adds, because manufacturers are producing green products that are useful for homes.

"We are coming to understand that the choices we make as consumers have an impact that reaches far beyond our wallets to the health of our communities and the planet," says Maren Thompson Bzdek, associate publisher of Natural Home magazine, a four-year-old publication with a current circulation of about 87,000 -- a 49 percent increase since 2000. "Homeowners, and parents in particular, are increasingly making their remodeling decisions -- from whom they hire to design and build their renovation, to which products and furnishings they buy -- with an awareness of the possible health hazards posed by indoor air pollutants."

Some of the pollutants found in residential air are well-known: lead paint (present in many homes built before 1978), radon, asbestos, cigarette smoke and mold. Less familiar is an invisible mixture of pollutants called volatile organic compounds (VOC's), that are given off (called "off-gassing') by certain products for months or years after we put them in our homes.

Plywood and particleboard, widely used in paneling, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and in moderate- and low-priced furniture, are likely to off-gas. So are synthetic-fiber carpets, vinyl floors and oil-based and some water-based paints. Other sources include new upholstery made with synthetic covers; stains, sealers, glues, varnishes and a host of cleaning products.

"In our homes, we are sometimes exposed to levels of chemicals that would not be allowed by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in the workplace," says Debra Lynn Dadd, author of "Home Safe Home."

According to Dadd, off-gassing can cause maladies ranging from nausea and headaches to fatigue and behavior problems; some experts see links to birth defects and cancer. Indoor air problems and tightly sealed new homes may also contribute to asthma, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, affects nearly 15 million adults and more than 6 million children.

"The impact of home-based toxins on children is more severe than on adults, and the awareness of children's vulnerability to them has grown dramatically over the past decade," says Philip J. Landrigan, a pediatrician and co-author of "Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World." Landrigan, director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says children under age 4 are particularly vulnerable because they weigh so much less than adults, crawl on the ground and put things in their mouths, and babies in the womb are at risk because their organs are still developing.

Government agencies, nonprofit groups and private industry are responding to growing public concern. The EPA has several hotlines and Web sites promoting healthier indoor air quality.

In 1993, the American Lung Association introduced the Health House program, designed to raise the standards for residential indoor air quality. Since then, more than 120 Health Houses have been constructed in 30 states, including one in Maryland and several in Virginia. In 2002, nearly 300,000 visits were made to the association's Web site -- a 50 percent increase over the previous year (www.healthhouse.org).

Recommended guidelines include designing a house so that moisture is well controlled, choosing high-quality air filters to reduce airborne allergy and asthma triggers, and using radon-resistant construction methods. .

Last November, the local nonprofit organization GreenHOME, constructed its second demonstration house in the District using nontoxic products, a joint project with Habitat for Humanity. Russell Clark, a GreenHOME co-founder and an environmental protection specialist at the EPA, says the project demonstrates that "green products are available locally, applicable to this area's climate and affordable even for low-income people." The houses, built side by side in Southeast contain reused and recycled materials, including hardwood floors, water-based sealants and walnut kitchen cabinets.

The Home Depot, Lowe's and other major home-improvement stores are stocking more nontoxic and sustainable products for painting, lighting, refinishing and ventilating, according to Weissman of Green Seal. Also, Whole Foods Markets and other grocery chains are stocking a wider selection of nontoxic cleaning products.

Jay Watts is vice president of marketing for San Diego-based AFM Safecoat, a company that has been selling environmentally friendly building products for more than 20 years. "Probably the best indication of this movement is AFM's double-digit growth in the past three years," he says.

Although there are no federal standards for environmentally friendly household and building products as there are for organic food, the marketplace is offering consumers more choices. "You don't need to have a log cabin environment," says Bzdek of Natural Home magazine. "You can have the same decor impulses and ideas as you might otherwise and find nontoxic alternatives."

Further, consumers don't need to spend a fortune to buy nontoxic. "There's a perception that these products cost more, but that is not necessarily true," says Bzdek.

And people in the field say health-conscious remodeling need not be fraught with hassle.

"Don't say 'Oh, my God, my house is toxic so I have to start all over again,' " says Robyn Griggs Lawrence, editor-in-chief of Natural Home. "The idea is to slowly get more conscious and make better choices over time."