A New Study Found Fifty-Five Commonly Used Home Building Materials In The U.S. To Be Extremely Hazardous To Your Health
Buying a new home is such an exciting accomplishment. You may even want to jump at the opportunity to move in right away.
But, a new screening conducted by the University of Michigan found that numerous home building materials can be detrimental to your health.
The study’s researchers said, “Chemicals used in building materials can be a major passive emission source indoors, associated with the deterioration of indoor environmental quality.”
So, they set out to assess human exposure to the many chemicals used in building materials.
The study used chemical data from the Pharos Building Products Database for the U.S. as a springboard and assessed over five hundred chemical combinations.
Through this screening, fifty-five chemicals commonly used chemicals were identified as harmful. Many are found in the floors, ceilings, walls, furniture, and more.
And, the concentration of these chemicals is particularly alarming. Some of these chemicals are one thousand times more concentrated than recommended for safe human exposure in the home.
Formaldehyde– which is commonly found in cabinets, cork, and wood furniture– was among the worst chemicals. It has been known to cause cancer and is specifically linked to leukemia.
Two more detrimental chemicals assessed by the researchers were butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and hexamethylene diisocyanate.
Vasyl – stock.adobe.com
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These are both commonly found in carpet flooring across the United States. BHA’s concentration was eight hundred times greater than the guideline for safe human exposure.
Hexamethylene diisocyanate was no better and had concentration levels thousands of times higher. This chemical is specifically linked with lung problems following long-term exposure. In the short term, this chemical may irritate your eyes, nose, or throat.
Lei Huang, one of the study’s authors, said, “People are inside buildings more than ninety percent of their time– breathing and touching those chemicals in building materials. So, it’s very important to know whether there are harmful chemicals that could affect their health.”
The researchers are rightfully alarmed by these results and believe many of these compounds need to be phased out of building construction.
They hope that now, manufacturers will have enough data to innovate more healthy and sustainable products. Potential homebuyers need to be aware of these all-too-prevalent health risks themselves, too.
To read the complete study, visit the report here.
More About:Human Interest
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