Green Buildings Health, Eco Architecture Safety, Sustainable Building Design
Green Buildings : Safety & Health of Occupants
How Safe are Eco Buildings? : Article
7 Oct 2012
Are Green Buildings Hazardous to Our Health
A modern trend has begun spreading throughout the world and it is one that has developed with a keen eye for the wellbeing of humanity. Also known as sustainable buildings, green buildings are designed to be environmentally responsible and resource-efficient. However, new studies and reports have emerged suggesting that green buildings might actually be hazardous to our health.
The problem entails climate change, which the Institute of Medicine cautions can directly and negatively affect indoor air quality in a variety of ways. It is reported by the Institute of Medicine that such problems will be made worse by untested energy-efficient upgrades. It seems that although the intention behind the construction of such buildings may be pure and righteous, the safety and health of occupants in insufficiently screened green buildings may be at risk.
So What Precisely are the Problems?
The practice of weatherizing buildings refers to cutting down on emissions by sealing off potential leaks and conserving energy. This also saves costs and is further reason why many business owners around the world choose to go ‘green’.
However, the indoor environment is also changed in weatherizing the buildings, and it is this which isn’t good for our health. Indoor-air contaminant concentrations and indoor-air humidity can be increased by going green. This could trigger moisture problems, when added with insulation.
Furthermore, hazardous material such as asbestos and harmful caulking can be stirred up with green improvements to older homes.
Why not learn more about Construction PPE – the construction industry has extremely high numbers of accidents which could be reduced with the use of correct Personal protective equipment.
So does this mean we shouldn’t go Green?
This does not mean that we should forsake going green however! Rather we should adopt a more comprehensive approach to weatherizing buildings, ensuring organizations and building companies are aware of and track the side effects of the various green upgrades.
You should urge those developing properties in such ways to actively minimize the unexpected exposures and health risks that weatherization techniques and new materials bring.
If this isn’t done, by those constructing your property, you should use the powers of attorney to file a lawsuit against the company or organization and seek that they put right any wrongs.
Only then will going ‘green’ really be beneficial to the overall wellbeing of humankind.
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