CI 2009 IEQc4.2: Low-Emitting Materials—Paints and Coatings

Yuthadania,

"inside of the weatherproofing system" means inside of the air barrier or other barrier system which encloses the building envelope. I do not think it includes open areas such as parking and building entry where there are not 4 walls enclosing those spaces.

Thank a lot. Appreciate your answer :)

Alan,

The requirements state that you must meet the applicable VOC content limits established in Green Seal Standard GS-11, Paints, 1st Edition, May 20, 1993. Under section 4.1.1 VOC's of this standard it states, "The calculation of VOC shall exclude water and tinting color added at the point of sale. In sectioni 2.2 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs1. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon compounds that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides and carbonates, and ammonium carbonate). The compounds vaporize (become a gas) at normal room temperatures. 2. A molecule containing one or more carbon atoms that tends to evaporate (volatilize) into the air at typical ambi­ent conditions. Some legal definitions of VOCs are restricted to those that react with sunlight to generate smog. Some VOCs are carcinogens, suspected carcinogens, or known irritants at typical levels.) it refers to the compounds being defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR, 51.1000(s), (s) (1). My suggestion would be to call the paint manufacturer to see what VOCs have not been included in the Exempt number they gave you. Manufacturer's typically have a technical representative who is well versed in LEED and happy to help you.

Good luck,

Grace - Obviously it would be great for all paint utilized on the interior of a building was low-emitting, but for LEED credit they only worry about site-applied coatings. If the blinds are painted off-site and delivered, then the paint does not have to apply.

It depends on where the LEED project boundary is drawn. I'm assuming your project is the interior construction of the office spaces, but you don't rent or have control over some other part of the building such as the lobby, or common areas. These may be built by the building owner under a different construction contract. Any paints or adhesives that are inside the LEED boundary of your project have to meet VOC limits, but if there are paints used outside of the LEED boundary that are not part of your project you could probably exclude them.

GS-11 standards refers to ASTMVoluntary standards development organization which creates source technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services D6886 only in its new version, but credit language refers to GS-11 1993 version - and at that time GS-11 referred to EPA method 24, which is equivalent to ASTM methods D2369 and D3960. ASTM D6886 is better, but not within specifications of this credit.
Hopefull this will be improved in LEED 2012.

ASTMVoluntary standards development organization which creates source technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services D6886 was developed due to ASTM D3960 having poor precision when dealing with voc content determination low VOC content waterborne coatings. If the manufacturer of your choosen paint can show that they are below the GS-11 voc content limits, then I would submit that documentation, but know that the D6886 was developed due to some inaccuracies with D3960 - so I would guess that it would not be seen as equivalent.

You could also show compliance by this paint if it has passed the requirements of the CA 01350 product emission test. This is how paints & coatings are ask to show compliance with EQc4.2 within LEED for Schools projects. Due to this, if a paint shows compliance through actual low-emissions it would qualify in other LEED Rating Systems.

How about "graphic arts coating"? We discussed this on the Schools forum for this credit.

Thanks Tristan. Sounds like I can classify as that and if needed, can create a VOC budget if that classification is not accepted.

Leslie,

Have you had any feedback from GBCI regarding classifying Dry Erase Paint as a graphic arts coating? I'm in the same boat you are on a school project. It is Green Guard Certified but doesn't meet the GS-11 VOC requirement of non-flat paint. Xie xie.

There are certainly GreenGuard-certified products that qualify for IEQc4, but to earn the credit you have to be able to document VOC content, not emissions. So you need that content number, which GreenGuard does not provide.

Due to CA 01350 being the compliance path in schools, we have seen projects that submit the GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification (and laboratory test reports proving compliance) for their paints & coatings and adhesives & sealants and they receive credit in EQ4.1 & EQc4.2. So products that prove that they are low-emitting by showing compliance to CA 01350 can be utilized as a way to garner credit.

CA 01350 EMICODE goes for testing of emissions from applied paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants into indoor air and gives results as emission factor (µg/m2h) or as air concentration in a model room (µg/m3).
US VOC limits for such products go for testing of VOC content in a can of non-used liquid product and gives results as g/l.
There is no correlation between both - except if there is absolutely zero VOC content, then nothing can be emitted.
But no VOC emissions after 14 days do not tell you anything about initial VOC content in the can. I agree that VOC content in the can is no measure of product quality with respect to indoor environmental quality, but present credit laguage is written in such a manner.
Hopefully this issue will be overcome with LEED 2012.

With respect to CA 01350 compliance for a water repellent ceramic tile floor coating, the product does not comply with the water repellent g/l limit, but is SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified.

According to the SCS literature, that certification complies with the CA 01350 requirement. So will this product comply with the CA Health requirement by virtue of the SCS certification even if the g/l content does not comply with SCAQMD 1113?

SCS Indoor Advantage Gold does show compliance to the CA 01350 requirements of minimizing 35 VOCs1. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon compounds that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides and carbonates, and ammonium carbonate). The compounds vaporize (become a gas) at normal room temperatures. 2. A molecule containing one or more carbon atoms that tends to evaporate (volatilize) into the air at typical ambi­ent conditions. Some legal definitions of VOCs are restricted to those that react with sunlight to generate smog. Some VOCs are carcinogens, suspected carcinogens, or known irritants at typical levels.. So this product would comply with the CA 01350 requirement.

Are you doing this as part of a LEED-CI certification? Were the cabinets refinished onsite or off-site?

I'll have to think about this a bit more, but those questions are key.

yes this would be apart of LEEd-CI certification. The file cabinets were refurbished and repainted offsite and then moved into our new building location.

Since the coatings were applied off-site they are not subject to the IEQc4.2 credit requirements. They might be subject to the IEQc4.5 requirements, which cover furniture, depending on whether they think they qualify as "systems furnitureSystems furniture includes panel-based workstations comprising modular interconnecting panels, hang-on components, and drawer and filing components or a free-standing grouping of furniture items designed to work in concert.." I would recommend reviewing the requirements for that credit, if you're pursuing it.

A wallcovering is not considered a paint or coating and so is not covered under IEQc4.2 or under any LEED-CI credit, for that matter. (Except indirectly, if you go with the air testing route for IEQc3.2.)

In LEED for Schools wallcoverings are covered under IEQc4.6.

No, hours are counted when they take place, and you can't retroactively report hours. The only exception here would be if you are doing something CE-worthy that doesn't have a firm reporting date, such as supporting documentation of a LEED credit, which could theoretically be reported when you do the work, when the project applies, when the credit is awarded, etc.

By the way, you may be interestd in our webinars on cracking the LEED CMP code, and on studying for the LEED GA exam. Oh, and we have a page of LEED GA test prep resources, as well.

Leo the credit language for IEQc4.2 stipulates that only products "inside the weatherproofing system and applied on-site" are covered. A factory-applied finish doesn't fall under the credit. It is assumed that it will off-gas at the factory, not in the building.

Try GS-3 standard

Unfortunately GS-3 no longer exists - it has been included with GS-11. Plus it's not an anti-corrsive paint per se, but a marking paint for use on concrete.

Erika,

We just recently had this issue on a project and found a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide (not for LEED 2009 – Ruling 2/10/09) that said “spray paints” are not addressed in either standard and can therefore be excluded from this credit. I think it is unfortunate that spray paints aren’t addressed as they generally have a high VOC %. The CIR goes on to say that the EPA has a new standard for aerosol coatings (EPA 40 CFR Parts 51 and 59) but that this is not required to be followed for LEED.

Shannon