CI 2009 IEQc4.3: Low-Emitting Materials—Flooring Systems

The flooring doesn't have to meet Floorscore - that is a compliance path. The flooring needs to show compliance to the CA 01350 criteria (which is what Floorscore's requirements are) and that requires showing the minimization of 35 chemicals. Formaldehyde1. Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring VOC found in small amounts in animals and plants but is carcinogenic and an irritant to most people when present in high concentrations, causing headaches, dizziness, mental impairment, and other symptoms. When present in the air at levels above 0.1 ppm, it can cause watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; nausea; coughing; chest tightness; wheezing; skin rashes; and asthmatic and allergic reactions. 2. A known carcinogen with no known safe exposure level. Formaldehyde occurs naturally, but appears in unnaturally high concentra­tions in many buildings because it is an ingredient in binders used in many building materials and furnishings. is one of those chemicals, but it isn't the only one. If they are referring to the Japanese F Star program levels then they have multiple different levels of formaldehyde compliance and the testing, modeling and criteria is very different from the CA 01350/Floorscore way of doing things.

Thank You Josh! Yes it is Japanese F Star program and their products are rated F (4) stars. which means the products have less than 0.3g/l. can we still document the flooring for the credit as a special circumstance?

Sheela,

If it is solid wood flooring it does not need to be tested and it does not need to be FloorScore. See above for the credit description. However, if it is an engineered wood product then you would need to make sure it was FloorScore or that it showed compliance with CA 01350.

Check out this link for an example of other FloorScore engineered wood products: http://www.scscertified.com/products/index.php

Thanks Lauren. Where can i find the requirements for CA standards?

Hi Sheela,

You should be able to find the requirements for testing in the Reference Guide.

"All flooring products must meet the testing and product requirements of the California Department of Public Health Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organic Emissions from Various Sources Using Small-Scale Environmental Chambers, including 2004 Addenda. Mineral-based finish flooring products such as tile, masonry, terrazzo, and cut stone without integral organic-based coatings and sealants and unfinished/untreated solid wood flooring qualify for credit without any IAQIndoor air quality: The quality and attributes of indoor air affecting the health and comfort building occupants. IAQ encompasses available fresh air, contaminant levels, acoustics and noise levels, lighting quality, and other factors. testing requirements. However, associated site-applied adhesives, grouts, finishes and sealersSealers are coatings applied to either block materials from penetrating into or leaching out of a substrate, to prevent subsequent coatings from being absorbed by the substrate, or to prevent harm to subsequent coatings by materials in the substrate. must be compliant for a mineral-based or unfinished/untreated solid wood flooring system to qualify for credit."

I would believe that a reviewer would consider the raised flooring as having to meet this criteria to get the credit. The floor would need to show compliance to the California Department of Health Services' CA 01350 requirements in order to show compliance.

Unless your raised floor is actual the finished product, so you don't have any floor covering on it like carpet, tiles or such, I think it doesn't have to comply with IEQ 4.3. But you should check the LEED interpretation database in regards to that.
However if you are applying for the Pilot credit, you will have to include it. Also keep in mind that there are exemptions for mineral based products and I'm pretty sure metal (as more raised floors) won't need a certificate either.
Also check the new guidelines for international projects in regards to alternative compliance paths. They do include European Norms and standards now also.

I agree with Susann's understanding. The EQ credits are really intended to address the finish materials, though one should still aim to find the appropriate low-emitting options for all products in a project.

Mineral based flooring products such as yours are exempt. see also LEED reference guide addendum 4/14/2010
You just have to make sure your adhesives, grout, coatings and such are compliant with the maximum VOC limits.

Also remember that FloorScore is not the only way to show that a flooring product helps achieve the credit - the product simply has to show that it passes the California Department of Health Services CA 01350 requirements.

I agree with Susann. Thanks.

Marble should fall into Option 2 cut stone which qualifies without testing. Is your floor product backed with something else that is causing you concern?

Thank you Susan. Not that I know of, but I am checking with the GC to find out. I just haven't completed the 3.0 version before, so I just wanted to double check. Thanks again.

Raymond,

You would look towards Option 2 in the credit, which simply allows a representative sample of the carpet that you are going to use be tested to CA 01350 requirements by a lab that has that standard in the scope of its ISO 17025 accreditation.

Raymond,
The carpet does not have to be certified by CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100., it just needs to meet the requirements of GLP. We have had European manufactured carpet tested by an independent lab using the CRI Green Label Plus criteria and they have successfully been used on numerous LEED projects.

Josh and Melissa,

Thank you very much for your prompt and helpful replies to my question.

Just a quick follow up question although I believe the answer should be obvious but just to double check. The designer on this project has selected a carpet that he believes (still checking) to not be GLP certified but he states that the manufacturer is GLP certified. My assumption is that the carpet in question needs to be GLP certified and that fact that the manufacturer is GLP certified (also assuming this is possible) by itself does not meet the requirements of this credit.

Can anyone just give a quick confirmation on my assumption?

Raymond,

You are correct in your skepticism as manufacturers can not be GLP certified - only products. So either the product is certified or it isn't, it does not matter if the manufacturer has other products that are certified. If you want to check and see if the carpet is certified or not, here is the website with all the listings: http://www.carpet-rug.org/commercial-customers/green-building-and-the-en...

The product does not have to be GLP certified officially through CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100.. It must meet the product and testing requirements of GLP or CHPS 01350. What does this mean? A product can be tested by an independent lab to demonstrate compliance.

The Option 2 test method is located here:
http://www.cal-iaq.org/download-standard-method-publications/standard-me...

Josh and Melissa,

Thank you again for all of your comments and for sharing the links with us.

Just one last question - have any of you heard of or had any experience with "Sumitron" or "Antron" carpet manufacturer based in Japan? I have a brochure from them and the emphasis is on the recyclable content with very little information on its VOC levels.

Thanks.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the certification of the Sumitron carpet is "ECO Mark Certification", which appears to focus on recyclable content. Has anyone come across this kind of certification before and if it would be accepted an equivalent of GLP?

Wow, many great comments from Melissa and Josh.

Just in terms of helping with your last question, Raymond. I am not familiar with Eco Mark certification but a certification focused on recycled content wouldn't qualify for this point. This LEED point is all about indoor air quality and reducing the offgassing of the carpet. The Green Label Plus requirement ensures it meets the indoor air quality requirements. Alternatively, you can test your product in question per Josh's comments above.

Hi Nina,

I haven't had experience with this but I agree with your hunch that as long as your finishes/sealants meet the requirements, using a reclaimed wood is fine. I think the concern with wood is specifically with products that are engineered or treated. Hope that helps.

Hi Nina,

Yes, from my experience, reused wood flooring would be excluded. However, if there were any floor coatings, sealants, adhesives, etc. applied to the wood flooring on-site, those items would need to comply with the EQc4 requirements.

Lauren

Laure, Kate,

Would you know if I could make the same assumption for reused carpet? We are reusing all the exisiting carpet and the new sealants meet the VOC requirements. Assuming that the new carpet specified complies, could I achieve the credit IEQ 4.3? Also, what would happen in the case that no new carpet is specified, would we get the credit by default or would we not get any credit?
Thank you very much in advance for your help!
Alicia

Alicia,
Reused carpet would also be excluded but you cannot get the credit by default if you have no new carpet.

The credit is for all flooring systems, so as long as you have a flooring system that is installed (and not re-used) and it complies with the credit's requirements then that would be enough. For instance, if you had vinyl flooring that was FloorScore certified. However, if all of your flooring systems are reused materials then I do not think you could get the point.

Lauren

Lauren,

This is very useful. Thank you very much for the clarification.

Alicia

No prob!

Richard, it seems pretty clear that these would be considered "tile" and thus exempted, as long as they don't have organic sealants or coatings. A manufacturer's letter to this effect might be good to have in your back pocket.

Can I just check on what is the definition of integral organic based coating and sealant in this case? But the coating (finishes, sealersSealers are coatings applied to either block materials from penetrating into or leaching out of a substrate, to prevent subsequent coatings from being absorbed by the substrate, or to prevent harm to subsequent coatings by materials in the substrate.) still have to meet EQ4.2 as stated.

It's easier to define based on what it's not. If it's a coating that's added, that's not stone pulled out of the ground or ceramic that's fired, or a cement product that's set, it's probably organic and subject to IEQc4.3 and IEQc4.2 requirements.

Thanks for the reply. So it means that if the floor tiles are manufactured with coating and sealant in the factory, it is subject to IAQIndoor air quality: The quality and attributes of indoor air affecting the health and comfort building occupants. IAQ encompasses available fresh air, contaminant levels, acoustics and noise levels, lighting quality, and other factors. testing unless the manufacturer can prove that the coating and sealant used is low in VOC. If the tiles do not come with coating and sealant, but the coating and sealant are applied on site, then it is subject to EQ4.1 and EQ4.2 requirements. Is this a correct interpretation?

I think you basically have the right idea, but that's not how I would put it.

Any coating applied at the factory is subject to IEQc4.3 VOC or certification requirements.

A coating applied onsite to the floor is subject to IEQc4.2 or IEQc4.3 requirements.

Thanks for calling our attention to this, Devon; we'd been scrambling to find a certified or tested alternative to the specified tile on our CI project, but now it appears that we can "call off the dogs" as it were. This is good news, as the options available within the Floorscore and Greenguard C&S programs in this area where somewhat limited.

Doug, I don't know the answer to your question as it regards the relationship between the FloorScore, Green Label Plus, and California.

However, for the purposes of earning this credit, it's an academic point. You can choose to pursue Option 1 or Option 2 on a product-by-product basis. In other words, you don't need to choose one or the other for the credit and all products as a whole.