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

Carmelito,

My thoughts on this would be that these paints/coatings would not be compliant, though you could always use the VOC budget approach. My reasoning is two-fold.

1) Requirements clearly state that Low-Emitting credits pertain to paints and coatings that are "inside of the weatherproofing system and applied on-site". It sounds like the interior components would meet both of these criteria.
2) When I am searching for some kind of reprieve I look at the intent of the credit. The intent of IEQc4 is to "reduce the quanity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well-being of installers and occupants". Given that all finished have a period of time that they off-gas, and this period of time would be relatively short because of the method of curing, air drying, I would guess that you will still be introducing harmful VOC's into the indoor environment. When finishing occurs off-site there may be a curing process and a time component that allows the finished objects to off-gas. Hope this helps and best of luck on your LEED project.

Is the school following EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems.? If yes, floor strippers would likely be covered in one of the credit categories.

To the best of my knowledge, paint and floor coating/wax strippers are not otherwise covered in LEED for Schools IEQ credits. If a coating is applied to the cleaned floor later on, that would be count. The line between floor polishes and coatings is a little blurry, but manufacturers tend to use distinct marketing language to differentiate product categories.

As a practical matter, it still makes sense to use the least toxic floor stripper possible. Look for products in the USEPA Design for the Environment program or certified with Green Seal. Commercial market manufacturers that don't sell through state contracts offer similar low VOC and toxicity alternatives, often containing CleanGredient listed solvents and surfactants and compliant with CARBThe California Air Resources Board, part of the state government, is charged with maintaining clean air. This agency is unique at the state level: California was the only state that had such an agency before the passage of the federal Clean Air Act, and was allowed to keep it. VOC standards.

No matter what coating/polish stripper you specify, make sure the building is cross ventilated with fresh air during and after use. It doesn't hurt to isolate or cover soft materials that can absorb odors, but that should not be a major issue if the airborne molecules aren't given an opportunity to settle.

Great advice Dwayne - even if it doesn't get credit, make it healthy. To help ensure that you have a low environmental impact product you can also look for floor strippers that meet the requirements of EcoLogo CCD-147 (http://ecologo.org/en/certifiedgreenproducts/details.asp?product_type_id...).

If your metal is being primed off site then the VOC of that primer does not contribute to your LEED project. Typically, I use the anti-corrosive limit for all paints and coatings scheduled to be applied to metals since their primary reason the item is being painted is to limit rusting.

You follow the date given by the LEED Reference Guide that your project is following. If the Reference Guide say SCAQMD as modified on 1/1/03 then you do not follow the VOC guide listed in 7/1/06. If SCAQMD does not modify the category on 1/1/03 then you move to the older reference (scan left in the chart) and use that limit.

To further confuse things Addenda was released on 4/14/2010 and then updated 11/3/2010 that replaces Table 1. The new table is much easier to understand, though some categories that were in the old table are no longer in the new table.
Follow this link for all Addenda - http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2200

Chris,

I was successful on a LEED for Schools 2009 classifying concrete stain as a Stain with a VOC limit of 250.

This would be consistent with the CARBThe California Air Resources Board, part of the state government, is charged with maintaining clean air. This agency is unique at the state level: California was the only state that had such an agency before the passage of the federal Clean Air Act, and was allowed to keep it. SCM and Rule 1113 Stain category definitions and agency intent. The regulatory definition is:

Stain: A semitransparent or opaque coating labeled and formulated to change the color of a surface but not conceal the grain pattern or texture.

Erik, I would have to assume this is acceptable based on hybrid approaches in other similar credits. Have you gotten approval?

Peter, that is correct that CA 01350 is not required, and no, most materials have not been tested to it, to my knowledge.

The requirement is for "...paints and coatings installed in the building interior..." You have a non-issue.

I have a similar issue, but in our case we were going to paint both the door and the frame with an exterior paint. Would that make any difference? Just to clarify, the interior face of the door would be painted with an exterior grade paint, and I would like to know if that paint needs to meet the VOC limits for the building interior.

Paul,

Yes, I believe the exterior paint would need to meet the VOC limits since it is inside the weatherproofing system. If the frame is metal you can categorize it as an anti-corrosive/anti-rust paint for which the VOC limit would be 250 g/L.

You say "for the first time ever". Does this mean you have submitted an alt compliance path for one of the IEQ4 credits in the past (with version 2009), and were not required to follow an alt compliance path for the rest of the IEQ4 credits?

Full disclosure - I am Technical Information & Public Affairs Manager for GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.

Alison - You state alternative compliance in your question - in the LEED for Schools program the EQc4.2 criteria is meeting the testing and product requirements of the California Department of Health Services Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organic Emissions from Various Sources Using Small-Scale Environmental Chambers, including 2004 Addenda (CA 01350). If a product is certified to the GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification program then it shows compliance to CA 01350 along with looking at an additional 330 chemicals and setting a total chemical limit. So this should not be viewed as an alternative compliance path.

LEED for Schools EQc4.2 can have compliance shown by having products that meet GREENGUARD Children & Schools, Scientific Certification Systems Indoor Advantage Gold, or an independent test laboratory report for the product that shows that they pass CA 01350 test methodology. All paints & coatings should not have to show any one third-party certification. Additionally, if you have some products that have not been able to show compliance to the emission criteria, USGBC has approved utilizing the content pass/fail criteria that is used in other LEED Rating Systems.

A question for Josh Jacobs - if a product is certified to the GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification program, does it also provide compliance with SCAQMD Rule #1168?

The simple answer is no. GREENGUARD's standards are focused on minimizing harmful chemicals which can emit from products. SCAQMD's rules are focused on the minimization of VOC content in liquid products (such as adhesives & paints) so as to minimize the potential harm to the outdoor environment - smog and ground level ozone proliferation. They were never meant to be utilized to help prove that a product was low-emitting for the indoor environment. In fact, the Manager of Indoor Exposure Assessment Section for the California Air Resource Board, Peggy Jenkins, stated in public comments last summer for the International Green Counstruction Code that emission criteria is what needs to be used to show that a product is low-emitting for the indoor environment, not simply content.

Hi Josh,

Another question - it has come to my attention that the CA 01350 standard with 2004 Addenda has now been superceded by CA 01350 Version 1.1, which came out in 2010. I have noticed that many GREENGUARD for Children and Schools certificates now state compliance with the Version 1.1 standard.

However, the LEED for Schools 2009 rating system still requires compliance with CA 01350 with 2004 Addenda. So, the question is, if it complies with Version 1.1, does it still comply with the older version with 2004 addenda?

You are correct, CA 01350 was officially updated in February 2010 and there were changes and updates to the document. To stay current with the latest science and requirements, GREENGUARD updated the requirements for the Children & Schools certification program. Through multiple discussions with USGBC by not only GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, but other product emission practitioners as well, USGBC understood the changes and agreed that they would accept the new standard as compliant with the old criteria. I can't speak for others' methods, but I believe that Scientific Certificaiton Systems' Indoor Advantage Gold also updated their requirements at this time along with some of the major product emission laboratories around the country that do testing for the CA 01350 standard method/criteria. Since this has all taken place GREENGUARD Children & Schools and SCS' Indoor Advantage Gold have continued to be accepted methods of proving compliance to EQc4.0 in LEED for Schools by USGBC.

I have been following this thread and would like to share my experience with IEQc4.2 and the PIEACP amended for LEED 2009 for Schools dated 9/29/2009. On my first LEED Gold certified school under the new rating system I chose the Alternative Compliance method for IEQc4.1-IEQc4.4. The way I understand the PIEACP is that I can either follow the LEED for Schools option OR LEED 2009 for New Construction. I have heard from someone in the wood door industry that you can't jump between the two options. With that said the way I read the PIEACP is that for each credit you have two options, LEED for Schools or LEED 2009 for New Construction. You should be able to take the path of your choosing for each individual credit. I have renewed interest in this topic because we want to use a Dry Erase paint on a school project. Does anyone have LEED 2009 experience with this topic?

Denise - So that we can help, could you explain the question a little more as the criteria in LEED for Schools 2009 is product emission requirements, not content.

Sounds like it could be "other," or "Graphic arts coating"?

It seems to me that this is similar to an earlier discussion on this credit about "graphic arts coatings," so I'd recommend you review that.

If you're following SCAQMD, there's always the "other' category. Either way, seems like the <100 g/L paint should work.

Also remember that due to CA 01350 being the compliance path called out in LEED for Schools, a paint product can show compliance by being low-emitting and not just having low VOC content.

Just a note, that in the future (LEED 2012) they may be requiring Paints & Coatings and Adhesives & Sealants to have both low VOC content and be low-emitting.

I believe you simply have to meet the specific VOC requirements, with results from a credible lab. There is no specific accreditation requirement for the labs that I am aware of.

I am asking around but so far have come up empty. One option to consider, however, is using the VOC budget method to calculate credit compliance (discussed in more detail above in the Bird's Eye View and Checklists tabs). If you are under the VOC limits in other areas, you could go over the VOC limits here. Since the quantities for gym floor lines are relatively small, this may be fairly workable.

Tristan:
A manufacturer's rep told me yesterday that under SCAQMD Rule 1113 (referenced on page 481 of the Reference Guide), "graphic arts coatings" can have 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. of up to 500, and that that's how they meet LEED. However, in the 2009 Guide this is under NC & CS, not under SCHOOLS. If you can provide additional info it would be great. By the way, this week's webinar on LEED for SCHOOLS was very good. There were 8 of us listening, and we found it very useful.

Christian, see the important subsection in the "Bird's Eye View" above under the subheading "Schools have a tighter requirement." (This might be past the preview portion and thus only visible to subscribers. Is it worth subscribing for this kind of must-have information? Yes.)

I'm so glad you found the webinar helpful. The recorded version of "LEED for Schools Certification – A Crash Course" is now posted here, by the way.

After the webinar, we decided to subscribe, but it hasn't happened yet....

We are following the rep’s recommendations as well and submitting gym line paint under the “graphic arts coatings” in the SCAQMD Rule 113. We have two projects that are getting ready for their LEED review so we have not had an official approval by the GBCI but I think we will be fine. And, as Tristan said, if for some reason they reject it…you can always do the VOC budget method.

Also, Schools projects can follow the NC requirements for EQc4.1 and EQc4.2 There is a link above to the errata that allows this.

Shannon

Shannon, I would like to hear your results with submitting the gym line paint per the SCAQMD Rule 113. Was that acceptable, or did you have to do the VOC budget method?

Renee,

I was successful in having gym line paint classified as a Graphic arts coating (sign) on a recently certified LEED Gold school project. Since then USGBC released a revised Table 1 with Addenda dated 4/14/2010 and updated 11/3/2010, and this category is no longer. Any thoughts on this? Also, I am curious if anyone has used Graphic arts coating (sign) classification for dry erase paint.

John,

I cannot find the Addenda that replaces Table 1.

Do you think Chalkboard paint could be classified as a Graphic Arts Coating?

Rebecca,

Please remember that the actual LEED for Schools EQ 4.2 requirement is that the product be low-emitting (and not simply low VOC content), if the chalkboard paint shows compliance to the CA 01350 requirements it can qualify for this credit. So look for chalkboard paint that has proven it is low-emitting as most of the ones that I have encountered are high in VOC content.

Josh,

Thank you for your response. We are pursuing the Alternative Compliance Path and will be substituting LEED 2009 for New Construction IEQc4.2 in place of LEED 2009 for Schools IEQc4.2.

In the August 2011 Addenda we found the link to the new table of Applicable VOC Limits. Benjamin Moore has a low VOC chalkboard paint (20g/L). We are going to classify it as an Interior Flat Coating or Primer. The VOC limit for that category is 50g/L, so we should comply. Does this make sense to you?

Thanks, Rebecca

Rebecca,

Certainly. It should help you get the point, but remember because you are focusing on the content of the wet products and not what actually emits from the products, you may not get the indoor air quality that you were hoping for. I would suggest striving to get EQc 3.2 with a building clearance test to make sure that before children occupy the school it doesn't have potentially harmful levels of chemicals in the air. Good luck with the project - we need better, more sustainable schools for our children to learn in.

Hi Alison, good question. We are working on revisions to that document. But it is basically a simple compilation of the tables shown in the Bird's Eye View for each of the IEQc4 credits, so to see that content simply view each of the credits. Since the NC and Schools requirements are different, the tables for the versions of these credits are different, by the way. A Schools project has the option to follow either set of requirements.

Tristan, Am I correct in assuming that this information was never updated? I still can't find it the "Low-Emitting Material Limits document".