VOC workshop at Healthy Buildings Conference 2009 - presentations
This page is a free service that Eurofins Product Testing A/S is giving to the 85 participants of the VOC workshop at Healthy Buildings conference 2009 and to other interested parties. Later on this information may be transferred onto a more neutral platform when available.
Most of the presentations are available for download, more presentations may follow. Papers behind the presentations are published in the proceedings of Healthy Buildings Conference. These will be available for those who missed Healthy Buildings Conference from ISIAQ website from December 2009 on.
Within Healthy Buildings conference 2009, Eurofins helped organizing a workshop on low VOC emissions rating schemes and labels, on Tuesday 15th September, for exchange of experience and for search of potential harmonization. Up to 85 participants took the chance to get an overview of how VOC emissions are evaluated in different countries and by different labels in Europe and in Northern America.
For summary and conclusions please click here and please see our comment near the bottom of this page. For presentation slides please see below, and for photos of the presenters (if available) please click on their names.
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Session I: 10:15 - 12:00
Chairs: Bob Thompson (EPA) and Reinhard Oppl (Eurofins)
- Approaches in USA
Section 01350 and LEED® IAQ Emission Requirements
Jan Stensland (Inside Matters, USA), paper 654
The ANSI/BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards
Randy Carter (Steelcase, USA), paper 799
FloorScore Flooring Products Certification Program for Indoor Air Quality
William H. Freeman (Resilient Floor Coverings Institute RFCI, USA) , paper 442
The Green Label Plus Program
Frank Hurd (Carpet & Rug Institute CRI, USA), paper 436
Indoor Advantage Certification Program
Stowe Hartridge-Beam (Scientific Certification Systems SCS, USA), paper 544
- Approaches in Europe
Low VOC emissions label programs in Europe - overview
Reinhard Oppl (Eurofins, Denmark/France/Germany/USA), paper 428
- Approaches in Europe - I: Governmental activities
The German concept: AgBB-scheme for mandatory and voluntary evaluation of VOC-emissions from (building) products
Christine Däumling (German EPA, Germany), paper 584
The activities of the German authority DIBt in the field of VOC emission testing of construction products DIBt
Doris Kirchner (DIBt, Germany), paper 630
Evaluation of emissions from building products according to the AFSSET protocol and recent developments in France
Corinne Mandin (CSTB, France), paper 492
- Approaches in Europe - II: Voluntary labels
Finnish Classification of Indoor Environment and Material Emissions
Jorma Säteri (RTS, Finland), paper 577
The GUT-PRODIS label, an environmental product information system for textile floor coverings
Edmund Vankann (GUT, Germany), paper 609
Session II: 13:00 - 14:30
Chairs: Reinhard Oppl (Eurofins) and Randy Carter (Steelcase)
EMICODE® Labeling System - History, Structure and Objectives
Klaus H. Winkels (GEV, Germany), paper 512
The Blue Angel
Wolfgang Horn (BAM, Germany), paper 447
Danish Indoor Climate Label
Thomas Witterseh (Danish Indoor Climate Labelling, Denmark), paper 487
natureplus® - environmental and health related construction with future oriented sustainable building products
Frank Kuebart (Natureplus, Germany), paper 691
- Example for purchase specifications
IKEA specifications
Annelise Larsen (IKEA of Sweden), paper 441
- International initiatives
ISO 16000 and forthcoming CEN standard on emissions from construction products - common principles, and differences
Reinhard Oppl (Eurofins, Denmark/France/Germany/USA), paper 429
Harmonisation of indoor material emission labeling schemes in the EU
Stelios Kephalopoulos (EU Joint Research Center, Italy), paper 635
Indoor Air Comfort product certification
Roland Augustin (Eurofins, Germany), paper 430
Comment on conclusions
Personal comment of Reinhard Oppl, Director VOC Testing at Eurofins Product Testing A/S:
"Today there is almost no movement towards trans-Atlantic harmonization of VOC emissions ranking schemes, even though they mostly describe the same group of low emitting products (just with different methodology), while some movement towards harmonization is observed within Europe."
"Each expert regards his own label as the best in the world. It will be difficult to find compromises between those experts. In the end market will decide whether isolated national approaches will stay alive, or whether international approaches will win."
"Within Europe, AgBB approach is having increasing backup, but also EMICODE is of growing acceptance. In the US, California Section 01350 specification more and more forms the basis of any new or updated VOC emissions criteria."
"The VOC workshop was intended to start a process of mutual recognition of labels, or at least of mutual acceptance of test results. Economic interests of some label holders may slow down this process, but magnitude of costs for multinational actors in industry may back up movement towards harmonization."
You would like to comment on that? Then please send an email to Reinhard Oppl. If several comments are coming in then we may publish them - so please, when commenting would you tell us whether you would like your comment to be published, and if yes - with your name or not.
More information:
Please click here for final Conference program.