A brief introduction to chemical hazards in the life cycle of building products with floor coverings as a case study

Abstract

Buildings play an essential role in the social and economic advancement of human societies. However, modern buildings contain numerous synthetic, chemically processed and or treated materials, most of which have never been tested to determine the health hazard status (Liddell et al, 2008; AQS, 2010). Given the inordinate materials demand of the building sector, the production, use and disposal of modern building products has come to play a central role in the creation of human and environmental health hazard. The types and quantities of building products are constantly on the increase. The exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals is therefore likely to increase in the absence of an intervention aimed at replacing toxic with benign building products. At the beginning of the 20th Century, about 50 materials were used in buildings (Liddell et al, 2008). Now, more than 55 000 building products are available, and over half are man-made.