Select
Safe Materials for Use On-Site
Select
materials that are safe to handle, avoiding caustics,
heavy metals, hazardous solvents and hazardous fibers.
Select construction products and methods that minimize
long-term release of volatiles and trapped dust (see
Materials chapter). S
afe
materials specified in the contract usually do not
exhaustively cover every product used on site. Use
Hazardous Materials Information System (HMIS) guidance
and safe materials selection guides to provide the
safest workplace feasible, and to minimize impact
on the completed building.
Locating
some safer products and small additional costs for
purchase may make this approach slightly more costly
than a conventional approach. However, legislation
such as the Southern California Air Quality Act is
making products such as zero VOCs paints and adhesives
readily available at little or no additional cost.
See
Appendix B for sample safe materials specification.
Cautions
- Contract
specifications should list specific low-toxicity
materials, and should also indicate a selection
standard for items not specified in the contract.
