Emissions, Odor, and Health

Emissions, Odor, and Health

Commercial buildings are self-contained environments, usually connected to the much larger environment by a mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. If outdoor air is polluted, indoor air will most likely be polluted.

Good indoor air quality depends on solid building design, effective building operations and maintenance programs, and using low-emitting interior products.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emphasizes the importance of source reduction measures, such as specifying low-emitting products and performing effective and frequent cleaning to maintain acceptable indoor air quality.

Responsible manufacturers follow the EPA's recommendations and develop ways to further reduce these emissions. Through diligent efforts to inspect products, carpet manufacturers have continually tested carpet to learn about its role in indoor air quality.

Scientific research studies, including those done by the EPA and independent laboratories, conclude that carpet is one of the lowest emitters of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

All man-made products impact indoor air. Other products, such as paint, wall coverings, and other floor coverings, emit VOC levels up to ten times higher.
Poor indoor air quality usually results from inadequate ventilation and chemical emissions from multiple indoor sources. These emissions sometimes linger in the environment for many weeks or months longer than carpet. With good ventilation, the minimal VOC emissions and the nonhazardous odor from new carpet dissipates within the first 48 to 72 hours after installation.

The carpet industry takes all allegations regarding the safety of carpet seriously and has worked closely with the EPA, the Consumer Products Safety Com-mission (CPSC), and academic and independent laboratories to evaluate carpet's role in the indoor environment. To date, in no case has scientific, peer-reviewed evidence been presented that links adverse health effects to emissions from carpet.

There are misconceptions about the effects new carpet emissions may have on the indoor environment. A study completed in 1994 by ENVIRON, an independent research company, assessing the risk of any emissions, states that "no cancer or health risks were identified that would be considered of public health concern." The study also stated, "there are no human safety concerns with contaminates of, or emissions from, carpet."

Dr. Alan Hedge, professor of Environmental Analysis at Cornell University, reported, "concentrations of VOCs in carpet emissions are substantially below any known thresholds for toxicity effects-orders of magnitude lower than those known to produce effects-a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times lower than any known effects. New carpet emissions should not create health problems for people-any people."

Click here to view Cornell University research findings.