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A Lift for Traffic Flow: Improved Dispatch Lowers Capital and Operating Costs
September, 2008
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PHASE-IN COSTS ANTICIPATED
New controls on the volatile organic compound (VOC) levels in numerous architectural and industrial maintenance coatings could create some extra costs for developers and building owners at least in the interim while new products are being developed and phased in. Under a proposed new federal regulation, which was released in draft form in April 2008, most of the 49 designated categories of coatings would have to comply with new VOC concentration limits either one or three years after the regulation officially comes into force.
"It's not unlike the change in blowing agents used in foamed plastic insulations," suggests Kevin Day, a Building Science Specialist with the engineering firm, Halsall. "They once used atmospheric ozone-depleting CFCs and then they progressed to HCFCs, which are in turn being phased out by December 31, 2009. The regulatory changes force manufacturers to be on top of their research and development."
Facilities and property managers will also have to keep close track of new and old paint stock. "There won't be an exact colour match because the chemical composition has changed so, if they are doing touch-ups, they will need to keep track of where the different formulations are applied and they'll need to keep the old paint on hand," advises Sandra Lester, Sustainable Design Area Leader with the architecture and design firm, HOK. "Gradually, they'll roll a building completely over to the new formulation."
However, she predicts that wider introduction of low-VOC products should reduce the disruption that renovation projects cause because the curing process should be more tolerable for building occupants. "Painting may be able to be done during regular office hours, reducing overtime and costs," Lester says. "Once the work is complete, the occupants will also benefit from better air quality."
Provincial and municipal roads departments may have to adjust the timing of their painting schedules to get maximum performance life from low-VOC traffic coatings.
"It's very temperature sensitive so if we don't apply it with the right surface temperature, it will cake up and flake off," says George Chau, the Traffic Engineer for the Town of Richmond Hill in the Greater Toronto Area's 905 region. "It's better if we do it during warmer weather - probably between the Victoria Day weekend and Thanksgiving."
Building owners should observe the same schedule for painting outdoor parking lots. However, if applied at the right temperature, studies indicate that water based traffic coatings are as durable as alkyd paints with high VOC levels. |
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By Barbara Carss
Pending federal regulations to reduce or outright ban certain environmentally harmful substances will necessitate new chemical formulations for many common building products and flame retardants used in interior furnishings. However, design experts note that many less detrimental alternatives are already available, while some of the proposed new standards fall short of specifications that sustainable design advocates have voluntarily adopted.
"What's good about it is that it will set a higher standard for people who aren't using standards like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)," observes Sandra Lester, Sustainable Design Area Leader with the architecture and design firm, HOK. "As this becomes the standard in the industry, finding products like low-VOC paint will be less work for facility managers and designers."
In April, the Canadian government introduced draft regulations to place stricter limits on the allowable level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a wide range of architectural and industrial maintenance coatings, including roofing materials, fire retardants, waterproofing substances, concrete curing compounds, traffic coatings, sealants, paints and varnishes. When the caps are fully phased in, VOC emissions from the stipulated products are projected to drop by 30%.
The proposed limits are expected to reduce total VOC emissions by 48.3 kilotons (48,300 tonnes) by the end of this decade and bring Canadian standards more in harmony with requirements in many US states. A public comment period ended earlier this summer. The final version of the regulations is still to be posted in the future.
In July, the federal government also announced intentions to prohibit the manufacture of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and to restrict the import, use and sale of two PBDEs used in flame retardants, carpet backing and furniture cushioning. A third PBDE, known as DecaBDE and commonly used as a flame retardant in electronic equipment housings, upholstery and drapery textiles, will be assessed and monitored further to determine if controls will be needed in the future.
Flame retardants containing PBDEs are most likely to be found in furnishings and electronic equipment within a building, but they could also be present in the firestops that provide fire-resistive protection in openings where cabling, wiring or piping penetrate walls and/or floors and ceilings.
The proposed regulation is part of the government's wider Chemicals Management Plan, which is a three-year program to sequentially review approximately 200 substances on the domestic substances list (DSL) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act that are considered potentially harmful to human health and/or the environment. Industry and other users are required to provide information about how they are managing the substances, after which the government will decide if further actions and controls are required. To date, the government has called for information at six separate three-month intervals, thus far covering 106 substances.
STRICTER STANDARDS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS
Proposed VOC limits for architectural coatings have been set on a grams-per-litre (g/L) basis, and most would take effect either one or three years after the regulations are finalized. Allowable limits would range from 100 to 800 g/L depending on the product.
"In some cases, the VOC level of the product can be associated with the formulation needed for the performance of the product. So when you have a product where performance issues are of the utmost importance, they will usually allow for a higher VOC level because they wouldn't want to compromise the performance of the product," explains Sheila Brown, Practice Director, Sustainable Building Solutions, with the engineering and environmental consulting firm, Jacques Whitford.
The new limits will apply to a broad range of products, and comparably priced low-VOC alternatives aren't necessarily readily available in all categories. The Canadian Paint and Coatings Association notes that its membership has voluntarily reduced the VOC concentration of architectural coatings by about 50% during the past 20 years so the new standards will translate into an 80% reduction from former industry practices. "We will be significantly challenged," acknowledges Brian Edwards, Chair of the Association's Board of Directors.
"There could be cost and performance implications," says Kevin Day, a Building Science Specialist with the engineering firm, Halsall. "Requiring low-VOC emitting coatings may end up causing problematic substitutions that could potentially compromise durability. Manufacturers have been steadily working on reducing VOCs in base chemistry and there's new coalescent technology that reduces the need to use high-VOC emitting components, but architects and owners should look for product testing that reports on resistance to accelerated aging, abrasion/wear, adhesion etc."
In other cases, developers, designers and property managers should have many more low-VOC options, particularly since many paint manufacturers are already selling into US markets where similar regulations are in effect. The proposed Canadian limits are largely aligned with a US model standard developed by the Ozone Transport Commission, which encompasses 12 northeastern states and the District of Columbia. Other states such as California have even stricter standards, and these Californian standards are also the basis for LEED Canada's rating system for low-emitting paints.
The Canadian government's proposed limits for paints actually provide leeway for ultimately higher levels of VOCs since they apply only to the base product prior to the addition of tints. Typically, the carrier medium for the tint contains VOCs, and brighter and deeper colours have more tint.
"If you want bright orange, you would add a lot of tint and, in that tint, you could be adding a lot of VOCs that aren't being evaluated," Lester cautions. "In my view, this approach isn't particularly effective for evaluating VOC levels."
INDOOR & OUTDOOR IMPLICATIONS
The LEED program is now driving demand for low-VOC products to help achieve points for indoor air quality, especially as federal, provincial and municipal governments increasingly require that new publicly funded buildings be LEED certified. Many designers have voluntarily switched to new products to meet clients' needs and in so doing are spurring demand for a wider range of product choices.
"It's not a question of whether there are comparable products. It's a question of can we continue to poison people?" asserts Vivian Manasc, a Partner and Principal with Edmonton-based Manasc Isaac Architects, which specializes in sustainable design. "The products are available. It's just a matter of selecting them."
Within building interiors, VOCs are found in numerous materials including coatings, sealants, epoxies, carpets, particleboard and laminates. "The chemistry of each product is somewhat different and they all off-gas at different rates. Particleboard, for example, will off-gas urea formaldehyde forever if you don't seal the edges," Manasc notes.
In architectural coatings, VOCs typically act as the agents that keep the product in a liquid state. They also affect the product's consistency, its ease of application and the time it needs to cure. Emissions occur primarily as the coating dries, but they take much longer to dissipate.
"VOCs are volatile in that they are absorbed into carpets and furnishings. Once absorbed, they will re-emit into the air for a duration well beyond the actual curing period," Lester says.
LEED focuses almost exclusively on VOCs in building interiors (with the exception of traffic coatings), while the proposed federal regulations also include exterior building products deemed to contribute to ground level ozone. Notably, bituminous roof primers and coatings, and non-bituminous coatings, typically used in reflective roofs or for retrofitting metal roofs, will be subject to new concentration limits.
Bituminous roofs account for an estimated 60 to 65% of all roofs, but only about 30% of those would require primer, depending on the substrate or system application.
"What I would expect is that the manufacturers of these products will be changing their formulas to allow them to be used," predicts Tom Shreeve, Manager of the Re-Roofing Division with Semple-Gooder Roofing Limited. "I would expect to see the cost of these primers increase, and possibly increase substantially, but if that's the new bar for the industry then that's the new bar for the industry."
The proposed schedule would provide three years from the time the regulations are enacted until the new VOC limits for bituminous roof primers and coatings come into force. In contrast, non-bituminous roof coatings would have to comply after one year.
Non-bituminous coatings can be applied to reflective white roofs that can garner LEED points for reducing heat-island effect. However, Brown stresses that LEED points are awarded for the roof itself, not the coating. "It has to be a roofing material with a high solar reflectance - something that will have lasting performance," she says.
FINDING FLAME-RESISTIVE ALTERNATIVES
Environmental activists have been critical of the federal government's move to ban two PBDEs - PentaBDE and OctaBDE - that have essentially already been voluntarily phased out of production worldwide. Groups such as the Canadian Environmental Law Association, Ecojustice and the David Suzuki Foundation are calling for a wider prohibition that would also include DecaBDE, which is currently the most prevalent commercial form of the synthetic chemical.
Concerns have arisen due to increasing amounts of PBDEs building up in the environment, including in fatty tissues, breast milk and blood. Earlier this summer the European Union banned DecaBDE in electrical and electronic goods. Maine and Washington State are also moving to ban DecaBDE in mattresses, upholstered furniture, computers and televisions.
The Environment Canada web site states: "The scientific assessment found no evidence that current levels of PBDEs in the environment are harming human health at the moment." However, scientists also maintain that it will be possible to reverse the current build-up of the substance in the environment if use is curtailed.
Thus far, there is not much conclusive evidence of how the elimination of PBDE-based flame retardants could affect life safety, but the chemical composition of interior furnishings in general is believed to be fueling fires that burn hotter and faster than in previous eras when wood, cellulose fibre and other natural fibres predominated.
"In the last 20 or 30 years we've introduced a lot of materials that are more plastic based and that produce toxins that are hazardous when they burn," says Sean Tracey, Canadian Regional Manager with the National Fire Protection Association. "The elimination of fire retardants is going to affect the content and finishing of some of the products, further making them a hazard."
Nevertheless, products will still have to meet life safety standards. "We still have URL certified products and no architect is going to take a risk and specify a product that isn't URL certified," Brown maintains.
As with low-VOC products, other options are also available. A 2007 report on furniture flammability from the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) states: "Alternatives to FR (fire resistive) chemical additives have long been available in the form of 'inherently FR' fibers and other materials." Alternative approaches such as fire barriers in furniture and mattresses are also recognized in the CPSC's draft alternative standards for upholstered furniture.
"Some products are inherently flame and fire safe. Perhaps we need to start looking at those and proactively choose them," Lester concurs.
More information about the regulation affecting architectural and industrial maintenance coatings can be found at http://www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/DOCS/regs/voc/coat/en/DiscussDoc.cfm. A complete list of the substances under review in the Chemical Management Plan can be found at http://www.chemicalsubstanceschimiques.gc.ca/challenge-defi/list_e.pdf. |
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