[Greenbuilding] Does GreenGuard status for laminate meet LEEDS Credit in version 2.2 or for commercial interiors and Leed Clarification questions

[Keith Winston]

Hi there Eugene,


> Can someone show me a fabrication of standard plastic laminate that would need to be burdened by spending tens of thousands of dollars to insure against the obvious ?
>
>   
Is there such a thing as "standard plastic laminate"? I mean, the 
specific plastics make all the difference. For one thing, I wouldn't 
take for granted that no underlying outgassing materials will breach a 
laminate surface, by several routes. And for another lots of plastics 
have been shown to have troubling effects, like plasticizers that leach 
into food and mimic hormones, etc. I'm just not sure what's "obvious" 
here, except that we are swimming in an ever-expanding sea of chemicals 
about which we know very little...

I will concede that much of our money is poorly spent, and certainly 
most of LEED priorities seem to me to be pretty far off. Looking into 
the VOC in paints issue is enough to make you realize that no one really 
sat down and thought out a coherent response to indoor air quality, and 
that LEED points in this regard don't account for all that much... Good 
paint can be found, but you can get all the points available without it.

Keith