RE: [GBlist] "Green" kitchen cabs

[Brenda Norman <bnorman@ceiarchitecture.com>]

Formaldehyde in general is a carcinogen, and there are members of the 
public with severe reactions, including death, to low levels of it (there 
are different types of formaldehydes, we try to avoid urea formaldehyde but 
the use of phenol formaldehyde is 'alright' in that it doesn't produce the 
same levels of gas).  Isocyanate isn't the same as METHYL isocyanate. 
Isocyanate causes health problems when inhaled during manufacturing, 
however most binding agents do when inhaled (even the glue we let school 
children use), it may be that isocyanate will be found to have more severe 
health impacts in the future, but at the moment, especially from an 'end 
user' perspective, its the 'healthier' choice (sorry for all the quotes, 
but taking asbestos as an example I wouldn't feel comfortable saying 
anything is 'safe')
Brenda



-----Original Message-----
From:	Rush Dougherty [SMTP:RushD45@earthlink.net]
Sent:	Tuesday, January 29, 2002 10:37 AM
To:	greenbuilding@crest.org
Subject:	Re: [GBlist] "Green" kitchen cabs

did a little more research...

went to  http://www.isobord.com/corporate.html
and saw that
"Together the companies applied for and received a United States patent in
1996 for the process technology of making a straw based engineered board
with isocyanate"

then I did a Goggle search on "Isocyanate", and came up with
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/uatw/hlthef/methylis.html
that says, among other statements, that
"No information is available on the assessment of personal exposure to
methyl isocyanate"
and that
"In 1984, in Bhopal, India, a Union Carbide gas leak of methyl isocyanate
resulted in the deaths of 2,000 people and adverse health effects in 
greater
than 170,000 survivors. Pulmonary edema was the cause of death in most
cases, with many deaths resulting from secondary respiratory infections 
such
as bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia"
and that
"EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, for a hazard ranking
under Section 112(g) of the Clean Air Act Amendments, considers methyl
isocyanate to be a "high concern" pollutant based on severe acute toxicity"

so, really, how 'green' is it? or is it just using a 'source' that we feel
is 'green' and using blatently a binder/glue agent to hold it together?

Rush



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This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
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______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________