This page contains Healthy Housing links and Resources -
This page contains the following sections -
The following link provides information about cleaning up lead contamination, such as from old paint, in homes and appartments.
Various governmental agencies are beginning to recognize the importance of indoor air quality. For example, the Colorado Health Department has a link to a page listing Indoor Air Specialists in Colorado on their Indoor Air page. (Be warned it is a large and unordered *.PDF format). There may be corresponding information for other states.
This section lists several web sites that represent they have healthy homes available. It is especially important to note that "green" houses are not necessarily "healthy" as far as being safe for people with Environmental Illness. We see "green" house interiors not being well sealed off from the outside shell - which often contains formaldehyde laden OSB (Oriented Strand Board). (Note that formaldehyde free OSB is becoming available.) We see "green" kitchen cabinets made of particle board that was not selected for non toxic type adhesives. We see "green" houses with crawl spaces that are not designed to be dry and free of mold. "Green" houses is an area for the buyer to be very aware and ask a lot of questions. And this is a request for builders to be more selective in their construction practices.
Another area of concern is the use of recycled materials. The past history of some of these materials is very questionable since many of them come from an era when there was much less awareness and concern about low level toxic materiels. Yes, recycling is good, but the toxic history must be questioned for all of these materiels.
This section gives links to a a wide variety of Housing Issues -
The following section lists several resources for air cleaner products that may be useful for people with Environmental Illness -
Of possible interest for persons with Environmental Illness is an action underway to stop misleading advertisements for air purifiers and ventilating systems that claim to remove tobacco smoke. See the following link for more information -
Comparison information about various air filters is available at the following web site -
Return to the top of this pageAn important consideration for everyone, given the many problems from this product, is that a Healthy House must not contain fragranced products. There is now a regulation encouraging this situation in the Green Product guidelines - Green products, according to the US Dept. of the Interior, "MUST NOT contain petrochemical-derived fragrances."
A firm in New Jersey has developed a drying out service for buildings with moisture problems and for new construction. The company has a hot air generator that heats the incoming air to some 250 degrees Fahrenheit and continuously feeds this air into the house at 2250 cubic feet per minute. In some 48 hours, they claim the typical humidity in the house is down to some four percent, as compared to the some 30 percent that common drying methods achieve. Contact -
Elimination of mold is a very important healthy housing consideration for everyone. And it is an especially serious problem for people with Environmental Illnesses who can have a severe reaction to the mold outgassing and particulates. Here are some links to more information about this area.
Other links for more MSDS information -
An MSDS sheet should contain the following information on the following topics -
A Proposal to the City of Toronto Regarding Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Environmental Sensitivities, Electrical Hyper-Sensitivities, and Housing.
The following links all refer to various formattings of the same article. In particular, the large *.pdf files are best read only with a fast access line and a computer with very large memory.
PDF Version:
Online Version:
MCSA NEWS; September 2008, Volume 3, Issue 9
Exclusive Housing Edition!
Entire PDF Edition:
NEW! Entire Online Edition:
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A wide variety of paints and sealants, sometimes called "low VOC" or "zero VOC" are becoming available that outgas very little volatile materials and are often especially well tolerated by many people.
Here are links to selected suppliers -
Some of these companies have low and no-voc paints and sealants in their inventory even though they may not advertise it or list it in their catalogs. Always ask!
Here are some of the important features in a house constructed for a person with MCS/EMF in Arizona that may be of interest to others considering the housing challenge.
Here are several search engines in case you wish to do more research from this page -
Follow the links below to learn more about RMEHA and Environmental Illness.