ABSTRACT

The main way to create healthier buildings and to reduce hazardous emissions and bad IAQ is to follow a number of simple design principles, which includes the precautionary prin ciple. Even if you are not entirely convinced by the evidence in this book about the risks to health from hazardous, toxic and carcinogenic materials, it is still worth considering avoidance of risks. Building healthier buildings is not difficult, once architects and their clients accept that buildings do not need to be full of synthetic and hazardous chemicals. If natural and non-toxic materials are used instead, then hazardous emissions can be reduced significantly. The following basic ideas should not only be good for the health of building occupants but also good for the workers who produce building materials and the environment in general:

• Structure: Reduce masonry and concrete materials as much as possible where they are exposed to the indoor environment or can emit radiation into a building. Cement and concrete manufacture contributes as much as 10 per cent of CO2 emissions and claims about the thermal mass benefits of concrete are misleading. Earth-based materials can be used instead. Use of recycled waste materials in concrete may not have significant environmental benefits and may contribute to hazardous emissions and radiation. Where concrete has to be used it should be well away from where it might affect indoor air. Ecological alternatives such as limecrete and rammed earth should be preferred.