ABSTRACT
Indoor environmental professionals typically rely on safety data sheets (SDSs) as their go-to source of information. SDSs, referred to as material safety data sheets (MSDSs), are typically the "benchmark" for builders and environmental consultants to seek building material information. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard requires that the product manufacturer, distributor, and/or importer provide SDSs to end users in order to communicate hazardous components that may impact the health and safety of workers. Beyond the SDSs for worker protection, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) set forth health-based 33building material specifications. In 1999, the California Sustainable Building Task Force was formed to direct State "green building" specifications out of which sprang the OEHHA's chronic reference exposure limits (CREL) that set material testing criteria for Volatile Organic Compounds emissions and expanded to exposure limits for indoor air pollutants in state buildings.
