The concept of healthy, safe, or non-toxic housing has long been a goal of people with such health conditions as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), but it now getting some serious recognition for our entire population. The goal of the healthy house concept is housing that does not contain materials that harm or worsen the health of the occupants. People with MCS cannot tolerate even very low levels of materials such as pesticides or many materials used in common building practice, such as formaldehyde, and often do not have the luxury of moving into just any available housing situation. But now, with medical research demonstrating physiological damage of the type that can lead a variety of respiratory tract disorders such as asthma at formaldehyde concentrations as low as 80 parts per billion, it is finally being realized that long-term exposure to many of these low-level toxic materials is a significant health hazard to "healthy" people.
It is important to note, that at present, the phrase " Healthy House" also means a number of different things to different people that may have little to do with non-injurious housing, such as wildlife habitat, good energy insulation, or "optimizing the energy of the house" or integrating the house into the community.
More recently, national concerns have been building about an increasing incidence of a wide variety of low-level chronic health and auto-immune conditions, such as asthma, autism, lupus, and attention deficit conditions, especially in children, throughout the general population. And these concerns are moving this issue of healthy housing into becoming a national public health issue for everyone in our society.
This page will concentrate on resources to develop a home that emphasizes both short- and long term indoor air quality to protect the health of the residents. This can be achieved by not using building materials, carpets or flooring that outgas a wide variety of manufacturing chemicals into the living space. Also, one does not use wood products which outgas toxic materials such as formaldehyde or any of several biocides, insecticides or Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC's). Also, one definitely does not use combustion appliances such as gas stoves that outgas into the living spaces.
A concern that is attracting national attention is the problem of mold, such as in crawlways, basements and bathroom walls. There are several forms of mold that are very serious healths hazard to everyone that can build up unseen and the occupants become aware only after serious health problems develop. Plus, we have a recent distraction that some insurance companies are no longer covering mold damage in homeowner's insurance.
A most important consideration is that toxic chemicals such as insecticides are not to be used in the construction of interior spaces and No Smoking is allowed in or around the house (secondhand tobacco smoke, which is regarded as one hundred times more dangerous than asbestos, is a potent source of the oxidation products of some insecticides; yet medical researchers keep scratching their heads about why upwards of 60,000 nonsmokers die of secondhand tobacco smoke every year!) - has long been a serious concern for people with the health condition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
For example, it is worth keeping in mind a few of the recognized toxic materials in most commercial carpets -
Benzene
Formaldehyde
Styrene
Toluene
Xylene
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such better information link are available here
http://www.sccs.com/sccshhos.htm#hhos
