New Healthy Flooring Initiative for Healthcare Posted: Dec 2018 Posted by: Mats Inc.

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) announced its latest initiative to reduce the negative impact of chemicals from resilient flooring in health care facilities. Rachel Gibson and Tracey Easthope from Health Care Without Harm, and Mary Larsen of Advocate Aurora Health presented the Healthy Flooring criteria at the GreenBuild 2018 Cocktail Reception hosted by HDR Architecture in Chicago.

HCWH explains that some flooring can adversely affect indoor air quality. Some of the ingredients and chemicals used in flooring can contribute to health issues such as asthma, cancer, developmental complications, and others. With this new criteria, the organization is prioritizing the importance of safer flooring options.

The Healthy Flooring criteria applies only to resilient flooring products and related coatings and adhesives. It does not include carpet, poured flooring, concrete, leveling compounds and underlayment. Manufacturers can achieve a silver or gold Healthy Flooring rating.

About Health Care Without Harm (HCWH)

HCWH is an international organization on a mission to “transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice”.

HCWH was formed as collaboration of environmental health advocates from 28 organizations in 1996, when the U.S. EPA determined that medical waste incineration was the primary cause of dioxin emissions, a potent carcinogen, and produced a large percentage of mercury pollution as well.

Twenty plus years later, it is now a growing force that includes hundreds of organizations and thousands of hospitals and health partners in more than 50 countries who are making great strides toward their goals.

More to follow as this new initiative gets underway.

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Categories: Healthcare Flooring