GREENGUARD's First Exhibit at HEALTHCARE DESIGN.10 to Help Architects and Designers Specify Healthier Products More Easily and Efficiently

Exhibit will also educate about the importance of good indoor air quality and low-emitting products in healthcare environments

ATLANTA, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Architects and designers who visit the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute's first-ever HEALTHCARE DESIGN.10 exhibit next week will have the opportunity to learn how low-emitting products and materials can help create healthier, more sustainable healing environments.

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The GREENGUARD exhibit, which draws attention to the potential health hazards of product emissions and invisible indoor air contaminants, will also identify ways that architects and designers can more easily and efficiently specify low-emitting products.

"Given that many people in healthcare environments suffer from weakened immune systems and/or debilitating respiratory conditions, such as asthma, the need to address indoor air quality in healthcare environments is more critical now than ever before," says Paul Bates, market outreach manager for the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.  "There's no doubt that airborne chemical exposure from product emissions can exacerbate existing health conditions and can even trigger new problems. If the goal of a healthcare environment is to promote healing, it is incumbent upon architects, designers, and facility managers to ensure that the products they use in those environments are low-emitting."

Hazardous airborne chemicals commonly found in healthcare environments include formaldehyde, benzene, methyl methacrylate, and hexane—all of which can off-gas from healthcare-related products. Many are known or suspected carcinogens, reproductive toxins, developmental toxins, and/or physical irritants, and can be particularly harmful to the sick and the elderly.

Products that have achieved GREENGUARD Certification have been independently, scientifically tested to evaluate their chemical emissions and ensure that they meet some of the world's most stringent health-based requirements. As a result, they're recognized in the Green Guide for Healthcare, the healthcare sector's first quantifiable, sustainable design toolkit that integrates environmental and health-based practices into the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of healthcare facilities.

"Why risk exposing patients, doctors, nurses, and staff to potentially dangerous contaminants in a place where they're supposed to be healing?" Bates says. "By choosing the right products—those that have been independently assessed for their impact on indoor air quality—you can be certain that the healing environment you're creating is healthier for everyone involved."

To learn more about GREENGUARD Certified products at HEALTHCARE DESIGN.10, visit Booth Number 258. HCD.10 runs Nov. 13 through Nov. 16. For more information, visit www.hcd10.com.

About GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI)

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute aims to protect human health and improve quality of life by enhancing indoor air quality and reducing people's exposure to chemicals and other pollutants.  As an ISO-IEC Guide 65:1996 accredited, third-party organization, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute certifies products and materials for low chemical emissions and provides a resource for choosing healthier products and materials for indoor environments.  All certified products must meet stringent chemical emissions standards based on established criteria from key public health agencies. GREENGUARD Certification is broadly recognized and accepted by sustainable building programs and building codes worldwide.  For more information and a complete listing of certified products, visit www.greenguard.org.

SOURCE GREENGUARD Environmental Institute