Forum discussion
NC-2009 IEQc4.1: Low-Emitting Materials—Adhesives and Sealants
We have had some duct tapes, and double coated tapes used on a job. Are these also required to be compliant via this credit?
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Do products applied to the weather barrier need to comply with VOC thresholds?
How do I determine what application my product falls under?
How is VOC % less water determined for aerosol adhesives?
Do grout and caulking need to be included, and if so, what is the application category?
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
May 28, 2010 - 6:29 pm
These tapes are not covered by the credit, no.
April Ambrose
Business Development ManagerEntegrity
230 thumbs up
June 1, 2010 - 12:42 pm
Is this because they are applied to the tape off-site and therefore are not considered to be applied on-site?
These tapes are used to adhere one thing to another, i.e. signage to a wall, duct sealing, etc.
Mara Baum
Partner, Architecture & SustainabilityDIALOG
674 thumbs up
June 10, 2010 - 9:44 pm
EQ 4.1 and 4.2 primarily address products that are applied as a liquid or semi-liquid material, then evaporate to become a solid or semi-solid material. In many conventional paints/coatings/adhesives/sealants, the off-gassing of volatile organic compounds arebe a big part of this evaporation process. By definition, VOCs are "volatile" because they change from a liquid to a gas when they come into contact with oxygen at room temperature. Once they become gaseous, we breathe them in, and they can cause us a host of nasty short- and long-term health problems.
The adhesives on things like duct tape aren't addressed in this credit because they don't typically contain the same types of volatile solvents that create health problems. Because these tapes are typically low-VOC, we don't have to track them for LEED in the same way that we have to for products that are conventionally high-VOC.
This is a lay person's understanding of the science -- I would welcome a more technical response from anyone more savvy with this issue.