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LEED Pilot Credits
LEED Pilot Credit Library
Materials-Related Pilot Credits
Avoidance of chemicals of concern

LEED CREDIT

Pilot-Credits MRpc54: Avoidance of chemicals of concern 1 point

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USGBC
Technical Director, LEED

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Credit language

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Credit Closed
This credit closed to new registrations on February 15, 2013. Projects that registered for the pilot credit prior to February 15, 2013 may continue to pursue the credit.
Use a minimum of 20%, by cost, of at least 3 building product and material types meeting one of the options below. Chemical avoidance
Option 1. Avoidance
Use third party certified building products and materials that do not contain intentionally added substances present in the end product over the reporting thresholds below. Calculate compliant building products and materials at cost.

Substance

Allowed Concentration

Lead and lead compounds

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Mercury

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Cadmium

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Anitmony

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Hexavalent Chromium

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Carcinogens listed in California’s Proposition 65

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

For projects outside the U.S. additionally avoid carcinogens listed on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) substances of very high concern (SVHC) Candidate List

Under levels that would trigger notification
AND/OR
Option 2. Additional avoidance
Meet the requirements of Option 1. AND Use third party certified building products and materials that do not contain intentionally added substances present in the end product over the reporting thresholds below. Calculate compliant building products and materials at twice the cost.

Substance

Allowed Concentration

Halogenated organic compounds including:
•     Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
•     Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
•     Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
•     Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, also brand name Neoprene)
•     Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
•     Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

 

Brominated or halogenated flame retardants (BFRs and HFRs) containing bromine, chlorine, or fluorine including:
•     PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether), including Deca-BDE (Decabromodiphenyl ether)
•     Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA)
•     Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)  
•     Tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP)
•     Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP)
•     Dechlorane Plus 0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Phthalates including:
•     - Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP)
•     -Di(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate (DEHP)
•     - Di-N-Octyl Phthalate (DNOP)
•     - Di-N-Pentyl Phthalate (DNPP)
•     - Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)
•     - Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP)
•     - Diisodecyl Phthalate (DIDP)
•     - Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)
•     - Di-N-Hexylphthalate (DNHP)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Benzidine Dyes

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Bisphenol A

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity listed in California’s Proposition 65

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

For projects outside the U.S.: Additionally avoid chemicals listed as toxic for reproduction on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) substances of very high concern (SVHC) Candidate List

Under levels that would trigger notification.
1From the EPA’s Chemical Action Plans (US Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Existing Chemicals Program (US EPA PPT) http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/) Specific listing from California Prop 65 (California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) list of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity, Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html)

General Pilot Documentation Requirements

Register for the pilot credit Credits 1-14 Credits 15-27 Credits 28-42 Credits 43-56 Credits 57-67 Credits 68-82 Credits 83--96
Additional questions
  1. Did your project use the actual or default materials cost to determine the total materials cost?
  2. How did your team determine or estimate the actual materials cost? What method was used?
  3. Where there any challenges in determining the total materials cost? What were they?
  4. If applicable, how would using the actual materials cost verses the default materials cost have effected credit achievement?
See all forum discussions about this credit »

What does it cost?

Cost estimates for this credit

On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.

Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.

This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.

Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »

Documentation toolkit

The motherlode of cheat sheets

LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Batya Metalitz

USGBC
Technical Director, LEED

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Credit Closed
This credit closed to new registrations on February 15, 2013. Projects that registered for the pilot credit prior to February 15, 2013 may continue to pursue the credit.
Use a minimum of 20%, by cost, of at least 3 building product and material types meeting one of the options below. Chemical avoidance
Option 1. Avoidance
Use third party certified building products and materials that do not contain intentionally added substances present in the end product over the reporting thresholds below. Calculate compliant building products and materials at cost.

Substance

Allowed Concentration

Lead and lead compounds

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Mercury

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Cadmium

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Anitmony

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Hexavalent Chromium

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Carcinogens listed in California’s Proposition 65

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

For projects outside the U.S. additionally avoid carcinogens listed on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) substances of very high concern (SVHC) Candidate List

Under levels that would trigger notification
AND/OR
Option 2. Additional avoidance
Meet the requirements of Option 1. AND Use third party certified building products and materials that do not contain intentionally added substances present in the end product over the reporting thresholds below. Calculate compliant building products and materials at twice the cost.

Substance

Allowed Concentration

Halogenated organic compounds including:
•     Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
•     Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
•     Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
•     Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, also brand name Neoprene)
•     Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
•     Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

 

Brominated or halogenated flame retardants (BFRs and HFRs) containing bromine, chlorine, or fluorine including:
•     PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether), including Deca-BDE (Decabromodiphenyl ether)
•     Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA)
•     Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)  
•     Tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP)
•     Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP)
•     Dechlorane Plus 0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Phthalates including:
•     - Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP)
•     -Di(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate (DEHP)
•     - Di-N-Octyl Phthalate (DNOP)
•     - Di-N-Pentyl Phthalate (DNPP)
•     - Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)
•     - Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP)
•     - Diisodecyl Phthalate (DIDP)
•     - Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)
•     - Di-N-Hexylphthalate (DNHP)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Benzidine Dyes

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Bisphenol A

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI)

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

Chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity listed in California’s Proposition 65

0.01% by mass (100 ppm)

For projects outside the U.S.: Additionally avoid chemicals listed as toxic for reproduction on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) substances of very high concern (SVHC) Candidate List

Under levels that would trigger notification.
1From the EPA’s Chemical Action Plans (US Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Existing Chemicals Program (US EPA PPT) http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/) Specific listing from California Prop 65 (California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) list of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity, Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html)

General Pilot Documentation Requirements

Register for the pilot credit Credits 1-14 Credits 15-27 Credits 28-42 Credits 43-56 Credits 57-67 Credits 68-82 Credits 83--96
Additional questions
  1. Did your project use the actual or default materials cost to determine the total materials cost?
  2. How did your team determine or estimate the actual materials cost? What method was used?
  3. Where there any challenges in determining the total materials cost? What were they?
  4. If applicable, how would using the actual materials cost verses the default materials cost have effected credit achievement?

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Batya Metalitz

USGBC
Technical Director, LEED

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Pilot-Credits MRpc54