As noted under Section 1, there are three reporting methods that can be used in this section.
- Nested Materials Inventory method, Material-level threshold. This method lists all materials in the product and all the substances within each material that are above the threshold level for each material.
- Nested Materials Inventory method, Product-level threshold. This method lists all materials in the product and all the substances within each materials that are above the threshold level for the product as a whole. The manufacturer has the option of listing substances in selected materials based on a material-level threshold if this more rigorous information is available and the manufacturer chooses to report it.
- Basic Inventory method. This method does not identify materials and creates a single list of all substances within the product. The manufacturer must list all substances above the threshold level for the product.
One of the first things to do in reviewing an HPD is to determine which method is used and, therefore, what rules must apply.
MATERIAL
18. Product or Material Name.
- Nested Materials Inventory method. The material name can be a specific brand name or a more generic category name. The name can be “undisclosed” but the reason for nondisclosure must be explained in the Material Notes. Names of materials are sometimes withheld by the manufacturer or the supplier to protect intellectual property/ proprietary information.
- Basic Inventory method. The name of the product will appear.
19. Percent (%).
- Nested Materials Inventory method. The percent by weight of the material in the final product. A fixed percentage is preferred, but sometimes the percentage may vary and a range can be reported (for example, 5.0%–8.0%). The manufacturer might use a range because materials vary due to market conditions, availability, price, or other factors. Ranges may not exceed 20% without an explanation. An average or typical percentage can be included in the Material Notes. “Undisclosed” means that the percentage is being withheld and the product cannot be listed as “characterized” in Section 1.
- Basic Inventory method. This data field is not present in Basic Inventories.
20. HPD URL.
- Nested Materials Inventory method. If an HPD for a material exists, it can be cited here. The information on substances in the material must still be entered into the product HPD unless the referenced HPD is a “Special Condition HPD.”
- Basic Inventory method. This data field is not present in Basic Inventories.
21. Inventory Threshold. This is the amount or concentration above which intentionally used substances are reported in the HPD for the material or product.
- Nested Materials Inventory method, Material-level threshold. Each material can only have one threshold that applies to all of its contents. There can be different thresholds for different materials.
- Nested Materials Inventory method, Product-level threshold. Substances may be listed under each material based on the presence of each substance in the final product above the threshold level. For materials in which only substances present above the product threshold are listed, “other” is indicated as the threshold for the material. If desired, a “Per Material” threshold may be used for selected individual materials to provide additional information where it is available and the manufacturer chooses to disclose it – in this case, what is reported should be the actual threshold used to identify substances for that material, i.e., 100 ppm, 1,000 ppm, per GHS SDS, or per OSHA MSDS. This option can only be used if all substances above that threshold in the material are listed, not just the subset of substances that are above the “Per Product” threshold.
- It is possible that a material can be listed with no substances nested under it. This could occur if all substances in the material are below the Per Product level threshold indicated. “Other” must be indicated as the threshold for any such material. An explanation is required in Substance Notes.
- Basic Inventory method. One threshold is given for the entire product.
The threshold is often determined by how much information the manufacturer can obtain from suppliers. See Section 1 summary of substance disclosure level per material in ppm for more information on thresholds.
22. Residuals/impurities. This is an indication of whether residuals and impurities were “considered” for the material or product and are included in the inventory. See Section 1 – Residuals and Impurities for further information.
23. Residuals and Impurities Notes. This Notes section provides additional information on consideration of Residuals and Impurities. All other notes are provided in Other Material Notes.
24. Other Material Notes. This section includes information to further explain the entries above.
SUBSTANCE
25. Substance Name. The manufacturer can provide a specific name or a generic name or chemical class. “Undisclosed” means that the manufacturer chooses not to disclose the specific name of the substance, and the reason for nondisclosure must be explained in the Substance Notes; “Undisclosed” substances cannot be considered “identified” in the Summary, unless specifically allowed by Special Conditions. “Unknown” means that the manufacturer does not know the substance name, due to lack of disclosure by the supplier; these “Unknown” substances also cannot be considered “identified” unless allowed by Special Conditions.
26. Identifier. The primary identifier is the Chemical Abstract Service Registration Number (CAS RN), though other identifiers may be used when there is no CAS RN. Use of the CAS RN is important because it cross-references with the hazard lists referenced in the HPD Open Standard and provides definitive identification. As with the Substance Name, the Identifier can be “undisclosed” or “unknown” and the substance cannot be considered “identified” unless allowed by Special Conditions.
27. Percent (%).
- Nested Materials Inventory method. The percent by weight of the substance in the material. See percent (%) for Materials above.
- Basic Inventory method. The percent by weight of the substance in the product.
28. GreenScreen (GS). See Section 1 – “Number of lower hazard substances in Product” and “Most hazardous substance score found in Product” for explanation of GreenScreen® scores.
29. Recycled Content (RC). Indicates whether the substance has recycled content.
- “PostC” indicates post-consumer recycled content.
- “PreC” indicates pre-consumer (post-industrial) recycled content.
- “Both” indicates both are included.
- “None” indicates no recycled content.
- “UNK” indicates that use of recycled content is unknown.
30. Nano. Indication of whether the substance is a nanomaterial. See Section 1 – Nanomaterials
31. Substance Role. Indication of the substance’s purpose or function in the material (Nested Materials Inventory method) or product (Basic Inventory method). Examples include: binder, antimicrobial, flame retardant, wear layer, catalyst, preservative, etc. Further explanation of a particular substance can be included in the Substance Notes. This helps in understanding where the substances with hazards are located in the product and why they are included.
32. Hazard Screening. An integral element of reporting about products with the HPD Open Standard is to include a hazard screening of the substances in the product. A hazard screening provides data about whether a particular chemical (a “substance”) has been associated with one or more health hazards, and has been determined by several independent authoritative bodies based on criteria that they have established using the results of epidemiological, toxicological, and scientific research studies. The HPD Open Standard specifies which of these lists is to be considered in the hazard screening information reported in an HPD. (See Appendices B-F of the HPD Open Standard for further information.)
It is important to understand that a screening result that indicates an association of a substance with a hazard does not provide information about the exposure to or risk of that hazard in the product. Determination of exposure and risk requires additional assessment of the product.
Obtaining hazard screening information is a necessary first step in creating exposure and risk assessments, so it is important information to be reported in an HPD. It is also required information for meeting the LEED v4 Material Ingredients credit requirements.
For the HPD Open Standard, Hazard Screening is performed using the HPD Open Standard Priority Lists. These are primarily based on the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, a program of the nonprofit organization Clean Production Action. Typically, the hazard screening results that are reported in an HPD will result from the HPD creator using the HPD Builder tool. Within the Builder tool, the hazard screening is automated through the use of the Pharos Chemical and Materials Library (CML) reference database. The Pharos database is created and maintained by the Healthy Building Network. It is also possible for this screening to be performed using the Pharos system, if an HPD has not been created using the HPD Builder tool. It is extremely difficult to conduct an accurate hazard screening without the use of one or another of these automated tools. If the HPD does not indicate that it was created using the HPD Builder tool (this reference will appear in the upper right hand corner of the Summary page) then you should inquire to verify that a proper hazard screening was conducted. If an HPD has been third-party-verified, the third party will have verified this information.
The GreenScreen approach, as implemented using the Pharos CML, facilitates comparative chemical hazard screening and assessment at the substance level. There are two types of GreenScreen results that can be reported in an HPD:
- List Translator(LT) scores: these are produced through an automated tool that screens against hazard lists specified in the HPD Open Standard. No assessment is performed. For more information on the GreenScreen List Translator: http://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/method/greenscreen-list-translator
- Benchmark (BM) scores: these are produced through a Certified Full GreenScreen Method assessment that includes a toxicological review of all available information from scientific studies, hazard lists and modelling or analogs. For more information on the Full GreenScreen Method: http://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/method/fullgreenscreen-method
Benchmark scores are a more comprehensive assessment than List Translator scores, as they develop hazard levels for a full set of environmental and human health endpoints.
The HPD hazard screening summary includes:
- Number of GreenScreen BM-3/BM-4 Contents. This section reports on the total number of substances with lower hazards – Benchmark 3 (use but there’s still opportunity for improvement) or Benchmark 4 (prefer – safer chemical).
- Contents’ highest concern GreenScreen Benchmark or List Translator Score. This section reports on the most hazardous GreenScreen List Translator or Benchmark score found in any of the substances in the product.
Hazards are the inherent abilities of substances to cause harm to the environment or human health. In the HPD, each substance is screened against Priority Hazard Lists to see if the substance is listed. If it is listed, the associated hazard type, e.g., cancer, respiratory, physical, etc., is indicated along with the Agency List Abbreviation, e.g., CA EPA, IARC, etc., and Hazard Warning, e.g., carcinogenic to humans, asthmagen, explosive, etc. The lists and agencies can be found in the HPD Open Standard, Appendix D. Lists were selected for inclusion primarily based on criteria developed for GreenScreen. All lists in the GreenScreen List Translator are included if they contain high or very high hazard scores (Benchmark 1 or Possible Benchmark 1, Hazard Range of Very High, High, or Moderate for Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity/Genotoxicity, Reproductive Toxicity, Developmental Toxicity, Developmental Neurotoxicity, and Endocrine Activity, or Very High or High for all other endpoints). Additional lists have been included to address ozone depletion, global warming, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, and other chemicals.
HPDC’s online HPD Builder cross-references these lists automatically based on name and/or CAS RN.
33. Substance Notes. This section includes information to further explain the entries above.
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