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California Begins Development of
Environmentally Preferable School Building Products Online Database
Sacramento - The Department of General Services Division of State
Architect (DSA) has launched the development of a first of its kind
database designed to provide a complete list of environmentally preferred
products to be used in school construction projects. The complete database
will be posted on the DSA website and will be accessible to anyone,
beginning in the later part of 2004.
Pursuant to State Senate Bill 373, enacted last year, the database will
provide free, online access to a list of products that meet a set of
criteria designed to promote healthy indoor environments, consume fewer
resources over their life cycle, and promote recycling and reuse. The
comprehensive database project will assist owners, architects, and
contractors in sorting through a growing number of products that make
environmental and health claims.
State Senator Tom Torlakson, the author of SB 373, stated, "As a
former teacher and coach, I am extremely pleased and excited at the
promise of this tool and with the team that has been assembled. The health
and welfare of our States students and teachers should be paramount in our
school planning and construction practices. This database will allow
designers to have a clear picture of the impact that the building products
in our schools have on our school population and the environment."
The Environmentally Preferable Products database project team will survey
several California school districts to develop a prioritized list of
product categories, based on dollars spent and potential for environmental
improvement. The process used to create the framework of the database, the
screening criteria, and the screening process will enable users to see
exactly how a product achieves the description of environmentally
preferable. In addition, products will be evaluated on a life-cycle basis
by measuring the impacts of the products from the extraction of the
resources through to the end of the products useful life, ensuring that
improvements in one area do not come at the expense of others.
"This will be a great tool for us" says San Diego City School
District Architect James Watts. "Historically if we wanted to know
how a product affected the classrooms indoor air quality or how we could
safely dispose of the product when it outlived its usefulness we have to
do a ton of research on our own. This database will allow us to get a
quick, clear idea of these issues without having to spend a lot of
district funds doing it."
A diverse team of public sector professionals and private sector experts
versed in environmentally sound construction and design techniques have
formed a partnership to create this unique database. The team combines
expertise in sustainable design, energy analysis, green product
evaluation, EPP standards development, manufacturer certification,
publishing, and online information tools. The private sector team consists
of CTG Energetics (prime contractor), BuildingGreen, Scientific
Certification Systems, and Green River Data Analysis.
Those interested may go to www.eppbuildingproducts.org
to view the projects scope of work and schedule and to sign up for emailed
updates as the database takes shape.
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