Terms

Results for "stone"

ASTM E84 Flammability

Explore Materials and Sample ASTM E84 Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials The ASTM E84 test is a standard of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) that measures the burning properties, or fire resistance, of building materials that may be exposed to flames using the Steiner tunnel chamber…

Border Tile

Explore Materials and Sample Border tile refers to the tiles that surround the field tile—a decorative edging that results in a more finished design, which can highlight or frame particular areas within a space. Border tile designs can be used on both floors and walls, and come in a variety…

Botanical

Explore Materials and Sample Botanical is a motif depicting precise illustrations of plants that occasionally includes representations of flowers in bloom, leaves, or stems. As a favored subject in formal framed art, the imagery has also become a widespread design in printed textiles. Photography Courtesy of James Dunlop Textiles…

California Prop 65 List

The California Prop 65 List is a public index of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that are known to cause cancer and reproductive harm. This list was established by Proposition 65—a law officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986—to inform Californians about potential exposure…

CDPH/CHPS 01350

Explore Materials and Sample CDPH (California Department of Public Health) / CHPS (Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security) Section 01350 is a United States standard that addresses the human health and environmental impacts of building materials used by the architecture and design community. Also known as the Standard Method for…

Chevron

Explore Materials and Sample Chevron is a repeating pattern of a continuous V- and inverted V-shaped lines without interruption, resulting in a zig-zag-like appearance. Composed of at least one color, this pattern is often used in the design of flooring and walls, as well as textiles. Photography Courtesy of Walker…

CRI Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality

Explore Materials and Sample Green Label Plus is a program created by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) to set standards for VOC emissions from carpets, cushions, and adhesives, and provide resources for consumers related to indoor air quality. It is a voluntary initiative that parallels testing emissions protocols used…

Cross Cut

Cross cut is a stone slab cut perpendicular to the natural bedding. It is characterized by its mineral veins and layers that create a swirly or cloudy look at a cross section. This type of cut shows a mixture of dark and light colors on the same slab face.…

Declare Label

Explore Materials and Sample The Declare Label is a transparency initiative by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) through which industrial manufacturers can opt to disclose their product ingredients. Declare Labels share a product’s key compositional and logistical information with specifiers and consumers, including its manufacturer, assembly location, life expectancy,…

Declared

Explore Materials and Sample Declared refers to a declaration status indicating that a product has disclosed 100 percent of its ingredients present at or above 100ppm (0.01%), while also containing one or more Red List chemicals not listed as an existing exception. It is one of three declaration possibilities—along with…

Field Tile

Explore Materials and Sample Field tile refers to the primary area of tile that is covering a surface. It is the most prominent tile within the space.…

GREENGUARD

Explore Materials and Sample The GREENGUARD Certification Program—previously known as the GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certification—recognizes products and processes that meet standards for safe levels of chemical and particle emissions in indoor spaces. GREENGUARD is a third-party assessment program created by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Environment to support manufacturers in producing…

GREENGUARD Gold

Explore Materials and Sample GREENGUARD is a third-party assessment program created by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Environment to support manufacturers in producing safe products designed for indoor spaces, in accordance with strict VOC emissions standards. GREENGUARD Gold is even more rigorous, permitting no more than 1/100 of currently published ACGIH Threshold…

Health Product Declaration (HPD)

Explore Materials and Sample A Health Product Declaration (HPD) is a standardized report that is used to disclose the contents of building materials, as well as their possible human health effects and hazards. HPDs are overseen by the Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC), a non-profit organization with members from across…

Inlay

Inlay is a decorative technique that inserts pieces of contrasting materials into a depression or shallow surface in a base object to create an ornamental design, pattern, or picture. The inlaid material is usually made flush with the surface it has been added to. This technique is commonly seen in…

International Living Future Institute

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI), established in 2009 by members of the Cascadia Green Building Council, is a non-profit advocating for a socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative society. As the umbrella organization tasked with managing the Living Building Challenge, the Living Product Challenge, the Living Community Challenge,…

Knife Edge

A knife edge top—sometimes referred to as a platner edge—is characterized by a sloping cut that recedes downward and away from the topmost edge of a surface. When used in countertop applications this edge profile is free from any material that protrudes beyond the edge of the top of the…

Large Format Tile

Explore Materials and Sample Large format tile refers to tiles that have at least one edge that measures longer than 15 inches. They can be made from a variety of materials, including natural stone, ceramic, and porcelain in both traditional and thin slabs. Because large format tiles offer more coverage…

Ledgestone

Explore Materials and Sample Ledgestone is a refined type of stacked stone that emphasizes horizontal joints. The pattern is typically comprised of individually stacked rectangles of stone, usually no higher than four inches, where the horizontal ledge is more defined than the vertical joints. A bonding agent may be used…

LEED

Explore Materials and Sample Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a third-party certification system and global standard for green buildings and communities. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is the world’s most widely used green building rating system. It provides the tools for building industry…

Low-Emitting

Explore Materials and Sample Low-emitting or low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are reduced concentrations of chemical contaminants in manufactured goods that, at significant levels, can be harmful to human health and the environment. VOC emissions can be released from household products like paints, solvents, carpets, wood composites, and cleaning products,…

Mosaic Tile

Explore Materials and Sample   Mosaic tile refers to small tiles or bits of tile that are used to form a design. Each piece is usually two-by-two inches or smaller and can come in different shapes and colors. Mosaics are often used to create patterns and pictures on floors, walls, and…

Post-Consumer Recycled

Explore Materials and Sample Post-consumer recycled content is material waste generated after the consumer-use phase of an item’s life cycle that is used to manufacture new products. To claim post-consumer content, manufacturers must disclose the percentage of recycled materials used, according to the item’s total weight. Use of either kind…

Post-Industrial Recycled

Explore Materials and Sample Post-industrial recycled content, also known as pre-consumer recycled content, is material waste generated during mass production that is later used to manufacture new products. Unlike post-consumer recycled content, post-industrial material has been recycled before entering into contact with consumers and being sent to a landfill. In…

Recycled Content

Explore Materials and Sample Recycled content, as opposed to virgin stock, is material that has been diverted from a landfill and subsequently used in the manufacturing of new product. Defined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent false marketing claims, recycled content can be supplied from industrial or consumer…

Running Bond

A running bond is a bond in which each unit is staggered a ½ unit further than the adjacent course, resulting in a one-over-two pattern. It is considered to be the most common type of bond pattern used in construction and can be applied to any hard surface that consists…

SCS Indoor Advantage Certified

Explore Materials and Sample SCS Indoor Advantage is a certification program developed by SCS Global Services that appraises the VOC emissions of furniture and interior building materials. SCS offers two certifications: Indoor Advantage, for furniture; and Indoor Advantage Gold, for furniture and building materials—including coatings, paints, sealants, adhesives, wallcoverings, floor…

Stack Bond

Stack bond, or stacked bond, refers to a pattern in which bricks or tiles are stacked on top of one another, resulting in continuous horizontal edge joints and the vertical head joints. A stack bond pattern is typically used in non-load bearing situations. It is typically reinforced or supported with…

Stacked Stone

Explore Materials and Sample Stacked stone refers to an old-world building technique used to construct walls out of slabs of stone in various sizes. The traditional method uses the weight of the strategically stacked stones to hold the wall in place. In both traditional and modern construction, no grout or…

Stripe

Explore Materials and Sample Stripe refers to a pattern of bands, lines, or strips that can run in diagonal, horizontal, or vertical directions. There are many types of stripe patterns classified by thickness, size, color, spacing, and arrangement. Photography Courtesy of Silver State Inc.…

Subway Tile

Explore Materials and Sample Subway tile refers to a rectangular shaped tile that was first introduced in New York’s subway stations. Traditionally they are white and measure 3 inches by 6 inches in size but have expanded over the years to include slimmer and larger formats, along with a wide…

Three Dimensional

A three-dimensional material has physical attributes that exist in the X, Y, and Z plains. While specific categories of materials will define three-dimensionality differently, if there has been an additive, reductive, or transformative process done to the material, it may qualify as having three-dimensional characteristics. Photography Courtesy of INAX…

Trim Tile

Explore Materials and Sample Trim tile refers to the tile placed along the edges to finish off the main area of an installation. Trim tiles can come in various shapes of bases, caps, corners, moldings, and more. A few common styles include bullnose, featuring a rounded edge; chair rail, which…

UL 723 Flammability

Explore Materials and Sample The UL 723 Surface Burning Characteristic of Building Materials test is a standard of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) that measures the burning properties, or fire resistance, of building materials that may be exposed to flames. Results obtained from this test are used by code officials in the…

US Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a nonprofit organization committed to transforming the nation’s construction industry by promoting the values of the green building rating system Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Its mission is to facilitate healthier, more socially and environmentally responsible buildings and communities that improve…

Vein Cut

Explore Materials and Sample Vein cut refers to a stone slab that is cut parallel to the natural bedding plane and shows the mineral veins running lengthwise or vertically along the slab. These veins stretch across the entirety of the slab and are often darker or lighter colors with similar…

WELL

Explore Materials and Sample The WELL Building Standard is a global rating system that uses a point-based framework of best-practice policies to assess the impact of the built environment on human health. WELL was founded by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a public benefit corporation with a mission to…

Bullnose

Bullnose is a term most commonly used to describe ceramic tile that is distinguished by rounded edges primarily appears as decorative trim. The format is often used to frame the perimeter of a tiled wall or create a transition between the tile and the wall, so that unfinished tile sides…

Distressed

Explore Materials and Sample Distressed refers to a material that has simulated marks of age and wear or has been purposely blemished so as to give the appearance of long, steady use. It can be applied to wood, metal, textile, glass, and stone through many methods such as hammering, denting,…

Eased Edge

Also referred to as a softened square, eased edge describes the technique of bordering countertops and other surfaces with rounded square edges, as opposed to sharp square cuts that can reveal unfinished layers of material. Stone, engineered stone, solid surfacing, and high-pressure laminate commonly employ eased edges to address both…

Sealant

A sealant can be applied for purposes of protecting a substrate material from air, gas, dust, liquids, or abrasion. It can be designed to provide thermal and acoustical insulation or serve as a fire barrier. Sealants may have smoothing or gap filling properties, and may be weak or strong, flexible…

Substrate

A substrate refers to a base surface or underlying layer upon which another material is adhered, coated, laminated, deposited, printed, or otherwise brought into contact with.…

Dog-Tooth Moulding

Dog-tooth moulding is an ornamental architectural element. The dog-tooth pattern consists of triangles, pyramids, or a petal-like designs connecting at the ends to form a diamond or square, that more often look like a sharp canine tooth. The dog-tooth moulding pattern stems from the Early Normal period (c.1066-1485 AD) and…

ASTM C241 Abrasion Resistance

Explore Materials and Sample The ASTM C241 test method is a standard of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) that measures the potential resistance to wear caused by foot traffic for stones of all types including granite, limestone, marble, and sandstone. This test is used when assessing the…

Lava Stone

Lava stone forms when molten lava is exposed to intense heat and pressure, causing it to solidify into stone. The lava cools slowly and with less pressure, as compared to basalt which is formed when lava cools quickly and under high pressure. This slow cooling process gives lava stone a…

Onyx

Explore Materials and Sample Onyx is a precious gemstone material that is composed of silica, or silicone dioxide. The stone is a form of quartz that is lightweight and porous. Onyx comes in organic colors such as red, orange, and brown. In order to obtain colors such as black or…

Abrasive (Sand) Blasting

Abrasive (sand) blasting is the process of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth or polish a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface, or remove surface impurities. It consists of pressurized fluid, typically compressed air, that is used to propel a high-velocity stream of blasting material,…

Basalt

Explore Materials and Sample Basalt is a dark, fine-grained igneous rock that is composed of minerals such as plagioclase and pyroxene. It is durable, does not react to acids, absorbs sound, and has consistent coloring. This stone has a variety of end uses including building veneers, floor and wall tiles,…

Crown Moulding

Crown moulding refers to decorative cornice installed at the intersection of the ceiling and wall, which is constructed from wood, plaster, or other materials. This decorative moulding can give a ceiling the feeling of height. Crown moulding dates back to Egyptian times, and later in classical Greek and Roman architecture,…

Dentil Moulding

Dentil moulding refers to a decorative moulding that consists of a simple repetition of closely spaced, rectangular blocks. Dentil is derived from the Latin word dens, meaning teeth. This moulding is generally used below the cornice of the roof line, or along a fireplace mantel. It is a popular ornamentation…

Egg and Dart Moulding

Egg and dart moulding refers to a type of decorative moulding, which consists of the simple repetition of an egg-shaped object—also called the echinus—interspersed with a V-shaped element such as an arrow, anchor, or dart that surrounds the echinus. This moulding is traditionally found at the top of ionic capitals,…

Flagstone

Flagstone is a generic sedimentary rock that is hardened through heat and pressure and then crushed for paving as crushed stones or cut into flat layers of shapes as dimension stones. Various types of flagstones include basalt, bluestone, limestone, quartzite, sandstone, slate, and travertine. The rock’s characteristics and color depend…

Mica

Explore Materials and Sample Mica is a mineral composed of silicates that together create thin, flat layers that are stacked together and come off as flakes or sheets. These flakes and sheets are heat resistant, light-reflective, resilient, lustrous, and range from transparent to opaque. Mica remains stable when it is…

Mother of Pearl

Explore Materials and Sample Mother of pearl refers to the coating on the inside of mollusk shells. These shells include freshwater pearl mussel shells, pearl oyster shells, and abalone shells. The coating, also called nacre, is naturally produced by the mollusk for protection from parasites and it appears as an…

Precious Stone

Explore Materials and Sample Precious stones are hard gemstones that are created naturally and need to be mined for. The four known precious stones are diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. They are categorized as precious due to their aesthetics and economics, not because of their mineral content or chemical properties.…

Ribbon Moulding

Ribbon moulding refers to a decorative moulding that gives the appearance of a spiraling ribbon around a narrow cylindrical column. These mouldings are generally reeded and have decorative elements such as rosettes.…

Slate

Explore Materials and Sample Slate is a fine grain, metamorphic flagstone that is mostly made up of minerals or micas, depending on the level of metamorphism that it is exposed to. It naturally comes in various shades of gray, as well as some shades of green, black, purple, brown, and…

Stone

Explore Materials and Sample Stone refers to a piece of rock, which is a hard and compacted material often excavated from the earth. Stone is also commonly used as a universal term for a rock used as a building material. Stone material can range from structural to decorative and includes…

Travertine

Explore Materials and Sample Travertine is a porous, fibrous, sedimentary stone that is derived from limestone. It comes in a variety of off-white shades, and occasionally some rust shades. The name travertine comes from a district near Rome called Tivoli. The travertine stone from this area was used to build…

Waterjet

Waterjet refers to an industrial tool that utilizes a high-pressure stream of water, or mixture of water and an abrasive substance, to efficiently cut a variety of materials. A waterjet machine typically consists of a controller that uses software to operate the system, a high-intensity pump, and a table with…

Crackled

Explore Materials and Sample Crackled refers to a patterned motif that depicts tiny cracks on along the surface of a material. Photography Courtesy of Design and Direct Source…

Limestone

Explore Materials and Sample Limestone is a common type of sedimentary flagstone that is made naturally from calcium carbonate—otherwise known as the tiny calcite skeletons of microscopic organisms or the remains of fossil animal shells that lived under Earth’s water. These heavy flagstones have a natural split surface appearance and…

Sandstone

Explore Materials and Sample Sandstone is a type of sedimentary flagstone made from buried sand that was naturally cemented together from a porous rock. Consisting of sediment particles, cement, and matrix, sandstones vary in color by its composition, usually from beige to red, with a characteristic of a contemporary or…

Granite

Explore Materials and Sample Granite is an igneous, intrusive stone that is composed mostly of quartz and feldspar with small percentages of mica and other minerals. It comes in various shades of grays, whites, and occasionally light pinks and reds. The stone is durable, easy to maintain, and resistant to…

Marble

Explore Materials and Sample Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is composed mostly of calcite mixed with minerals such as mica, quartz, pyrite, iron oxide, and graphite. This stone can be found in a variety of natural colors including white, pink, gray, black, and yellow. It is derived from…

Semi-Precious Stone

Explore Materials and Sample Semi-precious stones are hard gemstones that are created organically. They can be sourced from various places including lava or oceanic hotspots, mines, and shells. Types of semi-precious stones include agate, opal, amethyst, pearl, and quartz. Semi-precious stones offer a variety of colors and aesthetics that can…

Declaration

A declaration is a report that provides quantified, transparent information about a product’s environmental performance and material ingredients. It can be used by building industry professionals to facilitate comparison with similar products and to help manufacturers qualify for transparency credits in green building rating systems. Declarations can be published as…

Quartz

Explore Materials and Sample Quartz is a type of artificial, engineered stone that is made from crushing the natural mineral quartz and combining with pigments for color and cement mix or polymer resin for adhesiveness. The mixture is then pressed into a slab under high heat, vacuumed, and cut to…

BREEAM

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, or BREEAM, was the world’s first widely used green building certification system. Developed in the 1990s in the UK by Building Research Establishment (BRE), today BREEAM is used in over 80 countries.1 BREAAM certification demonstrates a building project’s sustainability and its commitment to protecting…

Quartzite

Explore Materials and Sample Quartzite is a type of sedimentary flagstone, which originated as a sandstone of pure quartz. Quartzite has been naturally cemented together through heat and pressure and is usually formed under the Earth’s crust from tectonic compression. This metamorphic rock ranges in color, with gray and white…

Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is the equitable distribution of environmental burdens and benefits, and of meaningful participation in environmental decision-making. This means that all people have the right to equal protection from environmental and health hazards, and the right to live, work, play, worship, or learn in safe, healthy communities.1 The US…

Global Warming Potential

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a unit of measurement developed to compare the atmospheric global warming impacts of gases. It tells us how long a gas remains in the atmosphere, and how much energy it absorbs over a given time period, relative to 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).…

SCS Global Services

SCS Global Services is a third-party certification body that also develops its own standards. It develops environmental, sustainability, food safety, and quality performance standards, as well as auditing and certification programs. It works internationally, initiating partnerships with companies, government agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable development goals and…

Social Equity

Social Equity, at its simplest, can be understood as impartiality, fairness, and justice for all people.1 This means taking into account systemic inequalities to ensure that that everyone has access to the same opportunities and outcomes. Equity acknowledges that inequalities exist and works to eliminate them. It means that regardless…

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a volatile organic chemical (VOC) used as a preservative, disinfectant, and binding agent in the building industry.1 ­It has been designated as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization and California’s Proposition 65, and a Hazardous Air Pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It is a key…

Indoor Air Quality

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the quality of air in and around buildings, as it affects human health and safety. Pollutants released into indoor air can cause adverse short- and long-term health effects. These effects have a disproportionate impact on at-risk populations like children, the elderly, asthmatics, low-income, minorities,…

Life Cycle Assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standardized set of procedures used to quantify the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of products or systems across their entire life cycle. LCAs promote the redesign and responsible design of products and processes to reduce harm to the environment.1 The life cycle is…

Perkins and Will Precautionary List

The Perkins & Will Precautionary List is a compilation of hazardous chemicals that are used in the building, design, and construction industry. The list was developed by Perkins & Will, an architecture and planning firm whose aim is to provide industry professionals with a tool to analyze the health and…

REACH Substances of Very High Concern

REACH Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) are chemicals that pose a serious threat to human health and the environment, as evaluated by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA). They are regulated through the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), a European Union law instated in 2007. The SVHC…

Red List

The Red List is an index of the most harmful and polluting materials used in the building industry. It was created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) to identify and eliminate pollutants, substances that are harmful to construction and factory workers, and chemicals that bio-accumulate up the food chain…

Six Classes

Six Classes is a framework developed by the Green Science Policy Institute to provide information about many  of the harmful chemicals used in building materials and consumer products, in order to minimize their use. Rather than creating a list of chemicals of concern, Six Classes groups chemicals into six categories.…

Third Party

A third party is an objective, independent person or organization. Product testing, evaluation, certification, and reporting is often performed by a third party in order to ensure reliability. In order to be independent, third parties must have no conflicts of interest, financial, personal, or otherwise, with involved parties such as…

Toxicity

Toxicity refers to the potential of a substance to cause harm to the living body. Toxic substances, or toxicants, can be naturally occurring (such as lead), synthetic (like phthalates), or produced by a living organism (like mold). Those produced by a living organism fall into a subclassification of toxicants called…

Biodegradation

Biodegradation is the breakdown or decomposition of materials by microorganisms. It refers to the processes that transform materials into less complex compounds that can be used and reused by living systems. Biodegradation is used for waste management and environmental remediation, also known as bioremediation. It is an important process that…

Bullnose Edge

Bullnose is an edge type is rounded and finished to match the main surface. A full bullnose edge is curved on the top and bottom and will look like a “U” turned on its side. Bullnose edges can come in other forms, such as a half bullnose, which is rounded…

Circular Economy

The Circular Economy is a framework that aims to reduce environmental impacts and generate economic growth by eliminating waste and reusing resources. This model is an alternative to the traditional linear economic system, which presumes the existence and accessibility of unlimited natural resources, and in which a product’s life cycle…

Compliance

In the building industry, compliance means acting in adherence to a set of regulations, standards, or codes. It indicates that a product, project, or process fulfills all official requirements. Designers, manufacturers, and other professionals may need to demonstrate compliance to internal management, regulators, the government, customers, or independent third parties.…

Cradle to Cradle Basic Level Restricted Substances List (RSL)

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Basic Level Restricted Substances List (RSL) is a register of the chemicals that are banned from use in Cradle to Cradle Certified products above certain thresholds. These substances have been found to be harmful or toxic to the environment and human health.1 The RSL was…

Cradle to Cradle Material Health Certificate

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Material Health Certificate recognizes products that avoid the use of harmful chemicals or toxic materials, in accordance with Cradle to Cradle’s Certified Product Standard. The C2C product standard is administered by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) to incentivize environmentally and socially responsible…

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an agency of the United States federal government whose mission is to protect human health and the environment. It was established in 1970 to ensure that all Americans have access to clean air, land, and water, and that related federal laws are administered and…

EPA Chemicals of Concern

EPA Chemicals of Concern is a list compiled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) containing chemical substances found to be harmful or toxic to human health and the environment. This list was published in accordance with a 2016 amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which requires…

Heavy Metals

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements with high densities relative to water, which are toxic at low concentrations.1 They are part of an ill-defined subset of elements with metallic properties, usually categorized as metals or metalloids.2 In trace amounts, many of these elements are necessary to sustain life, but when…

Product Life Cycle

A product life cycle is an assessment of resource consumption, performance, and environmental impacts at each phase of an industrial product’s life. It consists of the extraction of raw materials, the processing of those materials, manufacturing, shipping, use, maintenance, and finally disposal or recycling. Life cycle assessment is based on…

Supply Chain

A supply chain is a coordinated system of processes, information, resources, physical locations, and service providers that are responsible for a product’s manufacturing, storage, distribution, and retail.1 All activities between the extraction of raw materials and the product’s acquisition by an end customer make up part of the supply chain.…

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemical contaminants that, at significant levels, can be harmful to human health and the environment. VOCs are volatile, meaning that they evaporate readily, and organic, which means that they contain carbon atoms. There are several exceptions that do not fall under VOC categorization, including carbon…

Wastewater

Wastewater refers to any water that has been used by humans. It includes water that has been contaminated by domestic, industrial, agricultural, and commercial use, and from stormwater runoff and infiltration.1 After use, water must be treated to reduce pollutants before being released into the environment. Wastewater is collected in…

UL (formerly Underwriters Laboratories)

UL (formerly Underwriters Laboratories), founded in 1894, is an independent safety science company and standards developer that promotes the production and use of products that are physically and environmentally safe. It seeks to advance the living and working conditions for people, through the application of science, hazard-based safety engineering, and…

American National Safety Institute (ANSI)

The American National Safety Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit membership organization that manages and regulates the development of voluntary safety standards for products and systems in the United States. Founded in 1918, ANSI and its members have laid the groundwork for national standardization and assessment frameworks in industries encompassing…

Certification

A certification provides third-party confirmation that a product, project, process, or system fulfills the requirements of a given standard. Certification programs vary in method or philosophy. They can be divided into multi-attribute and single-attribute programs. A single-attribute certification focuses on just one factor, like water use, energy use, or chemical…
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