Indoor air quality is a serious concern, no thanks to many of the building materials and furnishings we bring into our home and their polluting chemicals, one of which is formaldehyde. The Environmental Protection Agency states that the air quality within homes can be more polluted than the outdoor air even in the largest and most industrialized cities.* Scary! So, whether you're building from scratch, remodeling, or just just keeping tabs on green building materials for some point in the future, you'll want to bookmark PureBond. It uses a non-toxic soy-based adhesive instead of the traditional urea formaldehyde typically used in hardwood plywood manufacturing, and the special adhesive was inspired by mussels!
In addition to be being formaldehyde-free and nontoxic, you can also choose plywood panels that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Columbia Forest employs a team of professional foresters who work with landowners to develop responsible timber plans. The scrap from their mills is recycled for fuel or sold as mulch. PureBond panels can also add points to your LEED green building certification.
Regarding cost, PureBond is remarkably competitive with standard formaldehyde construction hardwood plywood. It's also more water resistant than its traditional counterpart.
Here's how the adhesive was made, from Specialty Wood Journal:
The PureBond formula is a protein system which counts food-grade soy flour as the primary ingredient. This formula was invented by Dr. Kaichang Li, PH.D., of Oregon State University in the course of studies of various proteins marine mussels secreted to attach themselves to rocks and other dirty, wet and irregular surfaces. His work led to the identification of a pre-existing wet strength resin used in the manufacture of paper towels, frozen food packaging and paper currency. This proprietary resin from Hercules combined with the soy flour creates a cross linked molecular matrix that gives plywood, and composites made with it, superior strength and water-resistance.
Check out more about PureBond at Columbia Forest's website, and breathe easier!
*See The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
U.S. EPA/Office of Air and Radiation
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (6609J)
Cosponsored with the Consumer Product Safety Commission
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Comments (2)
I'm very concerned with VOC's and interior air quality but I've recently been made aware a possible problem with soy products being used in building products and I'm afraid we're solving one environmental problem by creating an even worse problem. Because we don't eat building products made from agricultural products we don't tend to think about where they come from. The majority of soya beans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified crops that use a lot of pesticide. North America is way behind Europe in understanding how the devestating effect GM plants are having on natural ecosystems.
Background:
Most of the strongest voices warning the public and governments about human health hazards and the dangers to ecosystems are big names in the science community. Here are two big names: Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London, U.K.. author of Darwin's Ghost, a very readable updated version of The Origin of Species that has a good explaination of how GMO significantly messes up ecosystems which are by definition interconnected systems. Arpad Pusztai, also a British scientist. http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Feb04_Smith%20Interview.pdf)
For independant scientists and farmers vs business and politics of GMOs read Seeds of Deception by American Jeffery Smith: http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfs
There is also a documentary film "The World According to Monsanto".
Everyone should spec formendahyde free plywood hese days especially for cabinets. It is so standard now that it is the same cost and most reputable cabinetmakers use it.