Introduction

As part of the implementation of the European Construction products Directive (CPD), a diverse range of harmonised European standards and technical approvals for construction products are currently being drawn up by the respective bodies, which will continue for the next years.  In addition to traditional requirements such as stability and reaction to fire, the provisions of the CPD also require that equal consideration is given to hygiene, health and environmental protection as essential requirements.  After the transitional period has expired, construction products may only be placed on the market in the European Union if they accord with the harmonised technical specifications and bear the CE mark.

Construction products could emit or contain substances that have been defined as dangerous substances under Commission directives and national regulations.  Manufacturers and authorities need transparent schemes in place to assess the performance of the product.  In the first generation harmonised technical specifications only limited references are made to release or emission of dangerous substances. 

The second generation of harmonised technical specifications under the Construction Products Directive (CPD) require harmonised test methods for the release or emission of dangerous substances to satisfy the requirements of Essential Requirement No. 3 (ER3) “Hygiene, health and the environnement” of the CPD.  So far there are no data available to allow an overview of the quality and quantity of releases of dangerous substances from building materials into the environment.

The goal of this research project (HEMICPD) is to improve the flow of knowledge and information vis-à-vis normalisation activities in the domain of indoor air measurements, indoor product emission testing, labelling and certification by proposing an evaluation method and standardised assessment methods for a harmonised approach relating to emissions from building materials into indoor air for implementation in Belgium.  This approach will comply with current harmonizing efforts ongoing on European level.

To achieve this goal following methodological approach will be used:

• Preparation and follow up of the current evolutions in European standardisation processes and dangerous substances by participation in the new technical committee TC 351 established in November 2005 by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and in EOTA working group PT9 “regulated substances”
• Phase 1: Document all available information regarding CPD, construction products, dangerous substances and indoor air by means of state of the art reports which serve as the backbone for phase 2
• Phase 2: Development, modification and comparison of test methods for use in laboratory and in situ
• Phase 3: Translation of the results into a Belgian evaluation model for emission of dangerous substances from construction products into indoor air