Umweltbundesamt
Click to enlargeConstruction products for interior work can be a significant source of pollutants in indoor air. In order to better protect human health, UBA has been working with a group of experts since 2011 to develop common assessment standards across Europe. The first complete list of substances and associated evaluations (EU LCI values) was published in November 2023.
A standardised European-wide limitation and labelling of material emissions lacks until today. Harmonised methods for measuring construction product emissions have been available since 2018. With the publication of the first complete EU LCI list (LCI: lowest concentration of interest), it is now possible to assess the health impact of harmful substances emitted from construction products. For the industry, the EU LCI list is a reliable basis for developing low-emission construction products.
The European Commission now has the necessary instruments to reduce indoor air pollution by assessing the emissions of construction products. This can enable a high level of protection for consumers throughout Europe against emissions from construction products in buildings.
The list can be viewed here.
The German Environment Agency has been working on the EU-LCI activity for many years and manages the office of the EU-LCI Working Group. Since 2015, UBA has also supported this activity by annually awarding research projects for the preparation of substance dossiers for the derivation of EU-LCI values.
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
