The Issues and Risks Behind Luxury Vinyl Tile

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, humans spend nearly 90 percent of their time indoors. This statistic hoists a great deal of responsibility onto the shoulders of the architects and designers who craft the built environment. The design and construction process of a building involves constant and intense consideration on behalf of the occupants and users who will eventually live and work inside of it. In recent decades, users and professionals alike have become more conscientious of the methods and materials that constitute our surroundings. A lot has been learned from the consequences of using materials such as lead and asbestos in the construction of buildings. However, these materials are not as obsolete as we would hope.

One ubiquitous substance commonly found in the built environment is plastic or vinyl, whose manufacturing can not only negatively impact the environment, but also pose significant health hazards. Specifically, Luxury Vinyl Tile, or LVT, commands a huge portion of the commercial flooring market. This modern version of vinyl flooring has become very popular due to its durability, inexpensive price, and vast array of aesthetics it can offer, often mimicking the look of stone and wood.

Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) is a low-cost flooring material, popular for its capacity to imitate materials such as wood.

The Problem

On the other hand, LVT is a derivative of petrochemicals and cannot be recycled. This means that LVT not only contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, but also microplastic pollution. As revealed in a recent article jointly published by NPR and ProPublica, the United States has not entirely banned the use of asbestos, unlike other countries. The last remaining use for asbestos is in the manufacturing of chlorine by companies such as OxyChem and Olin Corp. The chlorine produced by these companies is a prime ingredient in the manufacturing of vinyl (the “V” in LVT), along with natural gas, which is in the same camp as fossil fuels and significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Worse still is the repercussions being felt by the companies’ employees. Former workers of OxyChem interviewed for the article believe many health problems they have experienced are due to exposure to asbestos during their work at a Niagra Falls-based plant.

Asbestos has been globally regarded as extremely dangerous, responsible for mesothelioma and other diseases.

Many a manufacturer is quick to claim that LVT and other plastic products are recyclable. However, LVT’s inherent PVC levels make this claim dubious at best. In fact, most disposal methods of LVT can be harmful due to its composition. According to “The Fall of Plastics: What’s So Luxurious About LVT?,” a webinar sponsored by Healthy Materials Lab, disposal methods such as landfills and incineration can ensure that the harmful plastic ingredients present in LVTs migrate to our atmosphere and waterways.

As for actually using LVT and the danger it poses to occupants during its lifespan, the harm has yet to be fully studied, but we have an idea of what is possible. Chemical processes that could pose risks to users occur as a result of abrasion from friction and wear, photodegradation from exposure to sunlight, and natural off gassing, as noted by Better Buildings Materials Guide, Chapter 2.3 on Human Health Considerations for Building Materials. Certain chemicals, such as phthalates found in some PVC products, are considered to be endocrine disruptors and can pose risks to human fertility and sexual development, according to the Green Science Policy Institute’s “Six Classes” chemicals of concern initiative.

Despite the risks posed by products such as LVT to manufacturers’ workers, users, and the environment, asbestos has been allowed to survive in the United States for its use in the production of these materials. A lot of work needs to be done to change these regulations, but architects and designers can still make a difference in their everyday work to prevent the usage of harmful materials like LVT.

The Solutions

One of the ways designers can cut back on environmentally detrimental substances is to demand transparency from manufacturers. Though Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are optional for manufacturers, they can be useful in helping a designer make a more informed decision during the selection process. In requesting this information more often, designers can also make a difference in their practice by making these inquiries more commonplace. Other helpful third-party certifications include Cradle to Cradle, which focuses on products’ life cycles, Declare Label, which focuses on base ingredients, and Green Seal, which focuses on reducing pollution in interior environments. Many of these systems can also help push a building towards LEED and WELL certifications.

Another thing to keep in mind is “red list” chemicals. The Living Building Challenge certification system produces a Red List which represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem prevalent in the industry. Perkins&Will also publicly shares their Precautionary List as a screening filter. The list is browsable by chemical name, CSI division, health effect, or environmental category. Tally and Red2Green are also helpful tools that calculate carbon and health impacts throughout the design process.

Architects and interior designers at EskewDumezRipple are encouraged to make ethically and environmentally responsible decisions during the design process.

More options are becoming gradually available as alternatives to LVT, such as bio-based resilient floors and linoleum. But the game changes every day, and the best thing architects and designers can do for their projects and their field is educate themselves on the risks present in their decisions. Promoting improvement, growth, and studies can help change the conversation toward a more progressive future, one that is conscious of climate change and human health and wellness. We at EskewDumezRipple believe that all people involved in the process of making, using, and disposing of products in our environments deserve healthier options, and are committed to developing strategies for holistic solutions to these problems.