These days, most of your deep breaths will be taken in the great indoors. So just what is Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), and why is it important? Indoors, you can be exposed to airborne pollutants from products and materials which release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particles into the air that can negatively affect human health.

Staggering statistics show that indoor air pollution levels can be up to 1,000 times higher than those outdoors. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Lung Association, the World Health Organization, and other public health and environmental organizations view indoor air pollution as a serious health risk that could lead to respiratory, reproductive and developmental problems, and cancer. And, children are at an even greater risk as they are more susceptible to pollutants.

The economic impact of indoor air pollution is equally staggering. The EPA has estimated costs to run in the “tens of billions” for U.S. businesses due to employee health and productivity issues related to poor indoor air.

When it comes to indoor air quality, a primary concern is the emission level of specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Shaw Hard Surface resilient products have independent certification from numerous third party laboratories to assure safe and clean air post-installation.

• FloorScore® IAQ Certification means that our resilient flooring products are independently certified by SCS to comply with the volatile organic compound emissions criteria of the California Section 01350 Program.
• Shaw Hard Surface resilient products have undergone testing and certification by ASTM and ISO for environmental attributes and manufacturing processes.
• Shaw Hard Surface resilient products are certified by the Greenguard Environmental Institute’s Indoor Air Quality program, Greenguard Children & Schools.
• Shaw Hard Surface's Shaw-4100 Adhesive is Green Label Plus Certified to emit extremely low amounts of VOCs.