9 Most Dangerous Building Materials

Hazardous construction materials, commonly known as toxic building materials, contain natural or synthetic chemical substances that are harmful to humans or the environment.

Though highly toxic, the chemicals can hardly be tasted or smelt but they are present in living spaces and get into human bodies through ingestion, inhalation or contact with the skin.

According to the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), a US building certification program, below are the most toxic building materials.

1. Lead

Lead is a heavy metal found in roofings, paints, and plumbing pipes. It is poisonous and absorbable into the blood to simulate calcium enabling it to cross the blood-brain barrier.

It slowly accumulates in bones and soft tissues eventually destroying the nervous system. Close contact with lead also causes blood disorders, brain disorders, blindness, reproductive health complications, damage to the kidneys and eventually death.

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2. Polyvinyl Chloride

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a common low-cost, lightweight but strong plastic commonly used in the production of water and sewerage pipes, insulation for electrical cables, gutters, door and window frames, roof membranes and moulding.

It is also used in flooring, wall covering and ceiling material as vinyl tiles which are inexpensive and common in many interiors such as offices, homes, hospitals, and hotels.

PVCs contain phthalates and dioxins which interfere with the production and normal activity of human hormones thereby affecting the functions of the thyroid, pancreas, adrenal, pituitary, and reproductive glands.

They are also classified as carcinogens and can lead to cancer, liver dysfunction, vision failure, birth defects, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and genetic mutations.

The production of PVC and its disposal also exposes humans to toxic substances.

PVCs rank highly among dangerous building materials.

3. Wood Treatments

Various treatments are applied to wood to preserve it and increase its life span. Most of the chemicals used in the wood treatment are water-soluble.

Creosotes are applied to wood as preservatives to prevent rot and they come in a variety of types depending on the material used to produce them such as wood tar creosote, coal tar creosote, oil tar creosote, and water gas tar creosote.

The coal-tar creosote is the most popular yet the most toxic as it directly causes cancer.

Arsenic is used in wood treatment to prevent insect attacks.

Although trace quantities of the element are essential as a dietary element in different species including humans, larger quantities from contaminated ground drinking water can result in poisoning leading to abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

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Long-term effects include heart disease, darker and thickening skin, numbness, and cancer.

Exposure to large amounts of Pentachlorophenol, another wood preservative, can lead to harmful effects on the kidneys, nervous system, liver, and immune system and can also cause cancer.

4. Halogenated Flame Retardants

Flame retardants are chemicals incorporated in construction materials during manufacturing to slow down or stop the spread of flames either by forming a protective film or by inhibiting chemical reactions that support combustion in case a fire breaks out.

When heated, these retardants degrade into toxic substances in gaseous form which then mix with dust and get into the body through ingestion or inhalation.

They can disrupt hormones especially the thyroid, adverse developmental problems in the foetus and children, immunotoxicity, cancer, and reproductive problems.

5. Asbestos

These were popular products until the 1960s when they were found to be extremely harmful materials – causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

However, the material continued to find its way onto millions of rooftops freely – until 1983 when Iceland became the first country in the world to ban all types of asbestos.

Dozens of countries have since outlawed asbestos, although most nations have yet to ban the material. However, its importation, and production are highly regulated in most regions.

Though rarely found in modern building materials, asbestos can still be found in pipe covers, flooring, fireproofing insulation and many adhesives among other materials.

6. Cadmium

This is a soft malleable metal that is resistant to corrosion, insoluble in water and non-flammable when in the solid state.

It has been widely used on other metals especially steel as corrosion-resistant plating. Its compounds have also been used to stabilize plastic and to color glass since they are available in red, yellow and orange pigments.

Cadmium fumes, highly soluble compounds or fine dust can cause pulmonary edema (accumulation of fluids in the air spaces and tissue in the lungs), pneumonitis (inflammation of lung tissue) and death.

High levels of exposure to cadmium have also been linked to prostate, breast, and lung cancer.

7. Volatile Organic Compounds

VOCs are naturally occurring or man-made chemicals with a low boiling point resulting in large numbers of their molecules vaporising and filling the surrounding air.

In building and construction, VOCs are commonly found in solvents, paint, plastics, synthetic fibres, adhesives and protective coatings. Some of them, including formaldehyde which emanates from paint, have boiling points as low as just -19 C.

VOCs usually irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, dizziness, memory impairment and damage to the kidney, liver and central nervous system.

Some have also been found to cause cancer in animals and humans, thus earning their place in the list of most hazardous building materials.

8. Silica

Silica is a naturally occurring substance found in stone, sand, concrete, tiles and bricks. It ranks highly in the list of cancer-causing building materials.

The chemical is absorbed in the body through inhalation after construction or demolition works involving cutting, dressing, grinding or blasting stone or concrete release it into the air.

Long-term exposure to silica leads to lung infections and lung cancer.

9. Fiberglass

Closing our hazardous building materials list is fiberglass, a type of fibre made up of glass that is mostly used as a thermal insulator and as a roofing material.

Exposure to fiberglass is most prevalent among workers who cut, trim, chop and sand the fibres producing dust that mixes with air and dust and later finds its way into their bodies through ingestion or inhalation.

This often causes eye, skin and upper respiratory tract irritation as well as aggravate bronchitis and asthma, which can easily result in death.

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