HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATURAL EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION at PRI

- HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATURAL EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION

Somehow or another, the modern day, industrial world in which we live convinced us that dirt is unclean, impure, and well…. dirty. We worry when we see our children headed for a mud puddle, we agonize when a mud footprint makes its way onto our kitchen floor, and we´ll gladly walk an extra couple strides on the sidewalk to avoid even a step or two through the dirt.

The idea of actually living in a house made from dirt is unthinkable to most people, despite the fact that mud has provided shelter to the vast majority of humans throughout history. But maybe it is time for us to rethink our “mud-phobia.” Most of the houses that we live in today are built and finished with dozens of materials that are toxic both to our own health and for the health of the natural world. They may appear clean and comfortable and make us feel as if we are protected from the disorderliness of the world of rain and mud, but the unseen chemicals that fill these homes deserve our concern.

Traditional Norwegian timber log house at Eiktunet Free Air Museum, Gjøvik. Covering the walls outside with a layer of clay was often used to avoid draft. 

When we walk into a recently finished new home, we may marvel at the “fresh new-home” smell. Unfortunately, that smell is probably rising from the combination of several poisonous materials that are still leaching their toxic gasses into the home. According to the Huffington Post, the list of toxic materials used in modern housing “include neurotoxins, carcinogens, hormone mimics and reproductive disruptors, which could be playing a role in a number of today’s increasing health problems.”

There are literally hundreds of strange chemicals with hard to pronounce names that could be used in your home, but we will look at two of the most common. Volatile, organic compounds (VOC´s) are found in almost every type of paint used in the modern day construction business. The Daily Mail reports that “when VOCs are inhaled, they can cause eye, nose and throat ­irritation. In large quantities, ­animal ­studies have linked these chemicals to birth defects, cancers and damage to the central ­nervous system.”

You probably remember that formaldehyde was a pretty disgusting smelling substance that you used in your high school biology class when you dissected a frog. What you don´t know is that large levels of formaldehyde are probably hidden within your house. The Natural Center for Health Housing has found that “in homes, the most significant sources of formaldehyde are likely to be pressed wood products made using adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins. Pressed wood products made for indoor use include particleboard, hardwood plywood paneling, and medium density fiberboard.”

Though the formaldehyde in your plywood might not smell like the form you dismembered in high school, it is extremely dangerous and can cause respiratory problems. Furthermore, it is a known carcinogen in elevated levels.