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Indoor Environmental Air Quality 4.2 – Low Emitting Materials – Paints & Coatings

Intent:

  1. Reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating, and or harmful to the comfort and well-being of installers and occupants.

Implementation:

  1. all PAINT and COATINGS used in interior of building to comply with following:
    • PAINTS : Green Seal (GS) 11
    • Anti-Corrosive and Anti-Rust Paints : GS-03
    • Clear Wood Finishes, Floor Coatings, Stains, Sealers, Shellacs: SCAQMD Rule 1113

Code:

  • Green Seal Standard GS-11
  • Green Seal Standard GS-03
  • SCAQMD: South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1113, Architectural Coatings

Submittal Phase:

  • construction

Indoor Environmental Air Quality

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31 Comments On This Post

  1. Hi Pat..
    Thnx a lot for ur website…
    I was confused about the
    Green Seal standard Anti-Corrosive and Anti-Rust Paints: GS-03.
    The erratas somewhr say its GC-03 & not GS-03..
    Also the green seal website says its GC-03..
    but all other resources for leed puporses say GS-03..Can u pls clarify with the point of exam what to follow.
    Thnx in advance

    Reply
  2. oh, for real?On the Green Seal Website itself! I thought it was referring to
    Green Seal: GS _G reen _S eal, no?

    What about GS11 and GS36?

    Could it be a giant typo or errata on the errata???

    I would love a clarification too!

    Reply
  3. when should cut-sheet to be submitted?

    Reply
  4. cut sheets are submitted, I believe, when asked in the random credit audits in the final review. The paper work needs to be collected but not all gets actually seen in the reviews.

    I asked the question whether GC or GS to the Green Seal website, No answer… I think it IS GC, nice if it could be confirmed… if they think it is important to ask this as a question, it needs to be clarified!

    Reply
  5. Anti-Corrosive Paints (GC-03)
    is the first result that comes up from the google search ‘green seal standard gc’.

    A search for gs-03 is fairly spotty, I think it’s safe to assume gc is the standard for Anti-Corrosive Paints referenced.

    Reply
  6. Thanks Matt,
    I think you are right, I went to the website and asked them the question to clarify, and never got an answer.
    Even though I have taken the test, and am LEED AP, I realize by still getting notices of contributions from this site shows that I studied misinformation from the reference guide, and it would be nice if the Green Seal people would dignify my question with an answer,(a professional courtesy?) There is probably a whole generation of LEED test takers who still believe it is GS03….so thanks again!
    courtesy?

    Reply
  7. Does the test require one to know the specific VOC content limits (numbers)for EQ credits 4.x? Should I memorize them?

    Reply
  8. I found that you didn’t need to know the specific voc limits,
    but you do need to know what unit of measurements are involved,
    what materials with what reference standard, and
    what credit they are associated with, and
    who is responsible for the submitting, and i would look at the submittal form on line on the USGBC website.

    (Same deal for the refrigerant credits.)

    let me offer that you have to be very clear in your head in EQ3 what happens during construction, before and after occupancy, yes, know specific voc levels, what tests are required.. flushing etc know which credit is which test….

    In the

    Reply
  9. Valeria,

    At first you said “you didn’t need to know the specific voc limits” but later, “yes, know specific voc levels.” I’m confused.

    Thanks

    Reply
  10. I am sorry,
    later in my response, I added info about Credit EQ3. I was adding more info than you asked. sorry to confuse you.

    I have taken the test and do remember in Credit 3 having to know the VOC limits and what tests to take…and when..etc
    thought I would just offer that up.. Credit 4, the one you asked about,I didn’t have to know what materials had what voc limits, but you sure had to know just about everthing else!
    does this help?

    Reply
  11. Valeria,

    Thanks. That helps. It is a lot more realistic to memorize the limits in EQ 3 than EQ 4.

    Thanks again.

    Reply
  12. Pat, I noticed that SMAQMD is referenced when it is supposed to be Squack-Doc (it rhymes, that’s how I remember) SCAQMD [not SmAQMD].

    Reply
  13. Thanks Matt, I appreciate your attention to detail. I’ve updated the information for everyone here to see! Thanks!

    Reply
  14. I did not see the final answer to the question about if the standard is GC-03 or GS-03. Anyone know?

    Reply
  15. Its GC-03. The greenseal website calls it that, and the reference guide summary of referenced standards calls it that. There is no ‘GS-03’ document that has anything to do with anti-corrosives. There is a typo on the rating system sheet.

    There’s actually quite a few embarrassing typos in the LEED NC2.2 reference guide… even after the 3rd errata. You’d think they would have proof-read it a little more thoroughly considering the amount of detailed knowledge they are testing.

    Reply
  16. Thank You Jay. I thought it was GC-03 but just wanted to make sure.

    Yeah you would think they would have all the errors out by the third edition.

    Reply
  17. I remember SCAQMD is a referenced standard for EQc4.1 and EQc4.2 b/c SCAQMD reminds me of the word SQUID. We all know that a SQUID squirts ink. Ink helps me think of Adhesive/Sealants or Paints/Coatings thus connecting me to the appropriate credit.

    Hope this helps someone else…

    Reply
  18. Cassi – good one- I like this tip! thanks!

    Reply
  19. I’d like to reiterate that it is GC-03.
    Pat, your errata image still has GS-03.

    Reply
  20. GS-03 is correct! Is Green Seal(GS)-03

    Reply
  21. Cassi,

    Per greenseal website, it is GC-03. You can check it out at: ttp://www.greenseal.org/certification/standards/anti-corrosivepaints.cfm

    It is the only odd-ball from the green seal series. and yes, the reference guide and other LEED study sources have it mixed up occassionally. The test I took stated GC-03 as well at prom3tric.

    Hope this helps.

    Reply
  22. Thanks yuki-

    I can’t believe how many mistakes the reference manual has. Kinda seems unfair to test on any of the mistakes.

    Reply
  23. Building green test, # 79.
    A specialized coating is needed for encapsulating a hazardous material encountered in building reuse, that is impractical to remove from the building. The coating is not available in a low-voc formulation. The project team should take what approach to EQc4.2, Low-emitting Materials? Choose 1

    A. Not attempt credit documentation

    B. Add several coats of low-VOC sealant over the specialized coating to encapsulate the noncomplying coating

    C.Submit a CIR
    D. Factor the VOC emissions into the design-case budget.

    Answer is given as D.. what design-case budge? Don’t you either get the point or not. Please help explain.

    Reply
  24. The answer is D; I dont have my reference book on hand but if you read the additional info for all EQc4 (the couple of pages after the info on EQc4.4, its on a left column of a left pg for LEED NC Vs 2.2 edition 3. … haha I can see it in my head) But basically there is a paragraph that tells you what to do if you accidently paint a wall w/ high VOC paint and it tells you not to do anything just add it in your calculations.

    I dont know if this is any help; when I have the reference manual in front of me I will give you exact info…

    Reply
  25. Thanks so much. I will look at that!

    Reply
  26. Joy-

    I have the actual pg # now. It’s pg 356 of the supplemental information. The paragraph title reads “VOC BUDGETS”. Hope this helps!

    Reply
  27. The Green Seal website says GC-3 is superseded by the new GS-11 which I assume has not made it into the LEED AP exam. I am noticing more than a few inconsistencies with the study materials and within LEED documents over the past few years.
    I hope they’ve been taking out these grey area questions.

    Reply
  28. re- VOC BUDGET CASE
    Cassi (or whomever)
    I’ve had a look at the VOC budget page after your useful discussion above- I wonder if you can help me figure out, what is the BASELINE VOC used in the calculation? Is it the GS standard? Or some other baseline? How does one determine what it should be? thanks

    Reply
  29. The VOC budget is a weighted calculation in which you list all the total theoretical permitted VOCs by quantity, such as 50 gallons @ 150 grams/Liter. Then you list all the actual VOCs by quantity, such as 50 gallons @ 113 grams/Liter. Add totals of each list. If the total theoretical exceeds the total actual, you still earn the credit. You will need to include a copy of your VOC budget with the submittal (upload it and reference it in the template).

    Reply
  30. I’m having trouble separating “sealers” between SCAQMD 1113 (c4.2) and SCAQMD 1168 (4.1). WHenever sealer or sealant is mentioned in a question, I don’t know which it applies to. Any tips?

    Reply
  31. Thanks very much for your useful share,from which we benefit a lot.Through your shared methods,we have made a good understand of Indoor Environmental Air Quality 4.2 – Low Emitting Materials – Paints & Coatings.With your permission, we would like to enjoy this good article with others by adding it to our own website http://www.airlesspaintsprayer-pump.com !

    Reply

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Hi! My name is Pat and I’m the guy behind GreenExamAcademy.com. I graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California Berkeley, and was working in an Architecture firm for the last few years in Southern California...

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Pat, I took the test today and passed! This site has helped incredibly, I am letting another study group that recently formed know about you and your website! Thanks for hanging in there months after you passed…

-Valeria

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