Sustainability and Toxicity of Building Materials - Chapter 1: The importance of recognising the toxicity of building materials in manufacture, use and disposal stages for planetary sustainability and restoration

The chapter discusses why it is important to consider the toxicity of building materials in manufacture, use and disposal stages, as a part of developing a more holistic vision for a sustainable built environment. It takes the position that building materials offer true opportunities to make a positive difference, because of their significant share in the totality of materials extracted from the planet. The chapter also discusses the limitations with the existing practices surrounding toxicology (especially the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) approach) and other current limitations of scientific knowledge and regulatory actions. The chapter concludes by proposing a more holistic vision of the sustainability of building materials. The proposed vision is in line with the aspirations of decoupling human development from the negative impacts of high levels of material extraction, chemical pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as declared in recent large international organisational reports and discussed throughout the chapter.