Materials used in constructing structures such as homes, barns, stables, etc. can have toxins that are often not discussed. What materials should we be using and which should we not?
The use of these materials is largely a new one, so the effects have not been studied. Thinking back to things like mercury or lead, which were used for centuries and decades before some of their health effects were known. Think of asbestos as another example. It can take decades to discover a particular health effect, ususally first in the workers who work with it every day, and then often years or decades more before we decide to stop using it in our environments. Most of the chemicals we add to things now for various reasons; softeners in plastics, fire retardants in furniture, etc. have largely not been studied for their health effects. Most of the exact chemicals aren't even disclosed.
This isn't an isolated issue, where a manufacturing plant produces some emissions in to the air or some pollutants in to the water. These chemicals are being intentionally added to nearly everything we use these days. Some are likely harmless, but many are not. Here is a list of some of the places the most certainly toxic materials enter our living spaces.
