Background Over 45,000 chemical substances are used in the European construction sector. Approximately 35% of these contain components which can be classified as dangerous (carcinogenic, bio-accumulative, mutagenic, allergenic and/or persistent). The European construction industry employs around 11 million people who are exposed on a daily basis to such dangerous substances. They can affect human health and the environment in various ways, for example: - On average, people working on construction sites are subjected to continuous exposure to dangerous substances for more than 80% of the time they spend on the site. - Substances used in construction materials and products have a long life-span and thus can have a long-term negative impact on both indoor and outdoor environments. - Dangerous substances are responsible for causing a large share of allergies. It is estimated that the cost of allergy treatment has now reached €29 billion per year. - Nearly all buildings are eventually demolished and turned into waste. Forty percent of all waste originates in the construction sector, accounting for 400 million tonnes of waste per year. There are several life-cycle analysis methods available for general building and waste management. However, no system had yet focused on very dangerous substances in construction products. Objectives The overall objectives of the project were to contribute to the establishment of a common European standard on maximum levels of dangerous substances in construction products and to demonstrate a system for the phasing-out of construction products containing very dangerous substances. The main expected result of the project was the establishment and demonstration of the BASTA system for registering construction products fulfilling certain criteria. The criteria and validation models were to be tested by suppliers and accepted by representatives of all interest groups, including suppliers and building owners. It was expected that 100 of the largest suppliers present in Sweden, most of which come from other European countries, would have validated products in the BASTA system by 2006. The success of the project depended upon the support and participation of all interest groups. Therefore the project partnership included four of the largest national construction companies as well as the Swedish Construction Federation. The timing of the project was good, as it fell during the period between the EU White Paper on future of chemical policy and the preparation of the Chemicals Directive. Results The project successfully set up the BASTA system, a database of materials used by the construction sector that meet certain criteria (they are not carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction, toxic, persistent, bio-accumulative, or harmful to ozone; they do not contain lead, cadmium, mercury, or volatile organic compounds). The development of the BASTA system was carried out through the following activities: a) the definition of the outline of the system and criteria for inclusion of materials used by the construction sector; b) the development of a validation model to verify that properties of the materials are declared correctly; c) a discussion of proposals with the main interest groups (producers of materials, construction companies, end users, etc.); and d) a full-scale demonstration of the BASTA system. The project focused on the development of the criteria for an industry-wide standard. The defined criteria and the main purpose of the BASTA system - to replace materials containing dangerous chemicals with other materials with less dangerous properties – are also based on the requirements of the REACH Regulation. The development of the criteria and overall system was carried out in close contact with all main parties in the construction sector, thus obtaining maximum support for the system. The BASTA system has been accepted by the main stakeholders, including construction companies, suppliers of construction materials and chemicals products, property owners, developers, and architects. It is available in the internet and can be consulted without any charge (http://www.bastaonline.se). Forty-nine manufacturers and suppliers of such materials have signed agreements to register their products in the BASTA system. Once registered, manufacturers and suppliers carry-out a self-assessment of their products and enter them into the database. At the end of the project, there were approximately 1,100 products registered in the system. The long-term plan to ensure the continued functioning of the scheme foresees an annual fee (approximately €1,000) from companies that have registered their products and materials in the BASTA system. At the end of the project, however, the number of companies that had registered their products was small and the annual fees did not cover the operational costs of the system. However, a new company was established by the Swedish Environmental Institute (IVL) and the Swedish Construction Federation to be responsible for maintenance of the developed BASTA system, its continuous improvement, as well as dissemination activities to increase its recognition and number of users. The project was also planning to continue dissemination activities to increase the geographical coverage of the BASTA system. The construction companies applying the BASTA system in their everyday operations include companies in Finland, Denmark and the Baltic States, as well as from Sweden, thus forming an e-platform for sharing experiences in using BASTA with other countries. The project expected to maintain the web site, and participate in several seminars and information days organised by the Swedish Construction Federation. This project has been selected as one of the 21 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2007-2008