What are some of the factors that contribute to poor indoor air quality?

Even in sunny Orange County, California, which boasts among the mildest weather in the country, people spend the majority of their time inside their place of work, school or home. During the winter weather we tend to keep our buildings and homes more sealed up which can contribute to indoor air quality issues.

Q-TRAK Indoor Air Quality Monitor

Lack of air circulation, insufficient outdoor air in the HVAC system, unclean air filters, poor maintenance, off gassing from building products and equipment, mold/moisture, smoke, cleaning agents, scents such as air fresheners and perfumes can all contribute to complaints of poor indoor air quality. There are simple solutions to many of the contributory factors to poor indoor air quality including ensuring correct air balancing, using fans in restrooms and changing filters regularly on furnaces and routine maintenance of HVAC equipment.

If addressing the basics doesn’t improve your air quality, consider retaining an indoor air quality expert.  If you retain an IAQ expert, consider using someone who belongs to the Indoor Air Quality Association.  Also, consider using a firm that has Certified Industrial Hygienist’s (CIH) on staff under whose direction the investigatory work is performed. Large, complex projects that might have a legal component to them are typically performed by CIH’s or with their supervision.  Regardless, you should expect the consultant to  identify the source of the problem and  develop solutions as well.

Steve Rosas, COO/Sr. Project Manager – Irvine, CA

What’s the advantage of using an IR camera during a mold investigation?

As everyone knows by now, where there’s moisture in a building, mold growth is likely to follow. Sometimes there is mold growth because of what is referred to as “life style” issues, such as not using fans in bathrooms when taking hot steamy showers, or running several loads of laundry without proper ventilations or simply having too many people living in too small an area without sufficient ventilations or living in a damp climate such as Seattle, WA.

Visible Mold Under Sink

But most of the time we find mold in buildings it’s because somewhere there has been a water leak or some type of water intrusion. If  drywall, ceiling treatments, carpet get wet enough for a long enough time and mold will grow. Mold needs moisture and organic material to grow on – that’s all!

View through an IR Camera

Using an infrared camera, usually referred to as an IR camera, helps the inspector quickly determine which building materials are wet or damp. The camera captures a visual image of the amount of heat emitted by all of the objects in the view finder. The higher the heat emitted by an object, the great the IR radiation emitted. Wet or damp materials are a different temperature than dry materials so they appear as a different color in the view finder.This allows us to pinpoint the materials that are wet and likely to be an environment that can sustain mold growth. Although the cameras are expensive – well into five figures – and therefore can add to the price of a mold investigation they are essential to performing a through mold investigation.

Using non-invasive IR technology in combination with moisture meters as diagnostic tools we can help advise our clients as to which building materials need removal, and the data helps us to more quickly determine the underlying cause of the water leak 

As everyone knows by now, where there’s moisture in a building, mold growth is likely to follow. Sometimes there is mold growth because of what is referred to as “life style” issues, such as not using fans in bathrooms when taking hot steamy showers, or running several loads of laundry without proper ventilations or simply having too many people living in too small an area without sufficient ventilations or living in a damp climate such as Seattle, WA. But most of the time we find mold in buildings it’s because somewhere there has been a water leak or some type of water intrusion. If  drywall, ceiling treatments, carpet get wet enough for a long enough time and mold will grow. Mold needs moisture and organic material to grow on – that’s all!

 

Using an infrared camera, usually referred to as an IR camera, helps the inspector quickly determine which building materials are wet or damp. The camera captures a visual image of the amount of heat emitted by all of the objects in the view finder. The higher the heat emitted by an object, the great the IR radiation emitted. Wet or damp materials are a different temperature than dry materials so they appear as a different color in the view finder. This allows us to pinpoint the materials that are wet and likely to be an environment that can sustain mold growth. Although the cameras are expensive – well into five figures – and therefore can add to the price of a mold investigation they are essential to performing a through mold investigation.

 

Using non-invasive IR technology in combination with moisture meters as diagnostic tools we can help advise our clients as to which building materials need removal, and the data helps us to more quickly determine the underlying cause of the water leak

The Simple Way to Manage Risk

It’s been a long time coming but finally we’re able to announce the roll-out of our new Risk Management Center.

This terrific new on-line web based service allows clients to manage many components of their safety program including: tracking Certificates of Insurance, MSDS’s, training records and  OSHA 300 logs. The platform includes a large library of training videos and Powerpoint presentations; job hazard analyses and more. We work with clients to build their own library of job descriptions, job hazard analyses, training resources and more. Because the service is web-based, our clients and their employees have access to it 24/7 for a low monthly fee regardless of the number of employees who use the program.  More information about the service is provided in a slide presentation you can view by clicking  below.

Risk Management Center Presentation

 

JoAnn Copperud, CEO – Emeryville, CA

Moisture Management in Construction

The rainy season is upon us in the Western US and it’s predicted to be a long, wet winter. Unfortunately, wet winters and construction aren’t a good mix. There’s nothing worse than a driving rain storm soaking unprotected pallets of drywall to ruin the schedule! We have a number of construction clients that have retained us to test staged materials or installed materials subjected to the elements to help them determine if there is a potential for mold growth. Using infrared cameras and confirmatory sampling with moisture meters helps the contractors made informed decisions on how to proceed. One client has requested weekly testing until the building is sealed in an effort to limit their future liability with regards to potential mold claims which made their insurance broker ecstatic.

Recently we used the same techniques following the accidental release of water from the fire sprinkler system during the testing phase. An open value resulted in 90,000 square feet of newly installed drywall getting wet. Using the IR camera and moisture meters we isolated the wettest materials. The contractor only had to remove about 5,000 square feet of drywall and the remainder was dried using conventional drying techniques.

JoAnn Copperud, CEO – Emeryville, CA

Construction safety and silica dust – where’s the disconnect?

Recently I had a conversation with a construction safety expert who has been in the business for a number of years. He came up through the ranks working for a general contractor and moved into the safety side of the business a couple of decades ago. He definitely knows his way around a construction site and can give tailgates on many topics and has done a lot for his firm’s overall safety record. But when we started to chat about measuring exposure to airborne contaminates such as lead paint or silica dust he was definitely out of his comfort zone. Unfortunately, I suspect he’s not alone.

Over two million workers are exposed to silica dust on the job every year. Silica dust exposure can result in a respiratory disease called silicosis which is a progressive and potentially fatal disease.  Silica dust is also associated with lung cancer and tuberculosis.

OSHA has published a guidance document (“Controlling Silica Exposures in Construction”, Publication 3362-04 2009) which looks at silica exposure task by task, evaluating construction activities such as using masonry saws, tuckpointing, drilling, and drywall installation.  OSHA also has a lot of great information on their website on how to minimize exposure to silica dust in the work place using engineering controls such as wet cutting and vacuum dust collection systems. Using guidance document and the OSHA website most construction safety managers can put together the basics of a good silica dust program.    Conducting the personal monitoring to determine your workers exposure is best left to an industrial hygienist working under the supervision of a Certified Industrial Hygienist.  Industrial hygiene consulting firms have the proper equipment, relationships with laboratories and can advise the Safety Manager on how to comply with all aspects of the silica dust regulations.

Eric Hartman, CIH, Sr. Project Manager – Seattle, Washington

Will PCB’s be the new asbestos?

The EPA recently announced a new initiative in response to growing concern about the addition of PCB’s (Polychlorinated biphenyls) to caulks used in construction. The PCBs were added to caulks because they improved the flexibility of the caulks which were applied in a variety of applications such around windows, doors, expansion joints and ventilation systems. PCB’s exposure can negatively affect immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. They are potentially cancer-causing if they build up in the body over time.

PCB’s are most likely to be found in buildings constructed between 1950 and 1978. PCB’s were banned in 1978 so they are unlikely to be found in buildings constructed since that time. There is concern that many schools contain PCB’s and the EPA website specifically addresses how schools should manage suspected PCB’s in their buildings.

The EPA is undertaking new research to more fully understand what the potential risks are to building occupants and workers who may impact PCB containing building materials. Additionally, the EPA is investigating the relationship between PCB containing materials and dust and air in the building. While the EPA is treating PCB’s as a serious issue, they are also reminding us that this is not a cause for alarm.

The recommended approach to responding to PCB’s in occupied buildings is similar to other hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos: use wet methods for cleaning; use of HEPA vacuums instead of dry sweeping; keep areas clean of dust and debris; wash hands and face; clean children’s toys.

We are currently consulting on a several renovation projects in which PCB containing building components are being removed including window caulk. In addition to conducting the testing of building materials we are working closely with the EPA to bring the best and safest work practices to the projects.

The agency has created a website, with updated information on this issue. Concerned parties can also call an EPA hotline toll free at 1-888-835-5372.

JoAnn Copperud, CEO – Emeryville, CA

Regulating the flu?

Thousands of California business, municipal and state agencies will be affected by a new Cal-OSHA standard that took effect August, 5, 2009. CCR Title 8 Section 5199 covers employees who have occupational exposure to aerosol transmissible diseases (ATD) such as influenza, tuberculosis and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). The new standard is focused on controlling potential exposure for employees who work in facilities or operations where there is an elevated risk of exposure to ATD’s. Examples would be hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, paramedics, firefighters, homeless shelters, mortuaries, HVAC repair operations in affected industries, and prisons. There is a similar regulation that covers workers in industries where there could be an exposure to zoonotic diseases.  Examples would be operations that involve the handling, culling, transport of slaughter of animals with ATP’s (pathogenic avian influenza).

Employers in affected facilities are required to develop a written plan that addresses infection control procedures, engineering and work practices to control exposure; respiratory protection, personal protective equipment, decontamination procedures, training and recordkeeping.

Our Irvine office is providing consultation to San Bernandino County on development of their plan. This includes conducting site visits to determine all County departments and job classifications covered under the regulation; development of the written plan of training materials for affected staff.

Unlike some safety programs where “one size fits all” each affected organization is going to make their program specifically tailored to their facility. With the H1N1 flu season upon us, now is the time to get your plan written and implemented!

Steve Rosas, Sr. Project Manager – Irvine, CA

PAT ROUNDS – What in the heck are those?

Dr. Aruna Turaga, RGA’s Laboratory Director just reported the excellent news that our PCM analysts just passed another AIHA PAT Round with flying colors.  And just exactly what does THAT mean in plain English?  A quick lesson in asbestos and heavy metals is in order! 

When asbestos is removed from a building the asbestos abatement contractor is required to test the air the workers breathe in order to make sure that the workers are not exposed to hazardous levels of airborne asbestos and that they are using the correct type of respirators. Prudent building owners also hire an independent third party consulting industrial hygiene firm to test the air in and around where the asbestos is being removed to ensure that no one else on or near the job site is exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos. The industrial hygienist also conducts a visual assessment at the completion of the project to make sure all the asbestos was removed according to plan and tests the air to make sure that the work area is safe for re-occupancy by the public.  When a firm like RGA performs the air sampling, we analyze the sampling media using a Phase Contrast Microscope following procedures established by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). Thus the process of analyzing the sampling media is referred to as Phase Contrast Microscopy or PCM. In order for RGA to ensure that the sample has been read correctly by the microscopist, all of our employees who collect and analyze airborne asbestos samples are required to participate in a test every three month to measure their proficiency at reading the samples correctly. AIHA  manages the proficiency testing which is referred to as Proficiency Analytical Testing (PAT) Program.  Although it is quite expensive to participate in the PAT rounds, we believe that this investment in our employee’s gives our clients the highest level of confidence in our employee’s ability to accurately analyze the air samples. Errors in performing this type of analysis can cause a project cleanup area to be cleared for re-occupancy when there are still asbestos fibers present in the air.  This is just another way that industrial hygiene firms help their clients manage the liability associated with owning facilities where asbestos might be present.

For more information check out this website:  http://www.aiha.org/llc_pat/programs_elpat.htm

JoAnn Copperud, CEO – Emeryville, CA

Is the notorious “Chinese drywall” showing up in the western US?

Our Emeryville office recently received a request from a local school district who suspects that Chinese drywall was installed in one of their schools during a recent renovation project. A Google search on Chinese drywall turns up over 346,000 citations. Rather than wade through all those citations, skip straight to the most authoritative site on the web: The Consumer Product Safety Comisssion.   

It appears that some drywall manufactured in China in the mid-2000’s has various metals  added to the manufacturing process.  The materials added to the drywall have reportedly caused corrosion of other building materials as well health effects similar to allergies or asthma attacks. CPSC founded varying levels of corrosion on exposed portions of copper wires, in particular ground wires, since they are not insulated. Wiring associated with smoke alarms, fire sprinklers and coils on air conditioning units also appear to be at risk of corrosion.  There have been reports of Chinese manufactured drywall in twenty-four states including both Washington and California.

The CPSC is the lead agency and is working with both the EPA and the Center for Disease Control to develop a coordinated approach to the investigation of the scope of the problem as well as a governmental response.  The EPA is developing a protocol for air monitoring.  RGA is receiving regular email updates for the CPSC to ensure that we can give our clients the most recent and updated information as to how to investigate, respond, mitigate and respond to cases of installed Chinese drywall.

JoAnn Copperud, CEO – Emeryville, CA