Environmental illness

Today’s IAQradio guest, Lisa Lavine Nagy, MD, in a lively and entertaining interview gave our listeners much to think about. As a survivor of severe environmental illness who was able to heal; Lisa is dedicated to helping others with the affliction obtain help. As a physician and activist Lisa is committed to making a big difference!

We were impressed with her candor. She didn’t shy away from behavioral and psychiatric affects of chemical sensitivity, she acknowledged that these symptoms do indeed exist and women become fragile and men become belligerent. The symptoms if untreated often result in the breakup of marriage and families.

Remediation workers should avoid the potential for cross contamination in their vehicles and homes by not wearing contaminated clothing in their vehicles or washing contaminated their clothes dryers.

The stats on environmental sensitivity: 5% of the population is disabled by environmental illness, 15% of population acknowledges having symptoms and 40% acknowledged having mild symptoms. The stats also show that women are 4 times more likely to have the symptoms than are men.

Proffered guidance for dealing with fragile people in problem homes and Provided resources to whom  remediators and IEPs can refer sufferers of environmental illness.

I got a chuckle out of learning that testicles are good for something, that  testosterone may protect men from some environmental illnesses.

Today’s music:

I’m allergic to the 20^th century    By: Kim Palmer

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: February 27, 2010

Kemistry 101

Ann Kowalecki and I are biased, we enjoy working and interacting with Mike Kerner here in our roles at Legend Brands. Mike is always cool and collected and never seems to get rattled or upset. Mike is very knowledgeable and technically competent. I appreciate Mike’s patience and that Mike embraces the details. It is nice to share Mike Kerner with the wider IAQradio audience.

Klassic Kernerisms from today‘s interview:

“Rocks do dissolve in water”, Mikes explanation of water hardness and its impact on cleaning.

“Cleanliness is a relative term“, cleanliness in a clean room in which computer chips are made is different than cleanliness in an occupied building.

“Soil under a microscope is pretty to look at” the crystals which abrade materials are visible.

If one glug is good two glugs must be better. According to Mike 30% of concentrated cleaning products are wasted when intentionally mixed strong, oft times the products will remove the same level of soil when lower concentrations at lower cost and gentler on the planet.

Mike provided practical and understandable definition of VOC and pH.

Today's music: The Element Song by Tom Lehrer

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: February 20, 2010

LEADership

Today’s IAQradio guest Patrick MacRoy, Executive Director for the Alliance for Healthy Homes outlined his organizations activities for IAQradio listeners. Due to concerns over lead poisoning of children, repair and renovation work in pre 1978 homes or child occupied homes is covered by the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule. Mom and pop landlords are a real challenge to the new lead regulations. I wonder if awareness among mom and pop landlords could be raised through voluntary labeling of common products, paint scrapers, sandpaper, paint, primers and the like?

Our guest made some recommendations for consumers when painting or renovating homes constructed prior to 1978: paint is presumed lead contaminated unless proven innocent, lead dust is the primary method of exposure for children so dust must be kept to a minimum, use plastic sheeting to keep dust contained, use wet sanding methods to minimize dust generation & cleanup carefully. Disaster restoration emergency responders: a partial exemption exists for emergency situations.

I was very surprised to learn that even new green homes have high levels of formaldehyde.

Check out the resources available on the www.afhh.org website

Today’s music: Lead Poisoned Jean by Frenzal Rhomb

Z-Man signing off

IAQ Radio’s Mold Show for Consumers?

 

We hope that you liked both our approach and the information we provided in today’s IAQ Radio Broadcast. Our goal was to: provide consumers with background information on “mold” related issues, answer their frequently asked questions, provide tactics for selecting contractors and/or consultants, sources and offer sources where guidance information can be obtained. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions about our consumer show concept.

 

Today’s Music:

 

With a little help from my friends    By: Joe Cocker

 

Z-Man Signing Off

Posted on: January 16th, 2010

Kids health and safety advocates

Today’s guests on IAQradio, Rebecca Morley Executive Director of the National Center for Healthy Housing and pediatrician Jerome A. Paulson, MD are strong advocates who are dedicated to improving indoor environments for children.

Our guests covered indoor environmental hazards to children such as lead, formaldehyde, radon, asthma triggers, mold and reminded listeners of the importance of injury reduction as a mechanism for protecting children

Dr. Paulson recommended a useful resource for anyone seeking information on children in unhealthy environments, the 10 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units which work in conjunction with EPA regional offices. You may contact them at http://aoec.org/PEHSU/index.html

Rebecca offered a great holiday gift suggestion, a “healthy home gift basket” including: smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, radon and lead check kits.

Today’s music:  There’s a doctor  by the Who & the Peanuts theme song

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: December 12th, 2009

Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality

 

Phil Jalbert today’s guest on IAQ radio discussed the operations of the CIAQ. The CIAQ was started in 1983 during Ronald Reagan’s administration and the four cornerstone participating agencies were the: EPA, Consumer Product Safety Commission, OSHA and the Department of Labor. The group now counts over 20 participating governmental agencies.

IAQ radio opines that the efforts and accomplishments of the CIAQ are both under publicized and under appreciated. The organization hosts 3 meetings a year where valuable information regarding IAQ is shared.

 

When asked about the annual budget Phil said that “it’s not about money it’s about resources”, and he considers the participants in his program as very important resources.

 

As native Pennsylvanians the IAQradio crew was interested to learn about fellow Pennsylvanian Stanley Watras being responsible for putting radon on the government’s priority list. Stanley setoff the radiation detector in the nuclear power plant in which he was going to be working prior to the plant’s commissioning.

 

Phil provided listeners with 2 important bits of advice:

• If you haven’t tested your home for radon you should. 
• Get in the loop by subscribing to the CIAQ Listserv.

Today’s music:   "America"    By Ray Charles 

 

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: December 5th, 2009

OSHA SCHMOSHA

Paul Snyder, CSP CIH an expert in occupational safety enlightened IAQradio listeners about what we can expect from OSHA under the Obama administration. With tough talk from OSHA’s top administrators and the addition of more inspectors we can expect significantly more enforcement actions.

Paul outlined what triggers OSHA inspections, what happens during an OSHA inspection and provided meaningful and important suggestions into how to react and respond.

For IEPs and remediators working on the premises of others it’s good to know that OSHA offers some protection against situations beyond your control the Legitimate Defense Test. If you didn’t create the hazard,

didn’t have the ability to control the hazard, made effort to persuade property owner or client to control the hazard and instructed your workers as how to minimize their risk, you won’t be fined.

With bailout money for Wall Street, banks, auto companies, likelihood that universal enrollment in government healthcare will become a reality it really, really irks me that OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program under which business can partner with OSHA to reduce workplace hazards has been discontinued.

Today’s music:   “What an unsafe world”   By the Singing Safety Man

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: November 28th, 2009

Industrial hygiene online

 

Dr. Michael Findley shared his over 30 years of safety and health and environmental experience with IAQradio listeners. Did you know that you can take IEQ courses online and earn certificates and even an MPH from the University of West Florida.

 

Dr. Mike offered these fundamental control assumptions that occupational hygienists should recognize:

 

General Methods for the Control of Airborne Hazards

• All hazards can be controlled to some degree and by some method
• There are alternative methods to control
• More than one control may be useful or required.
• Some control methods are more cost-effective than others.
• Controls may not completely control the hazard.
• Controls chosen based on thee assumptions will realistic and cost-effective.

Today’s music:  Microbes Medley by Carl Winters Food Safety Music

 

Z-Man signing off

Posted on: November 14th, 2009

Play it again Sam

Sam Rashkin is manager of the Energy Star for homes program. It’s impressive knowing that there are over 1 million homes enrolled in the program. Sam provided IAQradio listeners with both the background and the operating parameters of the program.

Sam explained the details of the EPA’s Indoor Air Plus program covers six areas: moisture control, radon control, ventilation & filtration, pest barriers, materials and combustion systems.

Sam provided guidance on conditioning crawlspaces by covering soil with moisture barriers, moving insulation to walls, and adding heat registers. The added value of radon resistant construction’s ability to remove moisture from under the slab.

Sam detailed the adverse effect that running a gas fueled clothes dryer ca have on the indoor air quality of a home and suggested combustion management techniques to prevent back-drafting and flame rollout and the importance of having direct vented appliances.

Sam closed with in addition to aesthetic appeal, proximity to work and good schools that the EPA Energy Star and Indoor Air Plus programs should be given consideration by home buyers.

Today’s music:  Energy by Devone 

Z-Man signing off

Posted: November 7th, 2009

Hot Stuff!

Andy Robinson, JonDon’s restoration products manager said that in the materials drying process “heat gets the molecules excited and moving”. Heat drying technology has had the same effect on disaster repair contractors as heat drying is the buzz of the industry.   

• Andy noted that the alternatives to heat drying technology: refrigerant dehumidifiers and desiccant dehumidifiers also raise ambient temperatures and use heat as a drying mechanism to dry materials.

• Moderation, as in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, in materials drying there is a just right temperature.

• Heat drying is a valuable tool not a silver bullet.

• Heat drying dries materials faster than alternative drying methods.

• Other opportunities exist for the technology such as using heat to “bake-out” odors & chemical irritants from buildings and for pest control applications such as treating bed bug infestations. Andy pointed out that users of heat drying equipment may license intellectual property from patent holders.

Today’s Music:  Hot Stuff by Donna Summer

Z-Man signing off

Posted: October 31st, 2009

Dr. Z revisits

I guess swine flu is tame compared to the weapons of bioterrorism that Dr. Alan Zelicoff is very familiar with. In today’s IAQradio interview, he provided valuable and enlightening information and insight on what is now known as Pandemic H1N1 2009. 

Great explanation of the origin of the letters by which flu viruses are named: hemagglutinin and neuraminidase and the mechanism by which virus infects host cells.

• The Pandemic H1N1 2009 strain is a greater threat to people under 40.

• Asthmatics are immune compromised and are greater risk from H1N1.

• 20% of the population in the US get the flu each year.

• Reassortment is the mixing of the genetic material of a species into new combinations. It’s possible to get 2 different flu viruses simultaneously.

• Dr. Z advises to bump fists rather than shaking hands as a behavior modification method to minimize hand-to-hand contact. 

We’ll all sleep better tonight knowing that both the US and Russian supplies of smallpox virus are tightly secured. 

Today’s Music: Put my mask on    By: Keithfromupdablock

Z-Man signing off

Posted: October 24th, 2009

Synergy

Synergy is an interaction between separate parts resulting in the combined effect (known as synergy) being greater than the sum of the parts.

IAQradio appreciates Carl Grimes raising listener awareness about the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) and the groups’ activities. Carl refers to the group’s accomplishments and programs as synergistic.

Of the many training courses available to IEPs (indoor environmental professionals) the Healthy Home Practitioner seems to have much going for it. The course curriculum the Healthy Homes Practitioner course is a holistic program which “identifies root causes of health problems in a home and links them to seven principles of healthy housing:  keep it dry; keep it clean; keep it pest-free; keep it ventilated; keep it safe, keep it contaminant-free; and maintain the house. If there is money to fix the laundry list of defects found it could make a real difference. Credentialing for the course is through a 3^rd party the National Environmental Health Association. Carl broached the interesting point of prioritization of the practitioner’s findings.

My personal opinion is that government credentialing and licensing programs will trump most private industry programs and are worthy of an IEPs’ time, energy and financial investment.

Today’s music:    Synergy by Karla Michelle

Z-Man Signing Off

Posted: October 17th, 2009

Mac is Back 

Mac Pearce a perennial guest on IAQradio is always knowledgeable and entertaining. Mac has the rare gift of being able to take technical science subjects and make them both understandable and unforgettable. Whether wiping his finger on a Stacy contaminated drywall and then licking it off to demonstrate toxicity and dose response, to his coining of a term like “was wood” to refer to engineered wood products to his frequent comment that “even the dumbest of the 3 little pigs was smart enough not to build his house out of paper.”

Mac was recently able to console a client who had concerns over a ruptured sewage line which dumped raw sewage into the crawl space under their home. Mac explained to the client that “the delicate and wimpy bacteria used to living in the protected environment of the human gut would be overwhelmed, out competed and preyed upon by the resident microorganism in the soil as a poor little rich kid from the suburbs being dumped into the toughest neighborhood of the inner city.”

 Mac Pearce truly is a one of a kind.

 Today’s music:  Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin

 Z-Man signing off

Posted on: August 3rd, 2009 > Read More

Dr. Shoemaker returns 

Whether you agree with him or you don’t, It’s undeniable that physician Ritchie Shoemaker is passionate about the subject of biotoxins and their role as a cause of human disease. [...]

Posted on: August 3rd, 2009 > Read More

Strategies for success 

As individuals we each have our priorities and the opportunity to make our own choices. For today’s guest on IAQradio Steve Toburen, life wasn’t all about the pursuit of money; his faith, family and giving back were also very important. Steve Toburen left the cleaning and disaster restoration industry at age 38 and moved with his family to the Dominican Republic to work for higher calling. [...]

 Posted on: August 3rd, 2009 > Read More

Smoke on the Water Damage

Agree or disagree with him, listeners of today’s IAQradio program had to admire Ken Larsen’s knowledge and command of the subject of structural and material drying and the passion with which he discusses the subject.

In a series of articles in industry magazines Ken has challenged conventional thinking regarding water damage restoration. According to Ken, misinformation and bad science has been institutionalized finding its way into industry training courses and standards. Ken has the industry ’s awareness to how we are going about the business of water damage restoration. 

Over the course of his professional career, Ken has conducted himself with class and grace. 

Today's Music:  "Smoke on the Water" by Pat Boone

Z-Man Signing Off

Posted on: July 27th, 2009

Felicia capacia

It’s great to have knowledge and it’s a gift to be able to share that knowledge with others. Felicia Cianciarulo, PhD certainly has the gift. In her interview today on IAQradio she deftly navigated through a wide range of questions with skill, intelligence, professionalism and grace. She provided succinct and precise answers to a wide range of questions: from basic to advanced microbiology, microbial remediation, bioremediation, safety, personal protection and safety and research. Yuck, it’s unsettling to know that 3 out of 4 people are colonized with parasitic worms.

 Today’s music:

 I’m a germ  by: The Battersby Duo

 Z-Man Signing Off

Posted on: July 20th, 2009

Nipped by Bud!

Today's guest on IAQradio, Bud Offermann is both a mechanical engineer and a CIH.  Listeners were able to hear this opinions on a variety of IAQ related issues: ventilation, VOCs, green buildings, etc.  I gleaned the [...]

Posted on: July 10th, 2009 > Read More