IAQ Radio

Peter DeCarlo, PhD - Drexel University - What can Kathmandu teach us about HomeChem?

Dr. Peter DeCarlo is an Associate Professor with appointment in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, and the Department of Chemistry at Drexel University.  He is also an affiliate of the Urban Health Collaborative in the School of Public Health at Drexel University and an adjunct member of the Center for Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. DeCarlo has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Colorado, and a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. He uses state-of-the-art instrumentation to measure the chemical composition of particulates and gases in indoors, outdoors, and in the laboratory to better understand the intersection between air quality, health, and climate impacts of human emissions.  He has made air quality and climate related measurements from planes, trucks, and stationary sites all over the world to better understand direct emissions, sources, and subsequent chemical reactions of pollutants in the atmosphere.
More recently Dr. DeCarlo has begun measuring the relationship between outdoor and indoor air pollutants, to understand transport of outdoor pollutants to the indoor environment, and to identify indoor specific sources such as residual tobacco smoke, and direct human emissions. He also is interested in the intersection of science and policy and was an AAAS Science Policy Fellow at the US EPA working on issues related to clean cookstoves in the developing world and public sharing of environmental data prior to starting his faculty position at Drexel.  Funding for his research comes from the National Science Foundation, Sloan Foundation, Electric Power Research Institute, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and the Department of Transportation. Dr. DeCarlo has co-authored over 80 peer reviewed publication and has been identified as a highly cited researcher by Clarivate Analytics (2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017).

Rusty Amarante, CR - Director of Operations BELFOR Property Restoration - An Introspective Interview & Fireside Chat Spanning 4 Decades in the Restoration Industry!

 
Rusty Amarante is a Certified Restorer and Director of Operations for BELFOR Property Restoration the global leader in disaster recovery. He is also President of the BELFOR Franchise Group a leading national franchisor of service brands including 1-800-WATER DAMAGE, DUCTZ International and HOODZ International.
Rusty’s career started in the 1970’s  in suburban Philadelphia, PA and has ranged from the owner of a small cleaning and restoration company that grew to a large regional full service restoration contractor before joining the BELFOR Team in the 1990’s. Over the past forty plus years he has been an IICRC instructor, state approved CEC trainer for the insurance industry and avid contributor and volunteer to the industry’s not-for-profit sector.
Rusty’s accomplishments and service include chairing RIA’s Restoration Council and ascending to the Restoration Industry Association’s Presidency in 2008. Rusty also has served on the IICRC FRST Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and served as Vice Chair for the Institute’s S500 Water Damage Restoration Standard. In 2006 Rusty received RIA’s most prestigious honor when he received  the Martin L. King Award.
From his early day’s in the 20th century to his global responsibilities of the last two decades with BELFOR, Rusty has been a tireless advocate for the professionalization of the industry. This week his  good friend and colleague Cliff Zlotnik, the Z-man  will have a “Fireside Chat” to talk about Rusty’s career, his relationship with the late Marty King and his insights into the future of the restoration industry.
Joining IAQradio this week for a seat by the “fire” is IAQradio’s Global Watchdog and Rusty’s longtime friend and RIA Industry Adviser Pete Consigli. Radio Joe Hughes asks all his IAQradio friends and loyal listeners join the show live this Friday for a very special interview with industry Icon Rusty Amarante and friends!

Jay Stake - IAQA President - A New Chapter in the IAQA Story; After ASHRAE & Hurricane Florence Update

Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella.
 
Mr. Stake is going to give us the scoop on the upcoming transition of IAQA away from ASHRAE and to the new management company Association Headquarters (AH) of Mount Laurel, NJ. Jay believes that IAQA has to be very open with its membership and do a better job of keeping them informed about plans for the future. He joins us today to tell listeners about the next chapter in the IAQA story.

Karen C. Dannemiller, PhD - Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University - Understanding fungi, bacteria and chemicals in the indoor environment

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Karen Dannemiller, PhD, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University. Dr. Dannemiller's interdisciplinary research integrates engineering with microbiology and addresses emerging health challenges and environmental concerns using -omics approaches. Within the indoor environment, we are simultaneously exposed to thousands of chemicals and microorganisms which compose our indoor exposures, and these exposures are different from those of our ancestors. Broadly, the goal of Dr. Dannemiller's work is to understand these exposures, their sources, and their impact on human health. Her unique background combines training in both engineering and public health to tackle difficult questions, particularly with regards to exposures in the built environment where we spend 90% of our time.  
 
Dr. Dannemiller graduated with honors in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Brown University and earned her PhD at Yale University in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. During this time she completed an internship at the California Department of Public Health in the Indoor Air Quality Program. She also completed a Microbiology of the Built Environment postdoctoral fellowship.  Her work improved our understanding of human exposures linked to childhood asthma development and severity. Her research also elucidated resident microbial populations and fundamental transport processes occurring in homes. Dr. Dannemiller is currently an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University and her current research is on microbial activity in house dust and health outcomes associated with early-life exposures to fungi. She is also working on the development of new system to detect formaldehyde indoors by coupling colorimetric badges with a Smartphone app.
 
In addition to a fundamental background in engineering and quantitative sciences, her skill set in microbiology includes phylogenetics, metagenomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics and allows for exploration of microbial communities and biological processes. Dr. Dannemiller has extensive experience with next-generation DNA sequencing of fungi and bacteria, and using this data she has also addressed relevant challenges in bioinformatics, including software development, and in statistics, to demonstrate complex associations with human health outcomes.

Steven M. Spivak, PhD - Professor Emeritus, Univ. of Maryland - An Interview with Industry Icon: Reflections spanning half a century of advising the world-wide Cleaning & Restoration Community

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Steven M. Spivak, Ph.D., CText, FTI, FSFPE, FSES. Dr, Spivak is chair of the Cleaning Industry Research Institute International (CIRI) Science Advisory Council and professor emeritus of fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park. 
 
Dr. Spivak served as Technical Advisor for the Restoration Industry Association formerly known as ASCR International for almost 4 decades. In that role his monthly column called Technical Topics in C&R magazine was a favorite with RIA members. Dr. Spivak has authored a book on Standards and Best Practices. He has written extensively on textile construction & chemistry and fire protection codes & practices.  Spivak's writings serve as an authoritative resource for the dry cleaning and laundry industry and code officials and building developers. 
 
IAQradio is pleased to follow up on our interview with Dr. Spivak from a decade ago to update our listeners from his post RIA technical advisory role, to chat about the science of cleaning and restoration and in his role as CIRI's Science Advisory Council chair.

Mike O’Donnell - Ben Umberger - Assessment & Restoration of Contents Affected by Smoke, Water, Mold & other Contaminates

The restoration and remediation industry has evaluated, cleaned, dried, deodorized and restored building structures, contents and high value possessions after fire and water losses, other catastrophic events and damage related to a wide range of contaminates for over half a century. The building restoration sector of the damage repair and remediation industry has a long history of established procedures, standards and certification criteria dating back to fire restoration’s early roots in the 1960’s to the development of standards for water damage restoration in the 1990’s.

Don Weekes, CIH, CSP - IEQ Current Events Discussion

This week's IAQradio+ visits with an old friend of the show and one of our most active guests over the years Don Weekes, CIH, CSP. Don is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional who has recently retired from InAIR Environmental which is based in Ottawa, ON. He is a Past President of IAQA, as well as Past President of the Ottawa Valley Chapter for ASHRAE.  Mr. Weekes is currently the President of the Indoor Environmental Quality - Global Alliance (IEQ-GA), and he also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH).
 
Don has also been involved with the following professional organizations; American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), International Society of Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ), and Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). He is the past Chair of American Industrial of Hygiene Association (AIHA) Indoor Environmental Quality Committee and a Fellow of the Association. He is a four-time recipient of the AIHA's Best Seller award for the 'Report of the Microbial Task Force' in 2001 and 2002, the 'Assessment, Remediation and Post-Remediation Verification of Mold in Buildings' publication in 2004, and the Green Book, aka 'Recognition, Evaluation and Control of Indoor Mold, book in 2008.

IAQ Radio Classic: Pete Consigli & The Z-man – A History of the Restoration Industry Parts 1-3

This weeks IAQ Radio+ episode flashes back to interviews with Pete Consigli and the Z-man that conclude our series on the “History of Restoration” from the viewpoint of these two living legends. The interview started out as a retrospective conversation about their longtime relationship that spanned almost 4 decades, it ended up being a priceless discussion on the  “History of Restoration”, from their perspective in the trenches. These shows were personal, insightful and controversial at times, but most of all come from the heart with a spirit of setting the record straight on many of the industry’s misnomers and folklore! Listen in as two of the industry’s most well known and colorful personalities sit down to reflect on their professional life together as they come to the realization that in their twilight years there is still much to be done and their “work” is still in progress! Join us for a peak into Consigli and Zlotnik’s Restoration Journey with a destination yet to be realized.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY – Ellen Tohn – Tohn Environmental Strategies Health and Home Performance: A Game Changer – Original Air Date: Episode 457 | 4-21-17

This week we flashback to Ellen Tohn of Tohn Environmental Strategies. Ms. Tohn is an environmental health consultant with over 30 years of experience. She is a nationally recognized expert in housing based environmental health threats, green and healthy housing, and indoor air quality. Ms. Tohn works with housing developers, owners and managers to create green and healthy housing and developed the nationally recognized “One Touch” approach.  She has assisted health advocates catalyze policy solutions; designed energy efficiency programs incorporating health protections; and managed environmental health research studies.
Ms. Tohn served as an advisor on health issues to the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, Enterprise Green Communities, Delos Living, EPA, Department of Energy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and numerous green building programs. Ms. Tohn is a nationally recognized trainer, providing professional development to over 7,000 individuals.  She received her BA from Cornell University and a Masters from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ms. Tohn is also an Assistant Professor of Practice at the Brown School of Public Health. Home Performance professionals are becoming much more focused on indoor air quality and that focus is a game changer for their industry and possibly the IAQ world.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY Paul Francisco University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ventilation and IAQ

For a full transcript of the discussion.