IAQ Radio

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.
 

Chuck Violand, Ross Riek, Owen Boak and The Restoration Global Watchdog!

This past June RIA held its first International restoration conference and trade show on Australia’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. The event which will be an annual offering in the region was organized and delivered by RIA’s Australasian Council. The local RIA conference planning committee collaborated with the Australian IAQA chapter leadership and featured several education sessions by local leading IAQ experts. Mold seemed to be a hot topic at the conference with several labs exhibiting at the trade show! The event was also attended by IICRC leadership and several other regional dignitaries from related segments of the cleaning, restoration and remediation industries.

Whitney Wiseman - National Organization of Restoration and Remediation Professionals

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Whitney Wiseman.  Whitney Wiseman started in the restoration industry back in 2004. He began as a laborer for a family restoration company while still in college. While working with this company for three and a half years, he eventually climbed the ladder to become the operations manager. He was able to help grow the company into a large national company still existing today. Whitney started his company in 2008 in Miami while in school for construction management at Florida International University. One year later he decided to move his company to Palm Beach and has been established there ever since. Now the multi division company performs restoration, remediation, drying, construction, and specialty cleaning services. Whitney has personally traveled to flooding events around the country working on small and large losses in Cedar Rapids, Minot, ND, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Houston (twice), Galveston, New York City, New Jersey and the Florida Keys. He holds all restoration & remediation accreditations available from the IICRC and specializes in commercial losses. 
 
Whitney's passion for the restoration and remediation industry compelled him to form the nonprofit organization NORRP or National Organization of Restoration and Remediation Professionals in 2017. His goal is to provide support to the industry as he has personally faced the challenges that professionals encounter on a daily basis. He intends to bring the industry to the next level through training, outreach, and support of his fellow restoration & remediation professionals.

Nick Hurst - US EPA, Indoor Environments Division - The EPA Indoor airPLUS Program

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Nick Hurst. Nick is an Environmental Protection Specialist with the US EPA and the Program Manager of EPA's Indoor airPLUS label for new homes. He has been involved in the construction industry for over 17 years as a self-employed remodeling contractor, project manager, green building consultant, and trainer.
 
Nick earned a Master's in Technology concentrating in Building Science from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, and he later served as Education and Outreach Director for the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance at ASU's Energy Center. Before coming to EPA, Nick also worked as a consultant at ICF in their Federal Energy Efficiency portfolio.
 
Nick is also a BPI Building Analyst and participates with a number of standard setting organizations and technical committees in the building industry.