IAQ Radio

EPISODE461 - FLASHBACK FRIDAY! Richard Corsi, PhD. of Texas, Austin

This week we flashback to a show from 9-26-14 with Richard Corsi, PhD. We had a great series with Dr. Corsi and several of his students. We called the series Research to Practice. This show set up the next three we did with him and his students. It was a great discussion of the challenges and opportunitiescoming for the IAQ world.
Richard Corsi, PhD is the Chair & ECH Bantel Professor for Professional Practice Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California at Davis in 1989. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Dr. Corsi researches indoor air quality, including sources and control of indoor air pollution and human exposure to indoor toxins. He has also studied how architectural materials can remove chemicals from building air, offering protection for occupants following terrorist attacks.

EPISODE460 - Rachel Gutter - What is a WELL Building Standard?

This week on IAQ Radio we welcome Rachel Gutter, Chief Product Officer for the International WELL Building Institute. Ms. Gutter joined the International WELL Building Institute in late 2016 as senior vice president, bringing with her a wealth of cross-cutting experience in safer, healthier environments where they matter the most: in school rooms across the globe. She joins IWBI after a nine-year career at the U.S. Green Building Council, where she founded the Center for Green Schools, convening and collaborating with a diverse group of partners, including teachers unions, the National PTA, the Department of Education, the Princeton Review, executives from Fortune 100 companies, and green building councils around the world. Under her direction, the Center published more than 1,000 pages of technical guides and original research, mobilized more than $275 billion in investments in LEED certified educational facilities, and deployed more than half a million volunteers to contribute $50 million in donated time to transform schools and campuses on every continent.
In her current role she is helping the International WELL Building Institute continue their development and implementation of the WELL Building Standards. According to the Institute this is the first standard of its kind that focuses solely on the health and wellness of building occupants. WELL identifies 100 performance metrics, design strategies, and policies that can be implemented by the owners, designers, engineers, contractors, users and operators of a building. It is based on a thorough review of the existing research on the effects of spaces on individuals and has been advanced through a thorough scientific and technical review. In order to achieve the requirements of the WELL Building Standard, the space must undergo a process that includes an on-site assessment and performance testing by a third party. Overall, the WELL Building Standard is designed to comprehensively cover the various individual needs of building occupants while also building a common foundation for measuring wellness in the built environment.

EPISODE459 - FLASHBACK FRIDAY - Episode 435 - William Fisk

This week we flashback to a show from 10-28-16 with William Fisk. This is an interview we have been trying to line up for quite some time and its exciting to have this research giant join us live for the hour. Few have contributed as much to our knowledge of IAQ as Bill and his group at LBL. We look forward to discussing how that research can be better used in practice with the Leader of the LBL Indoor Environment Group.
Mr. Fisk is a Sr. Scientist (mechanical engineer) and is the leader of the Indoor Environment Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in research on the interrelated issues of building energy performance, ventilation, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and occupant health and performance. His research focuses primarily on energy efficient methods of maintaining and improving ventilation and IEQ in commercial buildings and on quantifying the impacts of building ventilation and IEQ on health and performance. He is a fellow of ASHRAE, a member of the Academy of Indoor Air Sciences, and he serves on the editorial board for Indoor Air Journal. He is an author of approximately 100 refereed archival journal articles or book chapters. He has BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

EPISODE458 - Ed Light - EnLightening New AIHA White Paper on VOC Criteria

Mr. Light holds degrees in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts (B.S.) and Marshall University (M.S.), is a Senior Fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, has authored over 40 scientific publications on assessment and control of the indoor environment and has chaired several national scientific committees. In the 1980s, Ed established the West Virginia Department of Health IAQ Program, pioneering efforts to resolve exposure issues related to formaldehyde, asbestos, and termiticides. In the 1990s, he developed widely used protocols for addressing IEQ complaints (published by EPA, NIOSH and ISIAQ) and managing air quality in occupied buildings under construction (for SMACNA, promulgated by ANSI). As a consultant, Ed has directed more than 1000 multi-disciplinary IEQ investigations, ranging from the White House to the South Pole Station. He has been admitted in numerous proceedings as a litigation expert in industrial hygiene.

EPISODE000 - IICRC Show Cancelled with Pete Duncanson

EPISODE457- Ellen R Tohn - Tohn Environmental Strategies

This week IAQ Radio welcomes 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 â??One Touchâ?? 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 Councilâ??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.

EPISODE456 - Ken Larsen, Ed Cross JD, Peter Crosa, Pete Consigli - TPA

This week on IAQradio we welcome an All Star cast for a frank discussion on the future of the restoration industry. Our guests were all speakers at last week's 71st International Restoration Convention and Industry Expo in Palm Springs, CA. They all gave important presentations or Keynotes at the Restoration Industry Association's (RIA) annual event.
The Town Hall theme for this year's event was "The Future of the Water Damage Restoration Industry" and was facilitated by none other than IAQradio's Restoration Global Watchdog Pete Consigli! The Town Hall was the culmination of one of RIA's convention story line's that included a breakout session moderated by Ken Larsen on the Do's and Don'ts of Rebates, Referral Fees, Comps and Gratuities with Peter Crosa and well known IAQ attorney Michael Bowdoin. Ed Cross was the convention's Day 2 keynote speaker and addressed the RIA members on "The 6 New Legal Points Restorers must Understand to Survive in 2017".
Crosa who is the sitting President for the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (NAIIA) presented the Independent Adjusters viewpoint on the Town Hall Panel. Well known industry advocate Ed Cross aka "The Restoration Lawyer" made his case for industry unification through one voice and closed out his Town Hall panel presentation with a message to band together, "Band or Burn" was the reoccurring message!
The RTPE program (Registered Third Party Evaluator) recently explained to RIA members at their annual convention in Palm Springs during their Town Hall meeting by Ken Larsen, CR, WLS, CMP may be a solution for contractors who are constantly challenged by TPA's on their scope of work and invoices. Longtime industry activist and RIA supporter Ken Larsen presented his vision for the RTPE program on the RIA Town Hall panel along with Peter Crosa, AIC, RPA and Ed Cross, Esq. Larsen has a 5 part series on the TPE concept that was previewed in the 2017 February issue of Cleaning and Restoration (C&R) magazine.
A high point of the RIA annual banquet and awards ceremony was the presentation of C&R's Golden Quill award won this year by IAQradio's own, Cliff "The Z-man" Zlotnik for his article on "Concerns over the Water Restoration Industry". The culmination of the ceremony was the awarding of the association's most prestigious honor, the presentation of the Martin L. King award. The 32nd annual recipient of the Marty King award was Ken Larsen for his years of service and activism to RIA and the industry! Way to go Ken!!

EPISODE455 - Christine Oliver, M.D. - Massachusetts General Hospital Boston

This week we welcome Christine Oliver, MD to the show. Dr. Oliver is President of Occupational Health Initiatives, Inc. in Brookline, MA. She is an Associate Physician in the Department of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care Division) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Board certified in occupational medicine and in internal medicine, Dr. Oliver's primary specialty is Occupational and Environmental Medicine, with an emphasis on occupational and environmental lung disease. At the MGH she evaluates and cares for patients with occupational and environmental illness and disease, including occupational asthma, interstitial lung disease, building-related health problems, and chemical sensitivities. Dr. Oliver has done research and published in the area of occupational lung disease and she has testified before the United States Congress with regard to work-related health issues and risks.
For the past three decades an important focus of Dr. Oliver's consulting work has been indoor air quality and related health effects. She has lectured and published on this subject and she has been actively involved in indoor air quality assessments in a variety of settings. These include health care facilities, courthouses and other government buildings, schools, and commercial office buildings. Together with industrial hygienists, engineers, and human systems specialists she has worked to identify, characterize, and resolve air quality problems and their related health effects. In 2009 she was a participant and presenter in the ASTM Johnson Conference on the standardization of mold response procedures. An important component of Dr. Oliver's clinical work has been in the area of fragrances and their related health effects, including causation and/or exacerbation of chemical sensitivities. She has lectured on these topics, counseled patients and their families with regard to steps that can be taken to identify and remove fragranced products from their environment, and advocated for a fragrance-free policy in the clinic in which she works

EPISODE454 - John & Lydia Lapotaire -IAQ Solutions & IAQA Presidential Coup

This week on IAQ Radio we welcome John and Lydia Lapotaire. John, together with his wife Lydia, has owned and operated Orlando Florida based Indoor Air Quality Solutions since 2001. John is a Building Envelope & Indoor Environment Consultant specializing in building product failure investigations, forensic water intrusion investigations, and building envelope failure investigations for commercial and residential structures. John and Lydia also provide indoor environmental assessments and mold & odor investigations. John is also the current President of the Indoor Air Quality Association. John and Lydia are Florida Licensed Mold Assessors, Certified Indoor Environmental Consultants CIEC's. They have performed investigations, and forensic diagnostic inspections throughout the mid-West and Eastern United States for both commercial and residential properties. John has served as an expert witness in court cases involving indoor air quality, mold, building envelope failure, building product failure and spray polyurethane foam insulation. He has provided consultation and or testimony in several hundred litigation cases.

EPISODE453 - Tiina Reponan, PhD -Microbiology of the Built Environment

This week we are very happy to welcome Tiina Reponen, PhD to IAQ Radio. Dr. Reponen is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. As an expert in indoor allergens and mold, she served as the principal investigator in several major laboratory and field experiments on airborne allergens, bacteria and fungi and has directed exposure assessment teams in population-based studies. Dr. Reponen is the Director of the NIOSH-funded University of Cincinnati Education and Research Center (ERC), which includes graduate programs related to occupational health from three colleges: Medicine, Nursing and Applied Science and Engineering. She is currently directing two cohort studies. One is focused on the association between indoor bioaerosol exposures and the development of children's allergy and asthma and the other is focused on the effects of green renovation on indoor air quality and occupants' health.