IAQ Radio

EPISODE261 -Dr Catherine Noakes & Dr L. Fletcher- Hospital Acquired Infect.

Dr. Catherine Noakes, PhD, CEng is the Director of Pathogen Control Engineering Institute at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds. She is also the Leader of Aerobiology and Infection Control Research Group at the University of Leeds. The Aerobiology and Infection Control Group is a multi-disciplinary research team comprising microbiologists, engineers and mathematical modelers. The group has considerable experience in evaluating bioaerosols in indoor environments and engineering measures to control infection. Their Research is driven by the continuing problem of hospital acquired infection and the worldwide health concerns about infectious diseases spread through airborne routes. Airborne transmission is known to be a primary mechanism in the transmission of TB and influenza, but has also been implicated in the transmission of nosocomial infections including MRSA, Acinetobacter spp, C. difficile and norovirus. In addition, contamination of the environment through contact with dirty hands and objects or airborne dispersal provides a potential reservoir of pathogens which could subsequently cause infection by indirect contacts. Regardless of the pathogen, successful control of infection involves breaking the chain of transmission, for which it is necessary to understand both the mode of transmission as well as the nature of the pathogen and its behavior in the environment. Understanding this complex interaction between people, pathogens and the built environment is at the heart of their research.
The paper that prompted the press interest is work carried out by Marco-Felipe King, one of my PhD students, stated Dr. Noakes. His overall project is trying to determine whether single rooms in hospitals present a lower infection risk than multi-bed rooms. This is something that is quite often stated and for which there is anecdotal evidence, but isn't quantified. He is trying to quantify the difference in risk between the two types of rooms for infection spread due to environmental contamination. This paper presents the first part of this work where he was looking to quantify surface contamination due to an aerosol source and validate the techniques for modeling it. This is feeding into the next stage of the research where he is using the ability to predict contamination on a surface together with a mathematical model for a nurse moving around a ward and touching surfaces to compare the potential for contamination.

EPISODE260 -Lou Weiss -Owner Builds Green Dream Home on Former Dump Site

Pittsburgh couple builds GREEN dream home on former dump site.
Some IAQradio listeners are old enough to remember the television comedy series Green Acres in which the protagonists (Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert) have opposing opinions on the ideal place to live. Join us on IAQ Radio when we discuss Lou and Amy Weiss and their quest to build their environmentally friendly, energy efficient, sustainable dream home in a city neighborhood. Learn about the role that prominent architect Hugh Newell Jacobson, mail order building plans, salvaged airplane fuselages and recycled metal roofing played in the project.
Articles in the Wall Street Journal, House Trends Magazine and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette are testimony to the unique accomplishment of Lou & Amy Weiss,
We guarantee an entertaining and educational discussion so join us and LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio!

EPISODE259 - Paul Cochrane & John Lapotaire- Social Media and Your Career

This week on IAQ Radio we are going to focus on social media issues. Joining us will be long time friends of the show John Lapotaire (MicroShield Environmental Consulting) and Paul Cochrane (Cochrane and Associates). Social media is a fairly recent phenomenon that for years was primarily the domain of young people. Now social media is a key component of business plans for companies of every size. Facebook, Linked in, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, chat rooms etc. are now all terms part of the business lexicon in the US. Social media is used to locate colleagues, share information, educate, communicate, share likes, dislikes, mobilize movements and much more. LEARN MORE about how you can be using this important tool to advance your career and/or make your company more successful on IAQ Radio!

EPISODE258 - Larry Carlson - Phoenix, Thermastor

Larry Carlson joined Therma-Stor in 1992 as product manager for ventilation and dehumidification products. In 1994 Larry introduced the Phoenix 200, the first LGR dehumidifier. Through 2003 he oversaw the expansion the Phoenix Restoration Equipment product line to include the Guardian HEPA Systems, Focus axial air mover and Phoenix 300 and 200 MAX. After 2 years at Dry Air Technology where Larry assisted in the creation of the Atlantic LGR and Force9, he returned to Therma-Stor in 2006 as marketing manager.
Currently Larry is the Phoenix Restoration Industry Manager and International Sales Manager. Larry has been a member of RIA since 1994 and the IICRC since 1998. He participated in the creation of the Applied Structural Drying Technician (ASD) certification and is currently serving on the IICRC S-500 Consensus Committee which is creating the 4th edition of the S-500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration.

EPISODE257 - Brian Barca -Sports philosophies used to improve your business

On this week's broadcast of IAQradio, we'll set aside science for the practical when we discuss with a successful sports coach how adopting successful sports philosophies can improve your business. This week's guest is Brian Barca, a truly special guy who has a knack for bringing the best out in those under his tutelage. Brian owns and operates Training KAMP a business that assists athletes in achieving their goals. Join us on IAQradio this week on Friday, September 21 at noon eastern time when we discuss: do I need a coach, becoming more confident, dealing with fear and pressure and much more.

EPISODE256 - Angel Waldron -American Asthma & Allergy Foundation

Angel Waldron is a consumer health advocate with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), the premier non-profit patient organization serving more than 60 million people with asthma and allergies.
Angel is a national spokesperson for AAFA and represents the Foundation to the media. She regularly appears in broadcasts for Wall Street Journal Radio, CNN Radio and NPR as well as for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX television affiliates to discuss asthma and allergy issues. She is recurrently quoted in articles by USA Today, Forbes magazine, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and WebMD, among others.
In addition to speaking on behalf of AAFA, Angel produces the Foundation's print and electronic health publications and manages its Web site, www.aafa.org. She has also written and edited articles for consumer health magazines such as Coping, ADVANCE and Health Monitor.

EPISODE255 - David Kahane, MPH, CIH- Forensic Analytical, Past AIHA Chair

David Kahane is founder of Forensic Analytical, a family of laboratory and consulting companies specializing in industrial hygiene, environmental health and safety and the forensic sciences. Mr. Kahane received a B.A. in Physiology and an M.P.H. in Biological and Environmental Health Sciences from U.C. Berkeley. He has been a practicing Certified Industrial Hygienist for the past 18 years.
Mr. Kahane provides technical expertise and litigation support for asbestos, heavy metals, fungal and other IH-related exposure cases. He performs and supports industrial hygiene and indoor air quality investigations for a variety of commercial, industrial, insurance, military school and residential clients. He has performed and is well versed in various analytical methods including optical microscopy, XRF and AAS/ICP. Mr. Kahane is often involved with the statistical evaluation of survey data, and the experimental design for a variety of indoor exposure assessments.
Mr. Kahane is a frequent guest instructor at UC Berkeley teaching on issues related to asbestos, lead and mold classes. He has served on both technical committees and on boards of the AIHA, ASTM, EIA, California Industrial Hygiene Council, as well as for CAL-OSHA.

EPIS.254- Carl Grimes & Don Weekes, CIH, CSP -ISIAQ Healthy Buildings 2012

In addition to being sought after IAQ consultants, Carl Grimes and Don Weekes, CIH, CSP are the outgoing and incoming President of the Indoor Air Quality Association. Carl also serves on the International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) Board of Directors. Both gentlemen recently returned from the ISIAQ Healthy Buildings 2012 conference in Australia. Healthy Buildings is a gathering of world renowned researchers and practitioners where the most recent research and news on IAQ issues is the topic. Carl and Don have agreed to join us and fill in listeners on what they learned from attending this event. This week on IAQ Radio LEARN MORE about the present and future of indoor air quality related issues on IAQ Radio!

EPISODE 253 - Cole Stanton VP Fiberlock & Tim Riley -Crime & Death Cleanup

This week on IAQ Radio we are joined by Cole Stanton, VP Sales at Fiberlock Technologies, Inc and Tim Riley founder of Crime and Death Scene Cleaning of Ipswich, MA. We will be discussing chemistry, chemicals and standards for HVAC cleaning, water damage restoration, mold remediation and bio recovery cleaning. Mr. Stanton was part of the committee that wrote the NADCA position paper on Chemicals in HVAC Systems and is currently on the IICRC S520 Revision committee. He and Mr. Riley both serve on the IICRC S540 "Standard and Reference Guide for Trauma and Crime Scene Biological and Infectious Hazard Clean Up" development committee. The S540 is a new standard devoted to bio recovery issues. Mr. Riley is a veteran Bio Recovery company owner and American Bio Recovery Association (ABRA) instructor. Join us Friday at noon to LEARN MORE about the chemistry, chemicals, and standards for cleaning and responding to these specialty situations.

EPISODE252 - Bruce Jacobs, MHS, CIH - Industrial Hygiene Consulting, Inc.

Industrial Hygiene Consulting, Inc. (previously operating as Jacobs Environmental, Inc.) was founded in 1997 by Mr. Bruce Jacobs, who continues on today as President and Principal Consultant. Mr. Jacobs has accumulated 38 years of experience in the environmental and safety & health profession. Mr. Jacobs developed gas chromatographic analytical methods, and validated some of the initial uses of diffusion-based sampling and analytical methods for air contaminants, as a Chemist for the U.S. Army. He also developed industrial hygiene policy documents and standards for the U.S. Army. Additionally, he managed the industrial hygiene program for the Chemical Agent BZ Demilitarization Facility at Pine Bluff Arsenal, AR. Finally he developed the "IAQ Index" as a health-based, easy-to-understand, air quality index that is calculated for various parameters commonly measured during IAQ surveys. (The approach is similar to the EPA's Air Quality Index that has been used historically to communicate the risks posed by common pollutants in the ambient air.)
He has experience as a chemist, toxicologist, industrial hygienist, and environmental manager; and has worked with federal, state, and local governments; construction companies, large and small engineering firms, tunneling contractors, chemical companies, pharmaceutical and flavor companies, health care facilities, schools and universities, manufacturing facilities, heavy industry, land developers, home builders, commercial contractors, legal firms, and individual homeowners. Join us this week and LEARN MORE as we interview Bruce Jacobs on another exciting episode of IAQ Radio!