IAQ Radio

EPISODE265 -Bernard L Fontaine, Jr., CIH, CSP -Windsor Consulting Group

This week on IAQ Radio we have a Super Storm Sandy update with a NYC area industrial hygienist assisting with projects that resulted from this natural disaster. Bernard Fontaine, CIH, CSP. Mr. Fontaine has over 35 years professional and business experience in regulatory compliance, insurance, national defense, environmental services, and consulting. He specializes in cross-functional and cross-regional teams and he has developed and supported complex, multi-year consulting engagements. His leadership skills has driven cost-effective solutions for public and private sectors in areas of industrial hygiene, risk management, loss control and worker compensation claim, safety system management, occupational and public health, process and product safety throughout the supply chain, ergonomics, indoor air quality, emergency response and training for workers and their supervisors. LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio!

EPISODE264 - Pertti (Bert) Hakkinen, Ph.D. & Stephanie Publicker

This week on IAQ Radio we will interview Mr. Pertti (Bert) Hakkinen, Ph.D & Stephanie Publicker from the National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health (NIH). Our discussion will focus on one of the most important and underutilized resources for environmental health professionals the National Library of Medicine, Specialized Information Services. We will also be discussing emergency services with Dr. Hakkinen especially as they relate to the current response to super storm Sandy.
Pertti (Bert) Hakkinen, Ph.D., is the Acting Head of the Office of Clinical Toxicology, and the Senior Toxicologist and Toxicology and Environmental Health Science Advisor in the Division of Specialized Information Services, National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Hakkinen is the former project leader for the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) and the current project leader for the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) tools, represents NLM on various committees, and provides leadership for NLM's participation in national and international efforts in toxicology-, exposure-, and risk assessment-related information.
Dr. Hakkinen received the 2011 "Risk Communication Excellence Award" from the Alliance for Chemical Safety for his work on the CHEMM project, and received one of the annual "NIH Director's Awards" (August, 2011), with this award recognizing a role in efforts led by NIEHS related to the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Dr. Hakkinen has been an invited expert or reviewer for several U.S. EPA-, Health Canada-, and European Commission-sponsored efforts to develop or revise human exposure assessment guidance and resource documents and software, and was selected as a member of the core panel of experts in 2005-2007 for the Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP, a part of the Chemical Right-to-Know Initiative of the U.S. EPA). He is a co-editor and co-author of the latest edition of the Encyclopedia of Toxicology, and of the last two editions of the Information Resources in Toxicology book.
Stephanie Publicker has an Associate Degree in Nursing, a BA in Italian and a Masters in Library Science. Since receiving her MLS from the University of Pittsburgh in 1991, she has been involved in end user training, getting her start when users were thrilled to have a 2400 Baud modem. She currently works in the National Library of Medicine's Specialized Information Services Division where she is involved in end user training, database development, and web content management.
Join us this week and LEARN MORE about current happenings at the National Institutes of Health and more!

EPISODE263 -Wystan Ackerman, J.D. -Preferred Provider Program Litigation

Wystan Ackerman is a partner of the law firm of Robinson & Cole LLP in Hartford, Connecticut, where he chairs the firm's Class Action Team. Mr. Ackerman has a national practice focusing on defending insurers and other companies in class actions and litigating insurance coverage issues. He writes the blog "Insurance Class Actions Insider" at http://www.insuranceclassactions.com/property-insurance/. A recent blog titled "Class Action on Preferred Contractor Program Filed against Allstate" caught our attention and we invited Mr. Ackerman to join us and discuss class action lawsuits as related to the disaster restoration world. We also plan to discuss current events and Hurricane Sandy vs. post-tropical cyclone Sandy. LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio!

EPISODE262 Donald Cook, Ph.D. -New Research House Dust & Asthma Connection

This week on IAQ Radio we delve into the connection between house dust and asthma with Dr. Donald Cook of the National Institute of Health. Dr. Cook's recent research indicates that a specific component of bacteria found in common house dust activates the immune system so people are more likely to develop allergies to real allergens. Donald N. Cook, Ph.D., is the head of the Immunogenetics Group; he earned his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has published 43 peer-reviewed articles in leading biomedical journals as well as several book chapters. Cook served as a principal scientist at Schering-Plough Research Institute and as an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Duke University before joining NIEHS in 2005. LEARN MORE this week on 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.