IAQ Assessment using the 7 Principals of Healthy Homes, John P. Lapotaire, CIEC

By John P. Lapotaire, CIEC Lydia A. Lapotaire, CIEC A presentation For the Pensacola IAQA Chapter

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Introduction Where does the IEP Start? The Client Interview What to Look For? The 7 Principles The IEA Report The Laboratory Report What the Client Wants & Needs Healthy Homes Specialist Questions

Where to Start? Get in The Habit of Habit

The Client Interview Interview Occupant and Building History Building Occupants, Full time Part time Visitors Pets Occupant Specific symptoms Occupant Areas of concern

The Client Interview An Indoor Environmental Consultant should interview the client carefully before the inspection to assist in deciding if such a costly Indoor Environmental Assessment and Testing process is really appropriate and cost-justified.

What to Look For? Many homes fall short of the basic requirements of a healthy home and contain one or more of hazards that adversely affect human health. Research has shown that these housing-related hazards pose a broad spectrum of risks, including the following:

What to Look For? asthma roaches allergies rodents Respiratory illnesses dust mites Mold and pests — ,[object Object],[object Object]

What to Look For? For instance, lead poisoning in children causes reduced IQ and attention span, hyperactivity, impaired growth, reading and learning disabilities, hearing loss, insomnia, and a range of other health, intellectual, and behavioral problems.

What to Look For? Poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and radon also pose threats to health. Carbon monoxide poisoning results in more than 200 accidental deaths a year and, at much lower levels, causes flu-like symptoms, which often go undiagnosed. Radon can increase the risk of cancer, which is the second leading cause of death among adults and children in the U.S.

What to Look For? The ideal way to maintain healthy homes and properties is to practice primary prevention (addressing these hazards before they become dangerous problems) using a holistic approach (tackling many hazards at once). With this in mind, NCHH has identified 7 principals of Healthy Homes that can help Identify and Correct Indoor Environmental Hazards.

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes

Dry Maintained 7 Principles of Healthy Homes Clean Ventilated Pest-Free Safe Contaminant-Free Add title text Seven Principles of Healthy Homes

National Center for Healthy Housing www.nchh.orgwww.healthyhomestraining.org

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes 1. Dry: Damp houses provide a nurturing environment for mites, roaches, rodents, and molds, all of which are associated with indoor allergens and asthma triggers. 2. Clean: Clean homes help reduce pest infestations and exposure to contaminants.

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes 3. Pest-Free: Recent studies show a causal relationship between exposure to mice and cockroaches and asthma episodes in children; yet inappropriate treatment for pest infestations can exacerbate health problems, since pesticide residues in homes pose risks for neurological damage and cancer.

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes 4. Safe: The majority of injuries among children occur in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of residential injuries to children, followed by injuries from objects in the home, burns, and poisonings.

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes 5. Contaminant-Free: Chemical exposures include lead, radon, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and environmental tobacco smoke. Exposures to asbestos particles, radon gas, carbon monoxide, and second-hand tobacco smoke are far higher indoors than outside.

Seven Principles of Healthy Homes 6. Ventilated: Studies show that increasing the fresh air supply in a home improves respiratory health. 7. Maintained: Poorly-maintained homes are at risk for moisture and pest problems. Deteriorated lead-based paint in older housing is the primary cause of lead poisoning, which affects some 240,000 U.S. children.

The IEA Report A professionally prepared Indoor Environmental or Indoor Air Quality Report should clearly answer the following questions:

The IEA Report Is there an Indoor Environmental or Indoor Air Quality Concern in the home or office? What was the cause? Where is the problem origin? What containment and cleaning are needed? What corrective action is required? How will you confirm the home has been returned to a pre-loss condition?

Sight Conditions Visual Assess. Contain Repair Clean Inspect Sample Confirm Client and Building History IEP Contractor Interview Confirmation Inspection Correction IEP IEP The IEA Report

The IEA Report A competent Indoor Environmental Assessment Report should identify, right up front, What is important and what needs to be done. When necessary It should support these opinions with competent detailed, professional, and reliable lab work.

The IEA Report Interview Areas of Concern Site conditions (environmental measurements) Temperature Humidity Particulate Matter VOC’s CO, CO2

The IEA Report The Indoor Environment should be measured and recorded both at rest (with the air conditioning systems off) and active (with the air conditioning systems running) There must always be an indoor environment measurement summary

Site Conditions Summary The measurements showed the home had acceptable levels of relative humidity and particulate matter in the .3 through 1. µm with the home at rest. There were elevations of 2.5 µm throughout with the home at rest. The volatile organic compounds VOC’s were measured at .4 to .5 throughout the home at rest. .5 is a level considered to be at the high end of what is acceptable.

Site Conditions Summary The measurements of the relative humidity and respirable particulates decreased after the HVAC had been running. Home active. The VOC’s leveled out at .5 throughout the home with the AC running. A level considered to be at the high end of what is acceptable. Home active. .5 is a level considered to be at the high end of what is acceptable.

Site Conditions Summary The measurements showed the home had elevated relative humidity and particulate matter. The A/C and power had just been turned on for the inspection. There was a visible humidity bloom with microbial growth throughout.

Site Conditions Summary The indoor environment was not a clean dust free environment as was evident by the levels of airborne particulate matter. The measurements were collected after the remediator had “Self Cleared” his remediation. The visual, environmental measurements and the collected air samples identified a remaining S-520 Condition 2 an indoor environment which is primarily contaminated with settled spores that were dispersed directly or indirectly from a Condition 3 area, and which may have traces of actual growth.

Post “Self PRVI” Assessment

Site Conditions Summary The airborne particulate matter PM 2.5 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm sizes were elevated in the master bedroom where remediation was performed. Measurements after the home had been active (A/C running) all environmental measurements decrease. This reduction of PM eliminates the AC as a possible contributor to the previously recorded elevations.

Site Conditions Summary The indoor environment was not a clean dust free environment as was evident by the levels of airborne particulate matter. The measurements were collected after the remediator had “Self Cleared” his remediation. The visual, environmental measurements and the collected air samples identified a remaining S-520 Condition 2.

Site Conditions Summary The condo had a slight elevation of VOC’s in parts per million (ppm). The measurements showed the condo had elevated relative humidity with the home at rest that increased with the air conditioner running. The condo had an elevation of respirable particulate matter throughout with a minimal decrease of particulate matter when the air conditioner was running or Home Active

Site Conditions Summary The condo was cooled with a PTAC in-wall air conditioner. The PTAC was NOT equipped with a condensate drain line and was set up to be an evaporative cooling air conditioner. Not ideal for the hot humid climate of Florida, more suited for dry climates. The design continually introduced humidity into the condo supporting a humidity bloom.

The IEA Report Includes Visual Inspection findings Site Conditions Sampling plan (if necessary) Laboratory results Cause and Origin Specific recommendations Executive summary Inspection Pictures

Environmental Measurements Visual Inspection Cause and Origin Summary Add text title Add text title The IEA Report Add text title

What's in the Report? A professionally prepared Indoor Environmental Report or Indoor Air Quality Report must be useful: in exchange for being paid a professional fee to investigate a home or office, an IEP should provide accurate and useful diagnostic and prescriptive information to his or her client, and should include not only an identification of Indoor Environmental Concerns, but Include a cause and origin

What's in the Report? A Professional Indoor Environmental Assessment is much more than the collection of samples. Unless the sample collection was combined with a Visual Indoor Environmental Assessment using the 7 Principals of Healthy Homes, no one can be certain of the extent or presence of any indoor environmental hazards in a home.

What's in the Report? A spore trap sample alone cannot accurately represent all of the indoor environmental contaminants or indoor air quality contaminants present in a home. A spore trap will only include or exclude mold spores as a contributor to elevated respirable particulates measured in the home.

What's in the Report? Visual Inspection Sampling Site Conditions Sample Plan

What's in the Report? indentify the indoor environmental Concerns within the home or office and provide you with the guidance to take specific corrective action to quickly improve your indoor environment and indoor air quality.

The Laboratory Report Qualitative or Quantitative Qualitative What is there (is that mold?) Not how much is there Most often to the genus not species These methodologies do not differentiate between viable and non-viable fungal spores. Identification to the genus does not allow for the differentiation between Aspergillus and Penicillium spores. Bulk – Tape - Swab

The Laboratory Report Qualitative or Quantitative Quantitative What is there How much is there Most often to the genus not species These methodologies do not differentiate between viable and non-viable fungal spores. Identification to the genus does not allow for the differentiation between Aspergillus and Penicillium spores. Spore Trap

The Laboratory Report Quantitative Spore Traps - quantitative collection, the mold spores collected in the sample are counted and reported as spores per cm2, spores per gram (or 1000mg), These methodologies do not differentiate between viable and non-viable fungal spores. This technique does not allow for the differentiation between Aspergillus and Penicillium spores.

Qualitative Surface Samples – Swab, Dust, Tape and Bulk Samples: qualitative sample collection. Swab, Dust and Tape samples are mounted on a glass slide and observed under a bright field microscope and visually identified to the genus This technique does not allow for the differentiation between Aspergillus and Penicillium spores. The Laboratory Report

According to ACGIH, “Data from individual sampling episodes is often interpreted with respect to baseline data from other environments or the same environment under anticipated low exposure conditions.” The Laboratory Report

The Laboratory Report In the absence of established acceptable exposure limits, it is often necessary to use a comparison standard when interpreting data. In this instance, it will be necessary to sample the suspect area as well as a non-suspect area. According to ACGIH,

The Laboratory Report An Laboratory Report offers counts, numbers, percentages, or results. The Laboratory provides the results of the samples collected by the IEP who has preformed a thorough visual assessment. The Laboratory provides the results of the samples collected by the IEP who has prepared a sampling plan resulting from the visual assessment.

The IEP performs the "Indoor Environmental Assessment" The Lab tells the IEP what is there and at what level – Qualitative or Quantitative information The IEP interprets the results The Laboratory Report

The Laboratory Report Certain authorities identify certain molds whose presence indicates excessive moisture or are Water Damage Indicator Molds. The presence of a few spores of indicator mold should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, it should be recognized that these named molds are not necessarily the only ones of potential significance.

The Laboratory Report IESO “Standards of Practice for the Assessment of Indoor Environmental Quality”. Water Damage Indicator Molds. (currently repealed for review) ,[object Object]

The Laboratory Report The EPA Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) Water Damage Indicator Molds ,[object Object]

Aspergillus restrictus, ,[object Object]

The Laboratory Report Penicillium brevicompactum, Paecilomycesvariotii, Aspergillus sydowii, Penicillium spinulosum, Wallemiasebi, Aspergillus unguis, Scopulariopsisbrevicaulis, Scopulariopsischartarum, Aspergillus penicillioides, Trichodermaviride.

The Laboratory Report The EPA Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) “Normal” species: Acremoniumstrictum, Alternariaalternata, Aspergillus ustus, Cladosporiumcladosporioides v1, Cladosporiumcladosporioides v2, Cladosporiumherbarum, Epicoccumnigrum, Mucor & Rhizopus group, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopusstolonifer

Common Indoor Allergens Indoor Allergen, Cat Indoor Allergen, Cockroach Indoor Allergen, Dog Indoor Allergen, Dust Mites Indoor Allergen, Latex Indoor Allergen, Mouse Indoor Allergen, Rat Indoor Allergens Group - Cat Dander, Dog dander, Cockroach, Dust Mites

Soot and Smoke Fire Investigation Testing Accelerants Carbon Black Cigarette Smoke Combustion By-Products Soot Wood Smoke

Particle Identification Common Particle Identification Full Particle Identification SM Unknown Particle Identification Nuisance Dust and PM-10 / TSP Formaldehyde (Off-gassing in Products/Materials) Formaldehyde in Air NIOSH 2016 / NIOSH 3500 Formaldehyde in Bulk material (Dry)

VOC and mVOC Microbial Volatile Organic Compound Screen GC-FID (High Boiling Point) Microbial Volatile Organic Compound Screen TO-15 (Low Boiling Point) Volatile Organic Scan by GC/MS with Lib Search (req. for IAQ) Volatile Organic Scan by GC/MS (62 compound list) TO-15 mod.

A superficial air test for mold spores risks leaving the client with ambiguous results, or even if the test suggests that a problem with mold is present, the client has no idea where the problem is, What is causing the problem or what to do about it. The Laboratory Report

In many cases air samples for mold spores come back with no elevations even though the Client continues to have symptoms or reports nuisance odors in their home. The IEP that only collected air-o-cell spore trap samples with no visual assessment or measured site conditions can provide no professional guidance for the Client. The Laboratory Report

What the Client Wants & Needs ,[object Object],Allergens Asthma Triggers Moldtext title

Is Indoor Environmental Sampling Necessary? If Sampling is necessary Why? Where? and Which Type of Sampling is Recommended? Qualitative or Quantitative Culturable or non-Culturable Allergen Dust, Bulk Chemical What the Client Wants & Needs

The Visual Inspection should provide a Sampling Plan specific to the findings in your home or office so you can then determine; If there is a mold, allergen, asthma trigger, or similar environmental problem in the home or office? If there is a problem, where is it and how big is it? Based on the lab results, what is the level of containment and care needed? What does the lab work indicate about the level of risk to occupants or workers? What the Client Wants & Needs

What the Client Wants & Needs Are we looking at a "cosmetic-only" concern? What is the extent of remediation or cleaning necessary, and ,[object Object]

and, after the cleanup has been completed, was it proper and complete?,[object Object]

IAQ Assessment using the 7 Principals of Healthy Homes, John P. Lapotaire, CIEC

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IAQ Assessment using the 7 Principals of Healthy Homes, John P. Lapotaire, CIEC