on Indoor Air Quality
Combined Meeting Notes:
March 15 and June 13,
American Lung Association of California
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California Air Resources Board / IAQ & Personal Exposure Assessment Program
California Department of Education / School Facility and Planning Division
California Department of Health Service / Environmental Health Investigations Branch
California Department of Health Service / Indoor Air Quality Section
California Department of Health Service / Occupational Health Branch
California Department of Health Service / Radon Program
California Department of Health Service / Tobacco Control Program
California Department of Industrial Relations (Cal/OSHA)
California Integrated Waste Management Board / Sustainable Building Program
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Indoor Air Risk Assessment)
California Department of Toxics Substances Control (Hazardous Materials Laboratory)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory / Indoor Environments Program
San Francisco Department of the Environment
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences/Children's Environmental Health Center
UC Environmental Health & Safety Program
U.S. EPA Region IX / Indoor Environment Team
U.S. Federal Interagency Committee on IAQ
o AB 35 (Ruskin), AB 888 (Lieu) and AB 1058 (Laird) would promote Sustainable (or
Green) Building practices within
o SB 4 (Oropeza) and SB 7 (Oropeza) would, respectively, establish a fine of $250 for smoking at a state beach or within a state park, and make it an infraction for a person to smoke in any car with a child younger than the age of 18 in it, even if the car was parked or on private property.
Search for current bill status at
ARB Chairmans Seminar Series: This seminar series offers a forum on various air quality topics. See announcement at Presentation materials are archived on-line; here are some of the recent topics of interest:
Upcoming:
o Bart Ostro, Ph.D., OEHHA, The Effects of Fine Particle Species on Daily Mortality and Morbidity in Six California Counties: Results from CALFINE. July 25
Past seminars:
June 13
Pending ARB Regulations to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products by Jim Aguila, Stationary Source Division, Air Resources Board.
March 15
Pesticide Exposures, Housing Quality, and Health Effects in Children from Farmworker Families, by Dr. Kim Harley, CHAMACOS Project Director, UC Berkeley.
September 27
Indoor
Environmental Quality and HVAC Survey in Small and
October 12 (off-site)
Tutorial on Ventilation & the
HVAC-package Unit by Ben
Venktash, a Mechanical Engineer at CM Service () and longtime
friend of the CIWG-IAQ hosted a hands-on tutorial on Ventilation & the
HVAC-package Unit, held at his office in
AGENCY REPORTS ON CURRENT IAQ ACTIVITIES
-- Bonnie Holmes-Gen ()
Check their web site (above).
-- Elinor Blake,
-- Saffet Tanrikulu,
Check their web site (above).
California Air Resources Board / Indoor Air Quality & Personal Exposure Assessment Program
Ozone-generating Air Cleaners
o Draft Air Cleaner Regulation Released for Comment.
The revised draft regulation to limit ozone emissions from indoor air cleaning devices has been posted at It would require all indoor air cleaning devices used in occupied spaces to be certified by ARB, based on passing a 50 ppb ozone emission concentration test protocol, with a few exceptions. Two public workshops were conducted, in March and June, to discuss the draft regulation and obtain comments. Written comments on the most current draft regulation are now due July 2,. In developing the draft regulation, we met with a number of groups such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, and Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc., all of whom have provided much useful information. Additionally, UL has been very helpful in moving to complete the updated Clarification of their Section 37 ozone emissions test protocol and move it through the ANSI standards review process, so that it can be used for the ARB regulation. We anticipate taking the regulation to the September Board meeting for approval. Effective dates would be a September 30 manufacturing date, and a March 30, sales date.
o Final Report on Ozone-generating Air Cleaner Survey.
On December 14th, ARBs Research Screening Committee
unanimously approved the draft final report describing a telephone survey of
more than 2,000
ARB-funded Field Studies
o New Home Field Study.
In a study of the
relationship between ventilation and indoor air quality, Indoor Environmental
Engineering recently completed field sampling of over 120 new, single-family
homes in northern and southern
o Indoor NO2 Monitor Field Measurements.
ARB staff recently
completed field testing of a continuous indoor NO2 monitor in about
30 of the New Home Field Study homes in northern and southern
o
In early March,
ARB and CEC staff met with the investigators from UC Berkeley, LBNL, and UC Davis
and an external advisory group to kick-off the Phase I contract to study IAQ
and ventilation in small and medium commercial buildings (under 4 stories and
less than 50,000 square feet). These
types of buildings are the most common type of commercial building in
o Fact Sheet on Cleaning Products.
The indoor use of certain common cleaning products and air fresheners can cause an increase in indoor concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants. A fact sheet based on results discussed in the final study report, Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants, by Dr. Bill Nazaroff of UC Berkeley, is available at Findings indicated that when cleaning products were used in the presence of ozone, a high degree of reactive chemistry resulted. Measured reaction products from the terpene-ozone reaction included formaldehyde, ultrafine particulate matter, and hydroxyl radicals. Levels of formaldehyde and secondary organic aerosols produced from the reactions were significant when compared to health-based guidelines. However, there are many actions that can be taken to reduce exposures. See for the full study report.
We participated in a two-day symposium on research needs and priorities for indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which was sponsored and convened by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The workshop focused on indoor exposures and health. ARB staff participated in panels on research priorities for IEQ in classrooms, and on opportunities and strategies for advancing IEQ research. Presentations from the workshop are available on the web at
We participated in a workshop sponsored by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (LBNL) scientists to discuss and develop options to encourage
Peggy Jenkins, with Jed Waldman from DHS, presented information on
Indoor Air Quality and Job Performance at the Green California Summit held in
Michael ONeil ()
Check their web site (above).
Sandra McNeel ()
Strategic Plan to Address Asthma in
Asthma Surveillance. California Breathing is in the process of
updating the County Asthma Profiles which are 1-page documents of
county-specific asthma data for each of the 58 counties in
Housing Symposium. California
Asthma Partners, a program of California Breathing, convened a symposium
entitled Healthy Housing for California:
Using Code Enforcement to Reduce the Impact of Asthma on December 8,
. The first gathering of its kind,
it brought together
Mini-Grants for Asthma. CB staff members are in the process of putting together a mini-grants program on asthma and housing. They will be awarding 5-6 grants of up to $15,000 in the fall of and. The grants will focus on multi-unit rental properties, especially those with a predominance of low income tenants. CB is also organizing a new advisory committee to help guide their work on housing.
Burden of Asthma in
Starlight Tool Kit Trainings. Early in, California Breathing sponsored nine trainings across the state focused on increasing utilization of the Starlight Asthma Tool Kit for Schools (Tool Kit), a unique resource for schools designed to educate school staff about asthma and about asthma management in the school site. A key idea presented in the Tool Kit is that all staff have a role to play in reducing environmental triggers. As a result, the Tool Kit focuses special attention on describing strategies that improve indoor air and supports implementation of the U.S. EPA's Tools for Schools. By attending the training, school nurses were able to spend time discussing these strategies and ways to communicate their importance to other school personnel. Almost 300 people participated in these trainings.
Mini Grants to address Asthma Disparities Among African Americans. Two projects funded by California Breathing's Mini Grant program focus on indoor air quality issues. INMED/Mothernet LA is providing home assessments as part of their case management to their enrolled families for this round of mini grants. Healthy African American Families II is being funded to work with property owners to develop and distribute a toolkit aimed at educating property owners on asthma triggers in home environments, specifically multi-unit housing.
Jed Waldman ()
The New State Department of Public Health. On July 1, the State Department of Health Services is being reorganized to elevate the visibility and importance of public health issues in the policy arena. The result will be creation of a Department of Public Health. The remaining programs will be consolidated in a Department of Health Care Services to increase accountability and improve program effectiveness for the public health and health care purchasing functions of state government. The mission of the Department of Public Health (CDPH) will be to protect and promote the health status of Californians through programs and policies that use population-wide interventions. Core functions in the new CDPH will include: Emergency Preparedness; Communicable Disease Control; Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention; Laboratory Sciences; Environmental and Occupational Health including Drinking Water, Environmental Management, Food, Drug and Radiation Safety; Health Statistics; and Health Facility Licensure and Certification. Look for our web site under as well as new email addresses starting soon.
Collaborative
for High Performance Schools (CHPS). A face-to-face CHPS
meeting was held in
Credit option for other HVAC systems that have additional environmental features in addition to providing ventilation minimum (EQ 2.1);
Deck-to-deck partitions and separate exhaust for wood shops in schools (EQ 2.3);
Provision for CO2 monitors and for window open indicators (perhaps in EQ 4.0);
Increasing the stringency of the filtration requirements (EQ 2.0 P3 and EQ2.5).
There was also interest in considering improving criteria for paint to address carcinogens/ repro-toxicants as addressed in the Green Seal certification program and to consider acute exposure considerations. Additionally, the Full Tech committee asked the sub-group to consider adding green cleaners.
BIFMA Sustainability Standard. A two day BIFMA Sustainability Assessment Standard Stakeholder meeting was held on Tuesday, January 9 . The Human and Ecosystem Health Technical Workgroup presented among other credit language for two Furniture Emission Credits, 7.6.1 and 7.6.2. Credit 7.6.1 is aligned with the USGBC criteria (TVOC, Total aldehydes, formaldehyde and 4PC); and BIFMA SAS Credit 7.6.2 is aligned with the criteria found in the State of California bid specification referencing the Bid Specifications Appendix list of maximum acceptable individual VOC limits that are the CREL limits. Both 7.6.1 and 7.6.2 were structured and agreed upon by the workgroup to require testing using the BIFMA M7.1 as the core test protocol. The committee includes members from Steelcase Inc., Herman Miller, Interface Fabrics, Victor Innovatex, NAIMA, US EPA, MI DEQ, Northern Virginia Community College, Cal/EPA OEHHA, and CARB.
Emission Testing for Formaldehyde from Composite Wood. A CARB Stationary Source Division contract to collaborate through an interagency agreement is in its final signature step at DGS. The contract includes CDHS-IAQ assisting in testing composite wood products for formaldehyde emissions in support of their proposed airborne toxic control measure (ATCM) to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. And in assisting in certifying CARBs small test chambers to be used for their routine testing of wood products as part of enforcement of the ATCM. In particular testing will include:
1. Assisting CARB in defining a small chamber test method to identify non-compliant products for enforcement of the ATCM CDHS will compare large chamber test results to small chamber test results to establish a correlation factor.
2. Assisting CARB in developing a test to identify non-compliant finished goods CDHS will compare small chamber test results of a raw board versus boards laminated on one-side to establish a correlation.
3. Assisting CARB in determining test preparation steps for finished goods, CDHS will investigate how varying amounts of surface layer removal affects the rate of formaldehyde emissions for particleboards.
4. Assisting CARB in developing a field screen test CDHS will compare and correlate testing results from the FLEC test compared to the small chamber test.
5. Assisting CARB in quality control assessments of chamber testing, CDHS will participate in a round robin for comparative testing of raw boards with other certified labs, organizations and manufacturers performing large and small chamber tests.
The Complete Htory (so far).
Note: This is the re-issued bid that was first released March 10, (see CIWG/MIN_0607.htm#IAQ).
A detailed road map of required submittals.
Clarification that small chamber testing could be conducted for Section 2.1 and 2.2 requirements.
Clarified use of the most current BIFMA M 7.1 standard.
Deleted requirement for 3rd party certification documents for Section 2.1.
Clarified that Lab reports were required for 2.1 and 2.2.
Clarified that a ventilation rate to ASHRAE 62.1- was required in Greenguard testing.
Clarified use of units of time in hours not days.
On April 3rd, Response-to-Bidder questions were issued, affirming that IAQ Laboratory Test Reports were required to be submitted to show compliance with the USGBC requirements for the IAQ Section 2.1 specification requirements. Also it was affirmed that test data needed to be dated within one year from the bid due date. Also the letter noted that the IAQ emissions were not expected to be affected by the required glass recycled content since glass does not contain any VOCs.
On April 11th, Addendum #6 was issued, extending the due date to April 18th. The CAD drawings of the workstation configurations were modified and reissued within the IAQ specification. (These are used for pricing only).
The IFB closed on April 18,.
From May 9-11, bid evaluation by subject matter
experts was held in
Plans for a New bid. DGS plans to re-bid with revised requirements by July 2nd with a Bidders conference on July 24th. Draft bids will then be collected without pricing by August 14th and DGS will provide bidders with evaluation on bid defects by August 22nd. The Final bid due date with pricing will be collected on August 28th and DGS (and SMEs) evaluation and recommendation will be prepared by September 7th for contract Award by September 14th.
Commissioning the CDHS-IAQ Environmental Chamber. We are in the process of the commissioning the DHS-IAQ large room sized chamber to meet the research requirements for multiple projects. Currently, we are modifying the operation of the facility according to ASTM Standard E1333 (American Society for Testing and Materials).
The large room chamber is constructed of inert, smooth surfaces with stainless steel. All joints and openings are sealed. All seals are made of non-VOC emitting and non-VOC adsorbing/absorbing materials. The air within the chamber is free of any obstructions or contamination such as humidifiers or refrigeration coils. Internally mounted fan is used to keep the chamber air well mixed. The internal chamber air only comes in contact with inert materials. We did a series of background VOCs sampling to confirm that the surfaces and seals of the chamber are sufficiently clean. Air concentrations were measured for individual VOCs <10 g/m3 and for formaldehyde at the levels below 3 g/m3 (2 ppb). We plan to do additional measurements to verify that the surfaces are chemically inert, i.e., chemicals are not lost to the walls or are re-emitted over time.
Air is supplied to the chamber using a single pass system. The target air exchange rate for the chamber is 0.5 0.05 air changes per hour (ACH). To control the air flow rate, we can vary the speed of supply and return air fans and the opening status of dampers. Chamber air exchange rates are calculated from tracer gas decay measurements. An inert tracer gas (SF6) is introduced into the chamber with the inlet air over a short period of time (1 to 10 min). The chamber air concentration of the tracer gas is then measured over time at two or three locations within the chamber. The current configuration of the ventilation control system has made it a challenge to make direct flow measurement, given the low target rate (10 cfm). The inlet air supply to the chamber will be monitored continuously and maintained at a constant temperature and humidity of 23 2 C and 50 5% RH. We are also working on the automatic control of the system and data logging. Below are the Specifications for the Environmental Chamber:
|
Physical Structure of the Chamber |
|
|
Interior Size |
12 12 8 ft3 ~ 1300 ft3 ~ 36 m3 |
|
Chamber Door |
Openable from both sides with a glazed window |
|
Interior Insulation |
With a high density polyurethane foam |
|
Interior Surface |
Constructed from stainless steel |
|
Interior Outlet |
3 for 115 Volts, 1 for 230 Volts |
|
|
2 on each sidewall |
|
Air-Tight |
With pressure difference across chamber envelope ~ 2 water, the expected leakage less than 0.5 ft3 /min |
Ventilation System |
|
|
Clean Air Flow Rate |
(12.5 CFM ~ 375 CFM) |
|
Air Exchange Rate |
(0.5 hr-1, 17 hr-1) |
|
Clean Air Condition |
Temp: (60F ~ 100F) 1 F Relative Humidity: (30%~ 100%) 5% Circulation: (0% ~100%) |
|
Sensor Location |
Outdoor airstream, Supply airstream, exhaust airstream |
|
Duct |
Stainless steel or PVC |
|
Filter for Supply Air |
HEPA, Charcoal |
|
Supply Fan/ Return Fan |
1~ 1.5 HP |
|
Inlet Location inside Chamber |
Supply: Sidewall, Return: Ceiling |
|
Operation |
A: vary supply air flow rate by changing speed of the supply fan, B: vary the ratio of outdoor/ recirculation air using dampers |
|
Note: the chamber system is separated from the building VAC system |
|
Tire Derived Flooring Study. The release of the Study Final Report was delayed to address comments raised by the projects Advisory Group. The new release date is expected in early July.
Definition of VOC for Paint Certification. The Canadian eco-label Terra Choice accepted CDHS recommended comment to modify the definition of VOC in their Paint certification (CCD 166). The former definition was:
VOC means volatile organic compound and is any organic compound which participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions to create smog. It excludes those organic compounds which the ECP designates as having negligible photochemical reactivity.
The revised list of indoor VOCs is broader, as follows:
VOC means volatile organic compound and is any organic compound which participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions to create smog and / or contribute to poor indoor air quality. VOCs include carbon containing compounds (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides and carbonates and ammonium carbonate) with vapor pressure >0.01 KPa at 20C.
Ventilation Standards in CA Title 24. In May, Leon Alevantis submitted comments to the California Energy Commission on their proposed Multiple Zone System Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV) for the Energy Code revision. He raised concerns about height, commissioning, and maintenance requirements for CO2 sensors. He also requested that CEC prohibit DCV in high occupancy applications, such as call centers. Cal/OSHA staff submitted written comments regarding DCV proposals.
California Department of Health Service / Occupational Health Branch
-- Liz Katz ()
Cosmetics and Hazardous Chemicals. The California Safe Cosmetics Act of is a law designed to assist consumers and workers who use cosmetic products in getting information about potentially hazardous chemicals contained in these products. The Act requires cosmetics manufacturers to disclose to the California Department of Health Services all products that contain ingredients known to cause cancer or birth defects and other reproductive harm. The California Safe Cosmetics Program (CSCP) was established to collect this information and make it available to the public and is managed OHB. The DHS (CDPH) Division of Food, Drug and Radiation Safety is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Act.
This information will allow workers, employers, and consumers to make informed decisions about products they purchase and use. All users could potentially benefit if manufacturers voluntarily remove hazardous ingredients from their products. The program will also convene meetings of health advocates, manufacturers, regulators, and other interested parties to promote collaborative efforts to improve product safety.
Developing a Regulation to Protect Workers from Exposure to Heat Indoors. The OHB has been working with others in DHS and Cal/OSHA to track heat fatalities, both occupational and residential, and to determine associated factors. This effort is in support of Cal/OSHAs development of regulatory proposal designed to protect workers from heat illness in indoor environments. Inclusion of office workers in the scope of the proposal is a possibility. A regulation protecting workers outdoors went into effect in.
New Publications
N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) is an unregulated solvent that was developed to replace methylene chloride and other solvents that harm the environment. It is used in an increasing number of paint strippers, graffiti removers, and special-purpose cleaning products. HESIS has published the Advisory to warn that NMP may be toxic to the developing fetus and may reduce fertility in men and women. The Advisory lists products that contain NMP and safer substitutes that protect workers, consumers, and the environment. This publication was developed as a part of an EPA Pollution Prevention grant-funded project.
Methylene chloride is a solvent that can harm the brain and the heart, and cause cancer. It also contributes to air pollution. The fact sheet lists products that contain methylene chloride, and describes how it is used in specific job tasks and industries. The publication describes safer alternatives that protect workers and the environment, as well as basic requirements of the comprehensive Cal/OSHA methylene chloride standard.
The HESIS has issued a Health Hazard Alert
to warn workers, employers and health care providers about the dangers of
diacetyl, a chemical used in many food flavorings. Exposure to diacetyl
can cause bronchiolitis obliterans, a serious lung disease that can result in
permanent lung damage and even death. Workers from two
This new edition of the popular factsheet highlights changes made to the Cal/OSHA Sanitation Standard to address mold hazards and provides up-to-date resources for workers and employers. The factsheet explains the health effects of mold, how to know if mold is present, and what to do if you find mold in your workplace. Special audiences include teachers, office workers and others who work in indoor environments and their employers.
California Department of Health Service / Radon Program
-- George Faggella ()
Check their web site (above).
California Department of Health Service / Tobacco Control Section
-- Joanne Wellman-Benson, RDH, MPH ()
Multi-Unit
Housing Workgroup. The workgroup continues to meet monthly to
assist in the development and implementation of strategies to increase the
number of voluntary and legislative policies related to smoke-free multi-unit
housing in
Latino Renters Survey.
In September, the
Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership and the American Lung Association
of Californias Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing
jointly released Latino Renters Survey: Attitudes about Secondhand Smoke in
Apartments. The results from the first-ever survey of
Secondhand Smoke Media. California Department of Health Services released a comprehensive package of anti-tobacco advertising, including ads exposing the dangers of drifting secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing. Media forms include, television, radio and print ads targeting Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, African-American and general market audiences. Several ads address drifting tobacco smoke in apartments as a health risk.
Workplace Smoking Policy. Assembly Bill (Oropeza) was signed by the Governor in September . The bill amends Government Code (Section 7596) and Labor Code (Section 6404.5) in order to clarify the smoking banned in the following places of employment: lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms. AB also includes buildings attached to parking lot, although the parking lot itself remains exempt from the prohibition.
Anti-smoking Legislation.
Secondhand
Smoke Policy Database. A Prop 99 funded agency, The California Clean
Air Project ()
has developed a secondhand smoke policy database with an extensive collection
of ordinances, statewide laws, and selected voluntary secondhand smoke policies
in
Housing Tax credit: Language is being proposed by the Tax Credit Allocation Committee to include 1 point on developers applications to include non-smoking sections in apartments. The proposed language (January 18,) is given as:
The proposed project will contain nonsmoking buildings or sections of buildings. Nonsmoking sections must consist of at least half the units within the building, and those units must be contiguous. 1 point
To receive these points, the applicant and the project architect or mechanical engineer must certify in the application, which of the items will be included in the projects design and specifications, and further must certify at the projects placed-in-service date that the items have been included and/or that the energy efficiency standard has been met or exceeded. Projects receiving points under this category that fail to meet the requirement will be subject to negative points under Section 10325(c)(3) above.
The proposed regulations for the CTCAC application process do not change or delete the availability of this point. In, CTCAC had a total of 150 applicants for the tax credit. Of these applicants, 43 utilized the available smoke-free housing point. Of the 150 applicants, only 60 were awarded the tax credit. See
California Department of Industrial Relations (Cal/OSHA)
--Bob Nakamura ()
Heat Illness prevention in indoor workplaces. The Division adopted General Industry Safety Order Section 3395 to address heat illness in outdoor places of employment on July 27,. Currently, the Division is considering the issue of heat illness in indoor work settings. As a followup to the advisory meetings and adoption of the heat illness, the Division has held a meeting to consider the issue of heat illness in indoor work settings. The first meeting was held on October 26, , and the last meeting was on March 29,.
Permissible Exposure Limit revision process. The Division has convened several advisory meetings to discuss the Divisions process for reviewing existing PELs and the factors for determining if a PEL will be revised. The most recent meeting was held on December 13, to discuss the procedures for adopting revisions. The next meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, 10 a.m. Elihu Harris State Building 1515 Clay Street, Room 1304 Oakland.
Aerosol transmissible diseases. The Division has convened 12 advisory meetings to develop a standard to address occupational exposures to diseases that are transmitted as aerosols, with the last meetings conducted in May. The draft standard is being prepared for public notice later this year by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.
Indoor Air Quality review. The Division is in reviewing proposals for the next revision of the California Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Refer to Division personnel have identified several concerns about the proposals in the Workshops that have been conveyed to the California Energy Commission, and are currently under discussion with CEC.
Detailed information about these and other current DOSH regulatory activities can be found on the Divisions website at:
-- Obed Odoemelam ()
PIER Program Research Write-up. The Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program provides substantial funding on a wide range of energy-related topics. Among these are Indoor Air Quality and Building Engineering. Below are the projects under Indoor Air Quality, plus the topic areas listed under Customer Energy Use/Commercial and Residential. Research write-ups for CEC projects can be found on-line at
Environmental Effects of Energy Activities
Air Quality
Indoor Air Quality
Develop R&D Plan for PIER Buildings Team for Indoor Air Quality
Development of Portable Ambient and Indoor Air Monitors
Energy-Related Indoor Environmental Quality Research: Analyses of Building Characteristics and Indoor Environmental Quality in California Classrooms
Energy-Related Indoor Environmental Quality Research: New Homes Field Study and Survey
Energy-Related Indoor Environmental Quality Research: Office Equipment
Energy-Related Indoor Environmental Quality Research: Small and Medium Commercial Buildings Field Study and Survey
Envelope and IAQ Interactions
Improved Prediction of Indoor Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution in Apartment and Commercial Buildings
Plant Multimedia Toxics Characterization - Target 107
Simplified Models for Particulate Dispersion in Buildings
-- Kathy Frevert ()
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment / Indoor Air Risk Assessment Group
-- Richard Lam ()
-- Janice Kim ()
Report on health risks related to play surfaces made from recycled waste tires.. OEHHA recently finished a study to explore the potential health risks to children of using outdoor playground and track surfaces constructed from recycled waste tires. These types of play surfaces are also used in indoor gymnasiums and playgrounds. The study was conducted under contract with the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). The Janurary report, Evaluation of Health Effects of Recycled Waste Tires in Playground and Track Products is available online: . Other tire-related publications are also available on the CIWMB web site:
Health Criteria for School Site Risk Assessment. California Health and Safety Code Section 901(g) requires OEHHA to evaluate and publish, as appropriate, numerical health guidance values for those chemicals that could be encountered at school sites and may adversely impact the health of school children. The latest reports are on (a) Manganese and pentachlorophenol, and (b) Blood lead,
Investigation
and Cleanup of a Residential Complex.
OEHHA conducted an examination of remedial actions used in the
investigation and clean-up of the Midway Village Residential Complex in
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) listed under Proposition 65. ETS was added to the list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity, under Proposition 65 effective June 9, . See . Information on secondhand smoke and childrens health, including pamphlets in English and Spanish, are posted at .
Recognition, Management, and Reporting of Pesticide Illness. OEHHA, with Department of Pesticide Regulations, and the Center of Occupational & Environmental Health (UC), and California Office of Bi-national Border Health (CDHS) prepared a 60-minute training course, primarily designed for physicians and nurses. It defines the terms "pest" and "pesticide"; presents an overview of pesticide types; defines "pesticide illness"; and provides guidance on how to recognize and manage commonly encountered pesticide illnesses. It also presents case examples and outlines reporting requirements for medical providers. The course can be accessed for free at: .
Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). Effective September , the Proposition 65 Maximum Allowable Dose Levels MADLs for DEHP by the oral route of exposure have been set at 410 micrograms/day (μg/day) for adults, 58 μg/day for infant boys and 20 μg/day for neonatal boys. These values are based on the male reproductive effects of DEHP observed in animal studies. As specified in regulation, when the applicable reproductive effect is upon the male, the MADL is calculated based on a human body weight of 70 kg. Accordingly, age-specific MADLs have been calculated for infant and neonatal boys based on body weights of 10 and 3.5 kg, respectively. DEHP is mainly used as a plasticizer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the manufacture of a wide variety of consumer products for building construction, automobiles, home, clothing, toys and medical devices. See
Changes in management. Bill Fisk, Head of the IED, was appointed as Acting Director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD. Tom McKone has become the acting Department Head (until a new Division Director is appointed, and Bill returns).
Symposium on Indoor Environmental Quality. March 29-30, the LBNL-IED hosted a workshop to inaugurate a new series focused on indoor environmental quality. The goal is to make these workshops for both researchers working at the leading edge of their fields, as well as research program managers, building professionals, and representatives of related industries and interest groups. The symposium agenda, along with the presentations (PPTs), are available on the LBNL web-site:
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences
and Children's Environmental
-- Andrea Hricko
Check their web sites (below):
-- Debbie Decker ()
Check their web site (above).
-- Barbara Spark ()
-- Shelly Rosenblum ()
-- Louise Hill ()
IAQ Tools for Schools Activities. The EPA Region 9 Indoor Environments Team
has been working with a variety of new and continuing partners on often
multi-partner activities to advance implementation of IAQ management plans in
Schools/CAFA
and/or CTA project. Shelly
Rosenblum provided "Tools for Schools" (IAQ TfS) trainings for
members of the
Training for Tribes. The EPA sponsored American Lung
Association's Tribal Hands-On Indoor Air Training is being held at the Hopland
Tribe in
Presentation to state legislators. Barbara Spark provided a detailed talk on IAQ Tools for Schools and EPA's Healthy SEAT program - and the reasons why school districts do or don't adopt these programs - at the Council of State Government (CSG) health policy forum, "Asthma and Respiratory Health: Policy Approaches to Create Asthma-Friendly Environments, May 3-5, in San Diego. The very engaged audience included seventeen state senators and representatives from fifteen states and territories. They asked a lot of questions about mold.
New publication on achieving improved
school IAQ. Envisioning
Excellence: Lessons from
Other TfS training. Among other such events, Shelly Rosenblum provided TfS workshops for the California Breathing project to help develop the Mendocino County Asthma Coalition; and well as the CAFA/S.F. Asthma Coalition TfS project at San Francisco USD.
IAQ Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS)
National Symposium. Shelly
Rosenblum and Barbara Spark attended the 7th Annual TfS Symposium in
National Education Association
(NEA) Pre-TfS Symposium training. Barbara Spark provided EPA's welcoming
talk to more than 100 members of NEA at the all-day pre-Symposium training on
December 6, in
IAQ Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS)
National Symposium. Registration
opens June 8, for this year's symposium, December 6-8, to take place
in
EPA National Asthma Forum, May
31-June 1,
CTA Healthy Air Healthy Kids IAQ project. A major new player was added in October when The California Endowment awarded a grant to the California Teachers Association "Teachers for Healthy Kids" program to fund their new "Healthy Air, Healthy Kids" project. In this statewide initiative, CTA will raise awareness of its members about school IAQ, and steps that they can take to avoid asthma triggers and encourage adoption of constructive IAQ policies and practices. IAQ Tools for Schools is included where Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA) coalitions are working on this objective. Along with RAMP/CAFA staff, we have been participating in the workgroup which is providing technical advice, as well as planning and helping to implement this project. Coordinators for CTA are consultants Janis Nielsen and Hellan Dowden.
EPA HealthySEAT. HealthySEAT Version 2 Beta is now available for testing and comment until June 20,.
EPA sponsored national asthma
network. The Communities in Action for Asthma-Friendly Environments
Network website,
has undergone substantial revision and upgrading. Seventeen
Memorandum of Understanding to Reduce Health Risks from Secondhand smoke. The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve the quality of life for Head Start and Early Head Start families nationwide. The MOU establishes a framework between EPA's Indoor Environments Division (IED) and the HHS' Office of Head Start (OHS). The agencies intend to work together to conduct nationwide outreach to nearly a million families in an effort to deliver health risk reduction messages related to secondhand smoke and other environmental asthma triggers. Activities of the MOU can be read at:
Region 9 Grants. The Request for Proposals, Funding Opportunity Indoor Environments: Reducing Public Exposure to Indoor Pollutants, deadline for applications was June 8,.
Region
9 IAQ Web Page. We have added an
IAQ page to the Region 9 web site. A current highlight is a story about IAQ
Tools for Schools at
-- Philip P. Jalbert ( )
The February meeting of the CIAQ featured a presentation by the National Institute of Building Sciences and National Access Board: Factors Affecting Access to Buildings by People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Electromagnetic Sensitivities. The June meeting featured presentations on the Greenguard Environmental Institutes Indoor Air Quality Product Certification and Labeling Programs and Reduced Energy Use Through Reduced Indoor Contamination In Residential Buildings. More information, upcoming agendas and past presentations can be found at
Upcoming meetings of the CIWG-IAQ are scheduled as follows:
September 12
December 12
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