You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2011.
Green is great - as long as IAQ is being considered as well.
A new Institute of Medicine report says that the recent green building boom may have a negative impact on the average new construction’s indoor air quality.
Untested new materials, airtight construction for energy efficiency and other building retrofits could either limit or alter the air flow inside buildings and it could lead to the accumulation of indoor air pollutants such as chemical emissions. Prolonged exposure may cause Sick Building Syndrome and other health effects.
Among the problems outlined in the report were indoor dampness which can lead to active mold growth, poor ventilation, excessive temperatures and emissions from building materials and equipment such as improperly placed back-up power generators.
Government agencies and other organizations are developing and promoting protocols to evaluate emissions from furnishings, building materials, and appliances, but more needs to be done to make prevention of health problems a priority, the report says.
“America is in the midst of a large experiment in which weatherization efforts, retrofits, and other initiatives that affect air exchange between the indoor and outdoor environments are taking place and new building materials and consumer products are being introduced indoors with relatively little consideration as to how they might affect the health of occupants,” said committee chair John D. Spengler, from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
“An upfront investment to consider the consequences of these actions before they play out and to avoid problems where they can be anticipated will yield benefits in health and in averted costs of medical care, remediation, and lost productivity.”
The report calls for updated building codes and standards for ventilation as well as regular testing.
Worried about IAQ, lost productivity and employee health and safety?
Electrocorp designs portable and HVAC-compatible air filtration systems to improve indoor air quality in office buildings, schools and universities, bars and restaurants and any buildings or businesses where odors, chemicals and particles are a concern.
Contact one of Electrocorp’s air quality experts to find out more about the most complete air cleaners with large activated carbon plus HEPA filters for commercial and industrial uses.
Wildfires have a long-lasting effect on the environment and human health.
Wildfires leave much more behind than fire-scarred buildings, ash and a swath of destruction.
As homeowners and business owners all over North America return to the regions that were affected by wildfires raging in Utah, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Alaska and Alberta (see AllerAir‘s Q&A blog post), experts are worried about the environmental legacy they will encounter.
“If there’s a really heavy fire and you burn up plastic … you’ll end up with some of that residual, partially burnt plastic in the soil,” said Anne Naeth, a biologist and expert in land reclamation at the University of Alberta, in a recent article from The Canadian Press.
Not only were houses and businesses burnt to the ground, wildfires also claimed vehicles, gas stations and other sources of inorganic and organic toxins.
Many of those compounds, including zinc, lead, mercury, copper, cadmium from burned wiring, piping, auto parts, broken lights and thermometers; dioxins and furans from burning tires; PCBs and PAHs, probably phthalates and polybrominated compounds from other burned plastics, upholstery, etc may dissipate quickly, experts say.
Exposure to heavy metals a concern
However, the article cites one of the few studies done on the environmental impact of wildfires in residential areas, which suggests that heavy metals will probably stick around. The U.S. Geological Survey looked into what happened after fires in southern California roared through residential developments in 2007.
“For arsenic, lead and antimony, concentrations in one or both of the residential composite ash samples approach or exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency residential soil preliminary remediation guidelines,” the report says.
The study also found elevated levels of chromium. As well, it found the remaining ash was so alkaline it was caustic — significantly more so than ash from woodland fires.
Exposure to heavy metals has been linked with developmental retardation, various cancers and kidney damage.
Environmental experts also voiced concerns about damaged soil, since the heat bakes the clay component of dirt almost as if firing it in a kiln, leaving it unable to absorb water.
Source: Canadian Press
Indoor air quality may suffer after wildfire
Wildfire smoke poses a very serious health risk as 80 to 90% of wildfire smoke is within the fine particle range. These fine particles are generally less than 2.5 microns in diameter and can penetrate deep into the body.
An increase in this type of airborne particulate matter has been linked to numerous health problems including headaches, nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, strokes and heart attacks.
Children, pregnant women, those suffering from existing respiratory conditions and older adults are even more susceptible to the effects of wildfire smoke particulate.
Smoke can also travel far beyond the main burn zone. Studies show that even a small increase in airborne fine particulate matter can affect overall health.
Air cleaners for better indoor air quality
AllerAir and Electrocorp offer air filtration systems with high efficiency particle filters and deep-bed activated carbon filters to remove harmful chemicals, particles and odors associated with tobacco and wildfire smoke.
Clients can choose from powerful air purifiers for the home and office to industrial-strength units for use in various commercial and industrial applications.
Call 1-866-667-0297 to contact Electrocorp.
Related articles
- Slave Lake soil being tested for toxins after wildfires (thestar.com)
- Bad air quality forecast for much of NC (charlotte.news14.com)
- Wildfires Burn Across Texas (shoppingblog.com)
- Extreme Weather Affects Indoor Air Quality (webmd.com)
Vapor intrusion can harm people's health and property values, a lawsuit claims.
Toxic vapors entering homes and buildings are not only damaging to human health, they can also hurt property values, according to one recently filed lawsuit.
Three law firms have filed a class action lawsuit in Madison County, alleging a 1986 Shell Oil Co. benzene spill and intrusion into residences have damaged the groundwater and reduced the value of people’s homes.
Property values have dropped, and residents cannot sell their homes, leaving them “trapped in their homes,” the suit claims.
Most previous lawsuits involving chemical or benzene spills have concentrated on seeking damages for serious health effects, including cancer.
This lawsuit claims that benzene and other poisonous hydrocarbons have contaminated the groundwater and the soil underneath the village of Roxana. This plume of toxins has destroyed the value of the real estate in Roxana and has placed in serious jeopardy the health of Roxana’s residents, it says.
The benzene in the groundwater exposes the Roxana residents to benzene vapor intrusion into their homes, attorney Chris Dysart said.
The complaint alleges that among the toxic chemicals released, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency documented the release of 8,400 gallons of pure benzene in 1986 from an underground pipeline that extended from the Wood River Refinery in Roxana to a barge-loading facility on the Mississippi River.
The complaint alleges that the defendants did nothing to clean up or otherwise address the toxic chemicals, including benzene, for more than 20 years.
Source: The Telegraph
Vapor intrusion? The right air filtration systems can help clean the air
Along with other measures to minimize the risks of vapor intrusion in single or two-family dwellings, environmental consultants often turn towards air cleaners with specialized blends of granular activated carbon to purify the air.
Electrocorp works with environmental consultants, consulting firms, environmental agencies and companies to provide industrial-strength air filtration solutions that safely remove chemicals, gases, vapors, fumes and odors in indoor environments.
Our powerful, portable air filters come equipped with the deepest beds of granular activated carbon on the market and provide a cost-effective indoor air quality solution with proven technologies to help reduce human exposure to contaminants.
Electrocorp’s small footprint, high-performance air filtration systems become efficient mitigation allies for challenging vapor intrusion and soil remediation projects that involve single- or two-family dwellings.
RSU Series
Recommended air filtration systems include:
- RAP Series
- RSU Series
- Numerical Series (5000, 6000, 8000)
Electrocorp offers units with negative and positive pressure and with custom carbon blends to target specific airborne chemicals and vapors.
Our engineers and air quality experts are standing by to provide you with a customized air filtration system that works.
Contact us today for more information:
Toll free: 1-866-667-0297
Website: www.electrocorp.net
Inquiries: info@electrocorp.net
Related articles
- BP Gulf Coast Workers Experience Health Issues; BP Then and Now; A Follow up to Oil and Gas Companies Using Chemicals That can Effect our Nervous System and Cause Cancer since at Least Since 2005 (fredericacade.wordpress.com)
- Oil and Gas Continue to Pollute Madison County IL (mikesmusicdreams.wordpress.com)
- ‘The Ripple Effect’: New Book Examines Lasting Impact Of Industrial Pollution (EXCERPT) (huffingtonpost.com)
- Chemical found in crude oil linked to congenital heart disease (eurekalert.org)
Chemicals and fumes can be toxic.
Searchable databases on chemical toxicity and exposure data now available
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making it easier to find data about chemicals.
EPA is releasing two databases — the Toxicity Forecaster database (ToxCastDB) and a database of chemical exposure studies (ExpoCastDB) — that scientists and the public can use to access chemical toxicity and exposure data.
Improved access supports EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities of protecting Americans’ health by assuring the safety of chemicals and expanding the conversation on environmentalism.
“Chemical safety is a major priority of EPA and its research,” said Dr. Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development.
“These databases provide the public access to chemical information, data and results that we can use to make better-informed and timelier decisions about chemicals to better protect people’s health.”
ToxCastDB users can search and download data from over 500 rapid chemical tests conducted on more than 300 environmental chemicals.
ToxCast uses advanced scientific tools to predict the potential toxicity of chemicals and to provide a cost-effective approach to prioritizing which chemicals of the thousands in use require further testing. ToxCast is currently screening 700 additional chemicals, and the data will be available in 2012.
ExpoCastDB consolidates human exposure data from studies that have collected chemical measurements from homes and child care centers. Data include the amounts of chemicals found in food, drinking water, air, dust, indoor surfaces and urine.
ExpoCastDB users can obtain summary statistics of exposure data and download datasets. EPA will continue to add internal and external chemical exposure data and advanced user interface features to ExpoCastDB.
The new databases link together two important pieces of chemical research — exposure and toxicity data — both of which are required when considering potential risks posed by chemicals.
The databases are connected through EPA’s Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR), an online data warehouse that collects data on over 500,000 chemicals from over 500 public sources.
Users can now access 30 years worth of animal chemical toxicity studies that were previously only found in paper documents, data from rapid chemical testing, and various chemical exposure measurements through one online resource.
The ability to link and compare these different types of data better informs EPA’s decisions about chemical safety.
More information about the databases:
- ToxCastDB: http://actor.epa.gov/actor/faces/ToxCastDB/Home.jsp
- ExpoCastDB: http://actor.epa.gov/actor/faces/ExpoCastDB/Home.jsp
- ACToR: http://actor.epa.gov
Electrocorp's RAP Series: Powerful air cleaners
Electrocorp’s Radial Air Purifiers (RAP) series features some of the most versatile and effective air cleaners in the company’s diverse lineup of industrial-strength air purifiers.
The RAPs are available in different sizes, from 23.5” height x 12” diameter up to 62” height and 22” diameter. They feature a deep-bed activated carbon filter for the removal of chemicals, gases and odors as well as an electrostatic particle filter.
The powerful micro-HEPA + carbon combination gives these air cleaners an extensive adsorbent area, allowing them to capture odor-causing pollutants more efficiently than other units.
The RAP air cleaners can accommodate 15 to 120 pound activated carbon filters and can be customized even more with regards to the filter media and carbon blends.
Around-the-clock air cleaning
The RAP units are portable, free-standing, plug-and-go air purifiers with a round design for maximum efficiency. They are engineered for around-the-clock operation with a quiet, modern design.
The main body of the air purifier is covered by metal mesh housing, combining a large-volume air intake with robust and protective features.
The overall design and capabilities of the RAP Series makes these units the best choice for clients who need fast and effective chemical and odor relief and who are concerned about biological contaminants such as mold spores, bacteria and viruses, since the RAPs can also be equipped with a UV light.
Recommended industries for the RAP air filters:
- Individuals or companies who want a super-adsorbent unit and UV germicidal filtration
- Law Enforcement agencies
- Art Conservation and restoration
- Funeral Homes and Embalming
- Hospitals and Healthcare
- Laboratories
- Laser Engraving and Cutting
- Pulp and Paper Mills
- Equipment rental places
- Retirement Homes
- Schools and Universities
- Any commercial or industrial setting where odors, chemicals or gases are an issue (odor control)
Electrocorp is a leader in the research and development of complete and reliable air quality management solutions for industrial and commercial applications.
Our air filtration systems feature the most filtration media on the market for the most reasonable prices. For more information, visit electrocorp.net or call 1.888.667.0297.
Find out more about Electrocorp’s air filtration systems:
Electrocorp 