New Book Advocates Chemical-Free Cleaning - 01/30/11 10:57 AM
A newly published book by Vince Elliott, BS, MHS, describes how facilities can now be cleaned thoroughly, hygienically, at less cost, and with greater work productivity without the use of chemical cleaning agents.New Book Advocates Chemical-Free CleaningThe book, Extreme Green Cleaning, was introduced in November at the 2010 ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America trade show in Orlando.In it, Elliott writes that the professional cleaning industry is moving beyond conventional or green cleaning chemicals to emerging technologies that use plain tap water instead of chemicals.“This is what I call renewable, ‘chemical-free cleaning,’” says Elliott. “It means no cleaning residues are left on surfaces or … (0 comments)

Mold Self Test or Settling Plates - 01/09/11 11:44 AM
From Forensic Applications, Inc. via Facebook
It is unlikely that there is any mould testing gimmick more useless than a “settling plate.” A settling plate is simply a Petri dish. The Petri dish is opened and placed on a counter or in a room and left exposed for a predetermined amount of time. The lid is replaced and the “sample” is sent to a “laboratory.” In fact, it’s not a sample at all, and usually the “laboratory” is someone sitting in their basement sending out pre-printed “laboratory reports.”The settling plate method is used exclusively by charlatans and “mould testing” con-men. The … (0 comments)

Interstitial sampling, aka. The wall cavity air sample. - 01/09/11 11:10 AM
Post on Wall Sampling from Forensic Applications, Inc. via FacebookNowhere except in the “toxic mould industry” have so many Industrial Hygiene tools and techniques been perverted and abused. And amongst the most abused are the “size selective samplers” which have been commandeered by “certified mould inspectors” for their nefarious activities – which usually involve bamboozling home owners into believing they have a mould problem which can only be corrected by costly “remediation.”As legitimate Industrial Hygienists, mycologist, microbiologist, the US EPA, US Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, and a large number of State Health Departments have been cautioning consumers against … (2 comments)

Interstitial sampling, aka. The wall cavity air sampling - 01/09/11 11:04 AM
I have reviewed far too many reports that site an interstitial/wall cavity sample as the reason that a building or home requires extensive if not complete remediation. The cases brought to me have increase recently at an alarming rate. Some of these samples have been collected on homes and buildings on crawl spaces that were built as much as 75 years ago.
All of the reports that I have reviewed included very little background information and all had no elevated spore trap levels in the living/occupied space. A few identified elevated moisture but none identified the cause and origin of the … (0 comments)

THIS WEEK ON IAQ RADIO - 01/06/11 09:21 AM
The show will return January 7 with a review of the landscape for federal, state and local regulatory activity. The guest will be Doug Farquhar of the National Conference of State Legislators. Mr. Farquhar and the National Center specialize in assisting government and others determine what type of regulations is needed and how to interpret and work within the confines of existing regulations. It was an active year when it comes to regulatory changes and we will discuss the past, present and future of regulations pertaining to IEQ, disaster restoration and building science. Download the show at www.iaqradio.com
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NEW YORK STATE TASK FORCE ON MOLD COMPLETES REPORT - 01/06/11 09:20 AM
New York's task force on mold has submitted its final report to the Governor and Legislature. It found that evidence does not exist supporting clear distinctions between a category of "toxic mold" species versus other "non-toxic" mold species or between "toxic mold" health effects and health effects associated with other molds.http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/mold/task_force/docs/final_toxic_mold_task_force_report.pdf
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