Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality

What Is an Effective Portable Air Cleaning Device?

Excerpt: “The use of portable air cleaning devices in residential settings has been steadily growing over the last 10 years. Three out of every 10 households now contain a portable air cleaning device. This increased use of air cleaners is accompanied by, if not influenced by, a fundamental belief by consumers that the air cleaners are providing an improved indoor air environment. However, there is a wide variation in the performance of air cleaners that is dependent on the specific air cleaner design and various indoor factors…Source control is and will always be the preferred approach to reduction of contaminants within an indoor setting, whereas air cleaning is representative of a supplemental means of managing airborne pollutants.”

citation: Shaughnessy, R.J., Sextro, R.G., What Is an Effective Portable Air Cleaning Device? A Review, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 3: 169–181, 2006

RBc: Source control is and will always be the preferred approach to reduction of contaminants within an indoor setting… repeat after me...Source control is and will always be the preferred approach to reduction of contaminants within an indoor setting. Work with interior designers and architects who get this basic concept.

Suggested reading:

• Particulate Matter
• Filter Fist-a Cuffs & Who is this MERV character?

WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: selected pollutants

Abstract: This book presents WHO guidelines for the protection of public health from risks due to a number of chemicals commonly present in indoor air. The substances considered in this review, i.e. benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, have indoor sources, are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. The guidelines are targeted at public health professionals involved in preventing health risks of environmental exposures, as well as specialists and authorities involved in the design and use of buildings, indoor materials and products. They provide a scientific basis for legally enforceable standards.

RBc: If you missed out on our three day HRAI IAQ course which covers this material, and want to sign up for 2011 - please drop us a line at info (at)healthyheating.com

In the meantime feel free to view our IAQ slides from the 2010 year.

 

Residential Indoor Air Quality Awareness Course

Residential Indoor Air Quality Awareness Course, November 23rd – 25th, 2010, Calgary, Ab.

This 3-day program is a condensed exploration into the numerous elements which influence Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in residential buildings. Participants will be introduced to the terms of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and its effect on health and wellness.

The PCA (Prevention, Correction and Avoidance) approach to IAQ is detailed though instruction on the building sciences for cold climates including various options in HVAC equipment and systems. The program also reviews the ASTM Standard D-7297-06, Standard Practice for Evaluating Residential Indoor Air Quality Concerns including a look at various instruments and instrumentation used by investigators.

Included with your registration fee is the 400 page course manual and access to all the instructor slides and the best part is the $200 NRCan subsidy is still available for this course! Seats are limited and filling fast.

Registration details.

Uponor to Host Indoor Air Quality Webinar - Monday, October 18th, 2010

 This one-hour presentation from the Healthy Heating webinar series takes design professionals and installation contractors through the basics of indoor air quality, including discussions about odors, minerals, gases, biological, and particulate matter. This Uponor hosted webinar is especially useful for the radiant cooling and heating contractor seeking to understand choices in floor coverings and benefits of dry surfaces for controlling dust mites and mold and the features of dedicated outdoor air systems for conditioning of ventilation air.

Details: Monday, October 18th, 2010,  back to back repeat programs at 11:00 a.m. CST and 1:00 p.m. CST. Register today.

NRC-IRC Preliminary Report on Ventilation Rates

“Our preliminary results indicate that there is a marked seasonal dependence of the air change rates and some of the measured IAQ parameters. Most of the pollutants were found to have higher concentrations in winter/fall, with the exception of formaldehyde and some organics (aldehydes and ketones). Our data for phase one of the field study indicates that on average the homes do not meet the nominal ventilation rate goal of 0.30 air changes per hour for residential buildings. Based on the PFT measurements, 74% of the homes do not achieve this ventilation rate during the winter/fall period.”

Source/credit and suggested reading: Preliminary Results from a Field Study Investigating the Impact of Ventilation Rates on Indoor Air Quality and the Respiratory Health of Asthmatic Children in Québec City

RBc: Our purpose at the Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality is to serves as a technical interpreter and consolidator of academic research done within the building sciences. So we’re constantly monitoring what comes out of academia or government research facilities. Our observations continue to support the statement that says, “there remains a major disconnect between research in housing (what should be) and the building industry (what gets assembled).” We also suggest that until health related elements defined by indoor environmental quality, remain under the construction umbrella based on a volunteer free market system IEQ will be judged by construction standards instead of health standards - ergo the disconnect will continue. Again it’s why we believe that elements of architecture, that being interior design and HVAC should be repositioned under the health care profession where they belong.

Suggested links:

• http://www.healthyheating.com/Definitions/HVAC.htm
• http://www.healthyheating.com/Definitions/healthyheating.htm.
• http://www.healthyheating.com/Definitions/enviro_ergo_def.htm
• http://www.healthyheating.com/IEQ_Radiant.htm
• http://www.healthyheating.com/HRAI_AGM_2010_Banff/HRAI_AGM_Robert_Bean_IAQ.htm