ASHARE Considers HVAC Maintenance Standard

ACCA Issues Mold Position Statement

Are We Keeping Our Schools Clean Enough?

Word on the Street

• Voices: “That’s what they said about Iraq.”
  
  — Officer Hal Dalton, responding to the notion that the Annapolis Police Department building, temporarily shut down in June due to a mold problem, would be open to employees soon.
      
• Fungo Tango
  Rock star Ted Nugent was forced to move from a home after it was taken over by mold, the wife of the Motor City Madman told a local paper in July. The family’s troubles at the residence near Jackson, Mich., began with a leaky roof that apparently caused the mold growth. When Nugent returns from tour, he’ll be heading back to a cabin, so the “Cat Scratch Fever” singer had better hope his family doesn’t have cabin fever.
     
• Green Sox
  Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, one of the city’s strongest advocates for green cleaning, said he wants his town to be “the greenest city in America.” Cleaning & Maintenance Management News reported in June that Ashkin Group President Steve Ashkin was recently in Chicago to discuss implementing green projects in public schools and state and local offices. Part of the impetus comes from how common asthma is in the Windy City; the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago found that hospitalization for the respiratory condition there was double the national average in 2000.
     
• N.J. Schools Beware
  According to the Trenton Times newspaper, New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey is wary about creating a Healthy Schools Advisory Council to help coordinate seven state and two federal agencies that have a hand in school construction and safety. Environmental and educational groups recently held a news conference to complain that the state’s $8.6 billion school construction program poses safety and health hazards for students and employees. Rick Engler, executive director of the New Jersey Work Environmental Council, is coordinating a coalition of 80 groups to force the governor to create the council. The group says that many renovation projects at older schools in New Jersey are done while teachers and students are in the buildings, subjecting them to noise, dust and debris. Engler said creation of a state council would give parents and school employees an official avenue to report complaints about dangerous situations.
    
• CDC Revises Infection
  Control Guide
  The Guideline for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities, 2003 is now available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/enviro/guide.htm and contains the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. The report also reviews guidelines and standards from building and equipment professional organizations, including American Institute of Architects and ASHRAE, and it suggests a series of performance measurements as a means to evaluate infection-control effects.
     
• Move Over NYC
  Florida’s ban on smoking in indoor workplaces went into effect last month. Since smoking is already banned in stores, government buildings, theaters and most offices, the new law mainly affects restaurants and nightclubs. Violators of the ban will be fined $100 for the first offense and up to $500 for repeat offenses. However, outdoor patios, private social clubs and stand-alone bars with food accounting for less than 10 percent of sales will be exempt from the ban. Despite many years of opposition to the ban from the Florida Restaurant Association, voters approved it by 71 percent last November.
    
• National Parks Got Mold, Too
  Seems like every facility manager is dealing with mold lately, so why not the National Park Service. The St. Croix Falls National Scenic Riverway Visitor Center located in St. Croix Falls, Wis., recently hired BE&K/Terranext LLC of Birmingham, Ala., to conduct a mold damage assessment and provide recommended corrective actions. NPS is worried there’s mold in the HVAC system and interior furnishings at the 40-year-old riverfront facility. The center provides history and ecological details on the 252-mile scenic riverway, which serves an estimated 500,000 visitors each year. In a news release about the project, Kenneth Brooke, director of indoor air quality at Terranext, said mold remediation has boomed to a $500 million annual business in the U.S. alone. That’s no typo. Ka-ching!
     
• urine test for mold
  The Journal of Environmental Biology has published a scientific study titled “Clinical Confirmation of Trichothecene Mycotoxicosis in Patient Urine.” In the study, authors found inhalational mycotoxin disease in the apartments and homes of human test subjects and recommended testing the urine of patients suffering from symptoms or diseases related to indoor environments. Various tests, they say, could indicate trichothecene mycotoxins. The authors administered a wide range of tests to patients to identify this mycotoxin exposure; one autopsy even detected these mycotoxins in the body of the deceased. One method of locating these trichothecene mycotoxins is through urine extraction, the authors write. They even extracted some mycotoxins and injected them into rats, who then developed similar symptoms as experienced by humans.
    
• TDH CALLS ON IAQA
  The Texas Department of Health has until late October to implement new licensing regulations for mold assessment, remediation and training companies, as a result of the passage of Texas HB 329 this summer. TDH asked the Indoor Air Quality Association to assist by submitting draft language for a clearance standard, as well as IAQA's ideas for grandfathering provisions for training providers and remediators. IAQA officials say they are working hard to fulfill the state's requests.
     
• D.C. TO REGULATE REMEDIATION
  The Department of Health of the District of Columbia is preparing a proposed regulation to license mold remediators for the city council's consideration. Of primary concern is establishing training requirements for mold remediation workers. An Aug. 12 meeting with industry representatives to discuss the implications of such regulations has been scheduled.

The voting members of ASHRAE Technical Committee 1.7 (Operation and Maintenance Management) recommend that a standards project committee be established to develop what is being tentatively titled Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Mechanical Ventilation Systems.

The vote was taken July 1 at the regular committee meeting in Kansas City, Mo. Two other technical committees of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers formally endorsed formation of the committee to work toward drafting and publication of such a standard.

Under the policies that govern the operation of ASHRAE, the proposal will now go to the society Standards Committee, which may revise the title, purpose and scope before approving the recommendation, or it could reject the recommendation entirely.

As recommended by the Technical Committee, the three-fold purpose is:

1. to establish minimum inspection points and/or intervals for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and air cleaning (filtration) systems in commercial, residential (other than low-rise residential, e.g., three stories or less), institutional and public buildings;
2. to define maintenance required to
   minimize degradation of the building asset without compromising indoor air
   quality and other important operational conditions; and
3. to specify ventilation system periodic maintenance requirements for various types of occupied indoor spaces.

The Technical Committee recommends the following three-fold scope:

1. This standard contains requirements for commercial, institutional, public and residential (with the exceptions listed above) building spaces intended for human occupancy. Principles contained in this standard may also be applied to other spaces intended for human occupancy.
2. This standard considers both cleanliness and mechanical condition of system
   components.
3. This standard considers the impact of changes to the building and/or technology on the ability of the system to continue to meet system design criteria.

If the Standards and Technical committees concur with each other, then a standards project committee would be formed to operate under a set of detailed polices and procedures designed to remove bias and assure broad
and balanced input into development of the standard.

These include publication of the intention of ASHRAE to create a new standard, advertising for members to work on the committee and consideration of all applicants to assure balance on the committee between all of those who will eventually be impacted by the standard. This may include manufacturers, contractors, researchers, individuals from government agencies, and representatives of the general public, all of whom must be knowledgeable of the concepts needed to form the standard.

Once formed, the committee would establish its agenda – based on the final title, purpose and scope – and go to work. Once the committee has reached consensus, which may take years, the proposed standard must be reviewed and approved by the ASHRAE Board then be published for review and comments by the public. Following the review period, the committee would attempt to resolve or incorporate the comments received during the review. The time involved for this depends on the number and nature of comments received. If numerous substantial comments lead to significant change to the document, a second public review may be held before the document can be published as a final standard.

All of the above care is necessary because ASHRAE Standards are often incorporated into or referenced in building codes and laws and at a minimum represent the state of practice for the industry. They are often utilized during litigation to determine liability or negligence.

A standard of care for inspection and maintenance of HVAC systems has been discussed and debated for years. Poorly maintained systems waste enormous amounts of energy and fail to provide the comfortable and healthy indoor conditions they were designed to produce. Many of the IAQ problems that have been investigated over the past two decades have been traced back to maintenance failures.

For years, ASHRAE members declined to support development of a maintenance standard. They pointed out that the job of the engineer is to deliver designs that meet the needs of buildings and their occupants. It was the responsibility of others such as building owners or equipment manufacturers to mandate maintenance practices.

During the last several years, it has become increasingly evident that maintenance failures are having huge impacts. In addition, the problems related to such failures negatively impact the reputation of everyone including the design engineer, equipment manufacturer, and building owner. Many ASHRAE members recognize that the society has the resource base and skill set to produce such a standard. They also recognize that the need is great and it is unlikely that other organizations or professional
societies will step up and undertake the task.

Contractors who concentrate on freestanding homes are unlikely to see an immediate impact from the standard. This is because low-rise residences are excluded from its scope. Those involved with substantial commercial activity are likely to see a significant increase in demand for maintenance services. Building owners with limited staff resources are unlikely to be able to meet the standard and will turn to outside contractors.

Along with new business opportunity will come challenges. Contractors and their employees may have to acquire additional skills to meet whatever requirements result from the standard when it is finalized. The progress of this initiative will be something important for all of us to follow.

Bob Baker is a member of IAQA, ASHRAE and CSPA. He serves as chairman and CEO of BBJ Environmental Solutions Inc., a company specializing in providing the “standard of care for indoor air” through environmentally responsible products, such as the BBJ MicroBiocide® product family, BBJ Micro Coil Clean®, “FreshDuct Odor Eliminator®”, and BBJ Mold and Mildew Remover™ as well as the revolutionary new Power Coil Clean™. For additional information, Baker can be reached at (800) 889-2251 or through the company Web site at http://www.bbjenviro.com.

A position statement on mold was adopted June 27 by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, responding to coverage by the media purporting mold to be a problem. “We believe that excess moisture is the problem; mold is merely the ramification of that problem,” commented Glenn Hourahan, ACCA Vice President for Research and Technology.

“Uncontrolled mold growth should be recognized as a symptom of something wrong with a structure’s construction and/or operation,” Hourahan continued. “ACCA’s movement on this issue is a reflection of the times and the hysteria surrounding mold litigation and the potential cost such misinformation can incur,” he said. “We’re primarily concerned with the lack of hard research in the building sciences that might link mold exposure to potential human health risk, because despite this lack of evidence, there are growing calls for the government to legislate some kind of response. … Regulatory actions – indeed, action undertaken by the private sector as well – should aim at controlling the building moisture problem, not moderating secondary symptoms.”

Discussing the impact of the newly adopted mold position, Hourahan said it “functions not just as a public statement of our association’s belief but [also] as guidance for staff in implementing the policies through work with industry as well as government sectors.”

Just after ACCA made its position known, Hourahan provided IE Connections with some insight as to how the statement was built. “ACCA staff have been working closely with our board members and a wide number of association members, engineers, and others with an interest in the building moisture problem,” he said. “[Because ACCA is] a member-driven association, the policy framework evolved as it moved through each step of the approval process. Ultimately, the Board of Directors had intimate involvement with, and final approval of, the position statement.

“Our board chose to highlight actions, some immediate and some long-term, that practitioners and building industry tradespeople should embrace in order to control moisture problems. They also offered benchmarking steps which need federal government support if the building community is to achieve them. Most importantly, the board policy recognizes that building owners and operators bear strong responsibility in maintaining their facilities, controlling moisture, and calling in experts to resolve problems before they get out of hand.”

The Position in Full
Mold is a naturally occurring element of nature. Without mold, the environment would be overwhelmed with dead organic matter. Nevertheless, for many people their knowledge of mold comes from experiencing higher homeowner insurance premiums driven by mold claims and news stories about lawsuits to recover damages for bodily injury and property damage from mold infestations. Unfortunately, far too many of these lawsuits are driven by urban myths, rather than sound science.

Until there are authoritative studies that establish a reliable, scientific link between mold and the illnesses purported by the media, the “panic” we are reading about will continue to cloud the issue.

Ironically, without mold, our store of medicines and foods would be much more limited. Molds have helped us synthesize antibiotics and hormones. If a medicine name ends in “mycin,” you know it was made with mold. Penicillin is a product of the green mold Penicillium notatum, and the red bread mold Neurospora is an important tool in genetic experiments. Molds have led to the development of enzymes and the fermentation of organic acids for manufacturing and industrial processes. Mold is also added to certain cheeses for flavor, such as Roquefort. Butchers use mold to preserve meat. Without mold, we would not have beer or bread, let alone mushrooms and truffles.

ACCA believes the following guiding principles must be accomplished if the issues surrounding mold remediation are to be properly addressed:

1. Educate the consumer to: a) reduce the risk of mold contamination by insisting upon proper equipment sizing, selection, installation, and maintenance of their HVACR system in order to control humidity and maintain proper airflow, b) recognize the need for proper building maintenance and cleaning, and c) spot the signs of mold and then, what to do if they find it.
     
2. The federal government must encourage and sponsor comprehensive research to: a) identify which molds, if any, and at what concentrations, may be dangerous to humans, b) investigate and establish methods to control moisture, and thus, restrict mold growth, c) develop geographic minimum standards and benchmarks for moisture management based upon local climatic conditions. A one-size fits all solution will not work. Once this work is completed, the industry is situated to implement the findings and improve practices and procedures that control moisture and minimize mold growth/propagation.
     
3. Raise the standards of performance for identifying and treating mold conditions. Identify standards and certify mold identifiers and remediators to safeguard consumers’ interests as well as reduce the liability risks.
4. Construction practices need to be upgraded to reflect latest knowledge in building science. Builders need to be educated on the correct application of new technologies and improved usage of existing technologies (i.e., correct application of vapor barriers). Additionally, the impact that ventilation (unvented fireplaces, appliance exhaust fans, etc.) have on the infiltration of warm moist air needs to be factored
   into the building design stage. Building owners and operators need to be educated about sound industry practices to manage mold concerns – prevention of water intrusions, good envelopes, proper insulation of water pipes, correct equipment sizing/selecting/installation, on-going building maintenance and cleaning, etc. 
5. Promote good industry practices in sizing, selecting, installing, and maintaining HVAC equipment. In addition to merely controlling space temperatures, contractors and designers need to determine and control building humidity levels and limit the entry of outdoor moisture while ensuring safe and energy efficient operations.
6. Ensure that affordable property and medical insurance coverage is available to: a) cover consumers, contractors and their technicians who may potentially be at risk by exposure to mold, b) provide liability coverage for well-trained and experienced HVACR contractors who are committed to doing things right. If contractors are threatened by potential litigation that could financially force them out of business, the consumer will be left with few if any options.

We have much to learn about eliminating the potential hazards of mold, but given what we do know, the consumer deserves certainty that everything that is being done is being done properly. However, the ultimate responsibility still rests with the consumer. It is his or her own action, or lack thereof, that will eventually determine the outcome.

We have been cleaning this way for years, right?

The classroom is a nurturing environment where parents send their children to learn. The classroom exists to cultivate our children and help them to understand our humanity in the written and social world.

From the minute a woman is thinking of starting a family she is told to start to eat healthier, take vitamins, abstain from alcohol, quit smoking and stay away from chemicals. Medical professionals have been stressing the importance of protecting our unborn child from the minute pregnancy begins – in order to bring them
into our world as healthy as possible. In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded that, beginning in utero, babies and children are different than adults — they are often much more vulnerable in terms of environmental toxins.

Our world is changing daily and over the last 30 years over 75,000 new synthetic chemical compounds have been developed and exposed to our environment. Fewer than half of these chemicals are tested for their  potential toxicity levels and still less have been assessed for their toxicity to children.

Children are at a higher risk from these chemical exposures than adults are. Their bodies are smaller and pound for pound children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food than adults. Thus, they are more exposed to air and water pollution and pesticides. Their bodies are more rapidly growing and developing, so chemicals that can harm development can do maximum damage at this critical time.

The government is now making it a matter of policy to protect our young ones from harmful substances in the environment. In 1996, in outlining the first “National Agenda to Protect Children’s Health from Environmental Threats,” the EPA announced that special assessments of risk of chemicals to our offspring must be undertaken as a matter of urgent national priority.

Our environments today are filled with chemicals and allergens that can make almost any adult sick, our children are seven times more likely to retain the harmful effects than their parents. So why are we still cleaning our homes and schools with harmful petrol based cleaning products? Would you let your child breathe in the air at a gasoline pump for any amount of time? I think not… So why wipe the desk with gasoline derived products that off-gas the same emissions?

Indoor air quality problems can arise from inadequate housekeeping that fails to remove dust or other contaminants, cleaning products themselves produce odors and emit a variety of chemicals that can contribute to poor indoor air quality. Selecting cleaning products that minimize these emissions can provide a clean environment while protecting the health of custodial staff, students and administration. Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children in the United States and is the most common chronic illnesses overall in the country. Unnecessary violate organic
compounds in the air are proven aggravators
of asthma and allergies.

An April 1998 occupational lung disease bulletin issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported that more than 10 percent of the work-related asthma cases reported listed cleaning agents as the suspected asthma agent. These cleaning agents included bleach, chlorine, floor striper, ammonia, sodium hydroxide, muriatic acid detergents and disinfectants.

What is Used Today
I polled a local school maintenance supervisor to see what he cleaned schools with currently. This is a well educated man who genuinely cares about his students and this school “we use the safest known cleaning methods and products in our schools. “Each product is carefully mixed at a mixing station to ensure the safety of our students.” He continued, that he has even lessened the amount of cleaners used in the schools with his maintenance schedule and a honing system on the terrazzo flooring. (using no floor cleaners other than water) I am sure that they are preparing the solutions and using them as directed. But lets face it, these are chemicals that all of us have used in our homes for years such as; Ammonia & Butoxyethanol based glass cleaner, bleach, Hydrochloric & Phosphoric Acids for toilet bowl cleaners and Sodium Hydroxide used for heavy duty grease.

There’s no doubt that disinfecting cleaners can help keep bacteria, viruses and fungi in check. But the strong ingredients of some may pose health risks, especially to children. The EPA classifies the more than 300 different active ingredients in antimicrobial products as pesticides, because they kill microbes 

If you read the Material Safety Data Sheet on these cleaners they all offer similar warnings such as; Eye irritant, may cause redness or swelling, seek medical attention immediately; Prolong or repeated breathing of concentrated vapors can cause dizziness, headache, nausea, throat and nose irritation; if inhalation occurs
get to fresh air, seek medical attention if irritation persists. So you may ask is there an alternative that can offer the removal of bacteria, viruses and general dirt/ grease without these harmful effects?

How to Clean Now
Cleaning is the most effective means of achieving a high environmental quality in a school. The primary objective of cleaning is to keep or remove pollutants out of the building and off surfaces (i.e. floors, desks & lockers) A general effective cleaning program should include the following: 

• training programs for all custodial staff, teachers and their superintendents,
• doormats or entry places to provide particle barriers,
• high-efficiency vacuum cleaners that do not allow particulates to fly back into the air,
• hot water extraction of carpet without cleaning products,
• damp mopping of hard surfaces and not using sealers, and
• reduction in the use of VOC emitting cleaning products.

The EPA sponsored a study in 1994; “The Total Building Cleaning Effectiveness Study”, this was conducted in collaboration with the professional cleaning industry and concluded that an organized cleaning program contributes to reductions in indoor air particles, volatile organic compound and biological pollutants by about 50-90%. These studies confirm that when cleaning and maintenance are consistently implemented it can lead to a measurable environmental improvement with indoor air quality while still keeping the bottom line.

Difficult areas to clean like hard surfaces on tables, chairs counters, walls, doors, and sinks in rest rooms and eating areas carry a particularly heavy bio burden.

Alternative Products
There are many varieties of cleaning products on the market today that boast “green cleaner,” “non-toxic” and “natural.” Over the years, green cleaners have gotten a bad reputation as not being able to measure up to their petrol-based counterparts, but with recent innovations and the tireless efforts of some, there are products that prove otherwise. The newest advances are using the power of hydrogen peroxide to clean and disinfect. The elements of hydrogen peroxide have very low toxicity and have proven to work in many applications. Hydrogen peroxide has been used in hospitals and homes for years as a mild bleaching agent and antiseptic.

“Hydrogen peroxide is very reactive,” stated Steve Ashkin, president of the Ashkin Group in Bloomington, Ind. “It’s hard to keep it from breaking down before it is used.” With advances in technology, the hydrogen peroxide formula has been stabilized and is known as H2Orange2. When appropriately diluted, it is not only an effective cleaner, but also kills 99.9 percent of major germs and viruses while also deodorizing with natural orange oil. After the product is used on a surface it breaks down into water and oxygen, leaving behind little to no residue. Until now, the ability to use an ingredient such as hydrogen peroxide was impossible, as the element would not maintain its stability as a cleaning product. But this has forever been changed by the invention of H2Orange2 by EnvirOx. See the product Web site, www.h2orange2.com.

Determined to reduce the toxic levels in my own home and protect my children, I swore off all cleaning products other than vinegar, borax and baking power, only to realize that I was cleaning harder and not coming up with a very clean house. The real test came when I acquired some H2Orange2 and started cleaning my own house with it. The product was easy to use and removed dirt and odors effectively. By having one bottle of the hydrogen peroxide cleaner I am able to remove seven different products from my home. I no longer clean with anything else.

The newest wave of biobased cleaners avoid petrochemicals altogether. They contain chemical extracts and oils derived form citrus fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable crops. Case studies show that biobased cleaners easily meet or exceed their performance of petrochemical ones. Other products are available for cleaning “trouble spots,” such as non-chlorinated scouring paste, 100-percent natural air fresheners, and non-toxic disinfectants.

I have also found a scouring paste that seems to be beneficial in schools to clean stubborn grease, dirt, grime, discoloration and oxidation on metals, porcelain, enamel ceramic tile and marble as well as removing indelible ink. A-Ben-A-Qui is a non-toxic, non-flammable and non-hazardous multi-purpose cleaner that is excellent on many surfaces. This paste cleans and polishes all in one swipe.

Who Can Help
Several companies have come to my attention while doing the research for this paper, but one stands out as being the most successful in helping school districts convert to green cleaning. Healthy Clean Buildings, of Melville, N.Y., offers school districts a full understanding of what needs to be cleaned and how to do it. The company has helped dozens of schools realize their dreams of cleaning green, by evaluating currently used cleaning products, and then suggesting alternatives to do the same job. Healthy Clean Buildings is also a distribution company that can offer these schools a one-stop experience. Sometimes, a school knows of a product but cannot get clear enough information to start using the product. This is where a consultant company such as Healthy Clean Buildings comes into play; see the company’s Web site at www.cleaningpro.com.

Several schools in the greater New York area have adopted a green cleaning program: Baldwin High School in Nassau County, Pear River School District, and East Williston, Hewlett-Woodmere, Locust Valley and Manhasset schools all in New York. These schools have been given the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Excellence Award for their work to improve indoor air quality and protect the health of students and school staff.

If you are wondering what other than health this impacts, let the statistics show you: Schools which implemented a green cleaning program are showing an increase in student achievements by approximately 20%, lower faculty turnover rates from 55% to 12%, and buildings with cleaner indoor air environments have been proven to increase productivity and learning by 34%. It has been reported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that there are currently 10 million absences a year from school due to asthma related illnesses.

Our health and well being are inextricably linked to the buildings in which we spend the vast majority of our time. The resources expended and productivity lost due to indoor environmental quality problems have a huge impact on our economy and the well-being of millions of people. A systems approach to solving these problems is needed, in which architects, builders, building managers, building scientists and medical professionals work closely together. We need to begin using the best current practices for ensuring good indoor environmental quality, first by choosing materials which do not contribute to poor indoor air quality as well as using surfaces which are relatively stable and maintenance free.

There are no real reasons other than just dirty kids, why all surfaces in schools can’t be kept clean. If a scheduled program is implemented using bio based projects the effects will minimize air contamination and provide our children with the healthiest environment in which to learn!

Anastasia Harrison is a licensed architect with WESKetch Architecture located in Millington, N.J. Her firm is an award winning architectural and interior design firm that is impassioned about providing the healthiest indoor environments possible. She is currently working with private residences and her local schools to create healthy indoor air environments using bio-based cleaners and advising school administrations on general LEED practices for their upcoming renovations. She also serves as an advisor to the local Historic Advisory Committee in Long Hill Township insuring that the historically significant context of the town is not lost with the boom of development, and preserving the historically significant structures. Mrs. Harrison can be reached by email at aharrison@wesketch.com or by calling (908) 647-8200.