Obituary:

IE Connections received the following obituary from Filtration Group in Joliet, Ill., and it reads as follows: On April 3rd , Filtration Group, and the entire HVAC community, lost a very special industry veteran and friend with the passing of Paul Bartos. Paul died suddenly at the age of 46 while in Chicago for business away from his Dallas home.

For those who knew Paul, he was much more than a mere acquaintance or a coworker, he was a friend. Paul's humor, energy level and genuine love of life were visible in every aspect of his demeanor. Professionally, he had 25 years of HVAC filtration experience that included sales, service, design and manufacturing for Filtration Group, e-Filtration.com, EFC, Flanders, Viskon-Aire and Air Filter International.

Paul is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Jessica and son, Justin. His spirit and legacy will be missed by his family, friends and all that had the privilege to know Paul on both a personal and professional basis.

Environmental House Call:

IE Connections has learned that Terry Brennan and Richard Shaughnessy recently performed an "environmental physical" on the home of Arnold Mann, a contributing writer for Time magazine and USA Weekend. The photos and results will be featured in an upcoming article in Time.

Green Software Update:

EPA is making available a new version of a software package for selecting cost effective, green building products. Aimed at designers, builders and product manufacturers, the software program, "Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability" or BEES 2.0, is based on environmentally sound building standards agreed to by the EPA, industry and public interest groups. The new version includes actual environmental and economic performance data for more than 65 building products.

The software system assesses the following environmental impacts for building products: ozone depletion, smog, ecological and human toxicity, global warming, acid rain, natural resource depletion, indoor air quality and solid waste. The new version is available at: www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/bees.html. A CD and print manual can be ordered after through the EPA Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse at (202) 260-1023 or e-mail at ppic@epa.gov.

Asbestos In The News:

EPA is not having a good time dealing with asbestos as of late. The New York Times just reported that the agency is investigating why officials ignored for 18 years a study that showed W.R. Grace and Co. was using ore laden with asbestos in insulation and other building products. The agency reportedly shelved a 1982 study which found alarming levels of cancer-causing asbestos in ore that Grace had said included harmless amounts of the material, and the agency also scuttled follow-up studies and continued to accept the company's lower figures. Meanwhile, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle is reporting EPA knew more than 15 years ago that asbestos fibers were killing people in the small Montana town of Libby but "dropped the ball." EPA headquarters allegedly was aware of the situation but never passed the information along to the regional office in Denver.