ASHRAE Policy Committee Turns Down 62.2 Draft For 2nd Public Review

International Attendees Flock To NSF Conference

CSPA Organizes Air Care Division, Leaves IAQ Issues Alone For Now

ASHRAE Policy Committee Turns Down 62.2 Draft For 2nd Public Review By Susan Valenti

Although the Standard Project Committee 62.2P worked hard at the January ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Atlanta to finalize a draft of the standard for its second public review, IE Connections has learned that ASHRAE's Board Policy Committee on Standards voted not to release the current version.

According to committee insiders, the Board Policy Committee based their decision on the fact that the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) still have problems with the proposed draft for ventilation and IAQ in low-rise residences. Under ASHRAE's new standard policies, a proposed standard must achieve "consensus" before it is released, whether for public comments or final review.

During the 62.2 committee meeting, one member recommended that the draft be made into a guideline and not a standard, but the motion failed.

"We don't have evidence, for example, that we need to mechanically ventilate every house in the U.S.," he said. "NAHB would prefer this as a guideline and not a standard."

So it's back to the drawing board for the 62.2 committee, since now they must revise the current draft to achieve more balanced consensus. Reportedly, NAHB and GAMA representatives had the same if not more problems with the current draft version, than with the draft that was released for the first public comment period. Once the standard is finalized it will be put on continuous maintenance as 62.1, the ventilation standard for commercial buildings, has been. view; Diamond confirms this. Will still take another year.

Other Standard News

Meanwhile, the ASHRAE 62.1 standard committee also met in Atlanta and worked on several addenda to the standard. They include:

• Addendum s: Recommended for publication, it clarifies the requirements for equipment-related particulate filtration. The filtration requirements are intended to reduce the rate of dirt accumulation on ventilation system components that are likely to become wet, such as cooling coils.
• Addendum q: Recommended for publication, it modifies several definitions for clarity, as well as deletes several definitions that are not used in the standard or which are already defined.
• Addendum x: Recommended for a second public review, it revises the humidity control requirements contained in Section 5.10, as well as clarifies the standard's existing recommendations and requirements to assure that the building envelope does not contribute to IAQ problems.
• Addendum k: Recommended for a third public review, it describes how the requirements of the standard should be applied to existing buildings.
• Addendum ab: Recommended for a first public review, it addresses equipment that generates contaminants and the need to duct this equipment outdoors.

The committee also sent Addendum 62n to the ASHRAE technical committee for review. It revises the standard's ventilation rate procedure that contains requirements on how to determine outdoor air ventilation requirements in buildings.

Experts from across the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia attended NSF International's second Conference on Indoor Air Health held in January in Miami Beach, Fla. The event is held every other year, and is next scheduled for San Antonio in the spring 2003.

The conference offered policy perspectives, recent advances in risk assessment, and applications in product stewardship, emphasizing the conference theme of Trends and Advances in Risk Assessment and Management. According to NSF, "In the absence of regulatory direction, risk reduction in the indoor air quality field is driven by market influences and increased public awareness. While the correlation between health effects and exposure remains elusive, this increased public awareness leads to improved levels of risk management."

With the exchange of public health information as the stated goal of the conference, the NSF program featured more than 75 speakers in 11 general sessions that comprised the technical program. This program was augmented by several less formal, interactive poster presentations that were on display in the exhibit hall, including a Canadian study on the possible effects of indoor motor sports on the indoor environment.

Displays of the products and services of 16 organizations were also found in the exhibit hall including: Aerotech Laboratories, Analytical Services, BGI Inc., BMS Catastrophe, Entech Instruments, Health House, NIEPA (National Indoor Environmental Professionals Association), Precision Air, Pure Air Control Services, Quest Technologies, Therma Stor Products and Ultra Violet Devices Inc. Scott BeVier, Vice-President of Marketing for BMS Catastrophe, noted that, "Thirty percent of [BMS'] business is now directly related to microbial contamination," in explaining his decision to exhibit at the conference.

Following opening remarks by Ron White of the American Lung Association, the conference's "speaker panel" format featured topics such as Fungi, Mycotoxins and Bioaerosols: A follow-up of the Saratoga Springs Meeting by Dr. Eckardt Johanning of the Eastern New York Occupational and Environmental Health Center and The Progress of Work and Achievements: Initiatives of WHO in Air Quality by Dietrich Schwela of the World Health Organization, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Johanning underscored the importance of IAQ public health education when he noted during his presentation that many legal professionals predict, "mold in buildings could soon replace asbestos litigation in terms of environmental hazards and toxic claims."

Focus On Symptoms

According to conference officials, the highlight of first morning program was the presentation of the paper Indoor Air Health: Emphasize Health, Minimize Engineering by Ronald E. Gots of the International Center for Toxicology and Medicine in Rockville, Md. Gots paper turned on the premise that when workers complain of symptoms, the first question to be answered is: "Why do they have symptoms?" not necessarily "How do we fix the building?" Gots warned against hiring engineers or non-medically trained indoor air consultants to investigate health complaints as a knee-jerk reaction.

"Health complaints begin with health evaluations," Gots told attendees.

The afternoon sessions featured case studies from around the globe, as presentations by British, Finnish, German, Italian, and Romanian researchers and academics were heard. Topics such as childhood asthma, health-based action levels, exposure to man-made mineral fibers, and composition of kitchen aerosols were covered. This was followed by a "town hall" style question and answer session, sparking conversation that continued well into a exhibitor's reception.

The next day's sessions began with a fascinating presentation on the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, and its effects on a coastal North Carolina retirement community. The team of Jerry J. Tulis, Wayne R. Thomann and Eric Chen of Duke University Medical center presented a slide show following the remediation project from the time the elderly residents were moved off campus, to the ultimate rehabilitation of the building.

Another high point of the program was An Innovative Approach to Teach High School Students About IAQ Issues and Potential Impacts on Human Health presented by Molly Bloomfield of Oregon State University. She spoke of the "Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE)" Program at the University. The program has provided math and science enrichment to minority and low-income school children in Oregon. The program was conceived as an innovative approach to teach high school students about indoor air quality issues. This is accomplished by assigning the students the responsibility for monitoring certain IAQ parameters such as temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide levels that may adversely affect IAQ in schools, in an effort to foster a greater interest in math and science.

"It's all about engaging the children," according to Bloomfield, "and helping them understand how these environmental factors may affect their everyday lives."

IAQ Training

Perhaps the best panel discussion of the conference took place on the last day, when questions turned to training and certification for industry professionals. Dr. Richard Shaughnessy of the University of Tulsa was asked about the proliferation of IAQ-related professional certifications and their usefulness and validity. Shaughnessy seemed somewhat skeptical and said point blank, "I don't know what they mean." Although he did not mention any certifications specifically by name, he stressed the need for the standardization of curricula and testing, as well as the need for continuing education to make these designations worthwhile.

CSPA Organizes Air Care Division, Leaves IAQ Issues Alone For Now By Susan Valenti

Candles and fragrances were the focus of the executive board meeting and subsequent committee meetings and workshops for the new Air Care Division at the Consumer Specialty Products Association's (CSPA) annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last December.

IE Connections learned that CSPA, formerly the Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association, plans on keeping more traditional indoor air quality issues within the control of the group's Indoor Environmental Quality Committee, chaired by Robert Baker of BBJ Environmental Solutions. The Air Care Division will handle products, such as candles, air deodorizers, fragrances, and possibly one day, air filters, as part of their mission. They will tackle these products as they relate to safety, standardized testing methods, and new technology and sensory education.

At the December meeting, the Air Care Division approved their mission statement and strategic plan, and also planned a spring workshop and program for next year's annual meeting.

Reaction To Lead Wick Ban

In response to questions sent by IE Connections to the Air Care Division about the alliance of CSPA and the National Candle Association, division officials sent the following response:

"Last September, the Consumer Specialty Products Association expanded beyond its traditional scope by forming the new Air Care Division to address the changing needs of the consumer, the marketplace, our environment, and our industry. The candle product category represents one of the largest, most dynamic segments of the air care market that has demonstrated the most dramatic growth over the last decade. Since consumer needs have also grown along with this important category, it has become an increasing focus of our organization.

As a new division, we plan to realize our goals faster and more efficiently by building multi-association alliances. Our newly formed partnership with the National Candle Association will bring the strengths of each association together, will avoid redundancies, and will bring a common voice to the table. Based on the wide scope of the CSPA Air Care Division, we plan to bring a broader perspective to any candle issues that arise. As an alliance, we are striving to help our industry to go beyond consumer needs and expectations by continuing to develop and promote the use of viable safety standards. As an industry, we take safety very seriously."

CSPA also issued a statement supporting the efforts of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), consumer advocates, public health officials and industry representatives to eliminate the use of lead candle wicks. The organization supports an "outright U.S. ban on the production and sale of candles with lead wicks.

"The U.S. candle industry removed lead wicks from our products 25 years ago when the health effects associated with lead use became understood," said Rich Signorelli, senior corporate vice president and technical director for the Belmay Company. "With everything we know now, it is irresponsible for manufacturers to continue using lead wicks in their products."

Among the projects that the Air Care Division has committed resources to for 2001 are: CSPA participation in an ASTM task force developing a standard on lead in candlewicks and potential cooperative research on candle sooting with EPA's Office of Research & Development. Air Care Division officials did not respond to the question from IE Connections regarding their continued involvement in the ASTM standard after CSPC's ban on lead wicks.