Industry Doubtful Presidency Affects State of IAQ

Builders Praise IOM Report’s Role in Mold Verdict

Associations’ Standards Projects Duplicate Efforts

Product Reviews: Dueling Thermal Imagers

Word on the Street

• Voices
  “‘Building Bridges, Creating Partnerships’ is not some corny theme for your high school prom.”
  — Tom Yacobellis, addressing the memberships of the Indoor Air Quality Association and the National Air Filtration Association Sept. 27 at a general session; he said the conference theme was a living motto for thriving organizations in a shared field
   
• CHAIN REACTION: PCR TESTING INTRODUCED, PEOPLE LIKE IT, AIHA ADDS IT TO PROGRAM…
  Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, is the new wave of environmental microbiology, and the American Industrial Hygiene Association will soon be riding the wave even higher. AIHA announced last month that it will add the DNA-based detection and enumeration technique for mold spores to its Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program beginning next year. An Oct. 26 announcement said the association’s Board of Directors had approved the Analytical Accreditation Board’s recommendation regarding the addition of PCR testing to EMLAP. For more information regarding the accreditation program or this new field of testing, contact AIHA’s Kim Banks by e-mail at kbanks@aiha.org  or by phone at (703) 846-0789.
   
• MOLD WORKS LATE SHIFT
  “The Mold Survival Guide” author Jeffrey May will make an appearance next month on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” May’s six-minute spot as “the mold man” is scheduled to appear in December. While the details of his segment still have yet to be worked out with “Late Night” producers, May indicates that he will be bringing a lot of equipment from his Boston-area office to the taping at Rockefeller Center in New York. The program airs weeknights on NBC stations (after midnight on the East and West coasts); check your local listings for time and channel. May appeared this summer on an episode of CBS’s “The Early Show,” and last month he popped in to visit the syndicated daytime program “The Jane Pauley Show” along with public health activist Bianca Jagger.
   
• ONLINE GROUP GROWING
  When The IAQ List online discussion group ceased to be in April of this year, over 1,900 subscribers were temporarily left without an Internet forum for sharing information on their trade. The Web page that once occupied The IAQ List now refers visitors to the group that took its place, which is The IEQuality Group. Since the first group posting in April, it has logged over 600 users and counting. Its ongoing moderated discussion, plus archives and shared files, can be accessed online at groups.yahoo.com/group/iequality/. Subscriptions to the service are free.
   
• HOME AIR QUALITY: YOUR CHOICE
  Two government bodies partnered together last month to issue a “smoke-free home pledge” directed to the general public. Regional administrators of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families delivered the challenge as part of October’s Children’s Health and Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month. The pledge program “seeks to inform parents about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke,” according to a press release. “Small children are especially vulnerable to the health effects of secondhand smoke,” states the EPA on a Web page located online at www.epa.gov/smokefree/.
   
• FAMILIAR FACES, NEW FIELD
  Former Aerotech Laboratories CEO Vladimir Bolin has teamed up with fellow former IAQ professional Vince Miller, Ph.D., to establish a new clinical DNA laboratory. The new venture, Chromosomal Laboratories Inc., will focus on performing DNA analyses for forensic, paternity, genealogy and genetic profiling. The new company began operations in Phoenix last month. To learn more, visit www.chromosomal-labs.com or e-mail info@chromosomal-labs.com.
   
• TURN UP THE HEAT PLEASE
  A cold office would be an editor’s nightmare. In a landmark study evaluating the impact of thermal comfort on worker productivity, Cornell University ergonomics professor Dr. Alan Hedge found a 74 percent increase in typing mistakes and a 46 percent reduction in typing output when office temperatures fell from 77 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. “Temperature is certainly a key variable that can impact performance,” Hedge concluded. Data loggers made by Onset Computer Corporation were used in the study to sample air temperature every 15 minutes for an entire working month; the data then correlated with a month’s worth of ergonomic data to show how typing performance worsened as temperatures fell. Hedge estimates that the decreased productivity resulted in a 10 percent increase in labor costs per worker, per hour. The findings were presented at the 2004 Eastern Ergonomics Conference in New York and can be found online at ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUEHEECE_IEQDown.html.
   
• ALL RIGHT NOW
  The top official from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency paid a visit last month to the Nevada school that was shut down for eight days in January while cleanup crews worked to remove spilled mercury from school facilities and some students’ belongings and homes. EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt presented Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School with an Outstanding Environmental Achievement award. Testing of students, faculty and staff there earlier this year turned up no positive signs of mercury contamination.
   
• IAQ MONEY AROUND THE WORLD
  Chinese news service People’s Daily Online reported last month that the indoor environmental purification business in some Asian countries is growing. The report stated that the “indoor atmosphere purification” industry in China is now equivalent to $1.2 billion, as announced at an industry symposium. The industry’s value is on the rise in the communist country, as it is too in Japan, the reported stated, referencing a prediction from the Japanese government that the indoor environmental purification industry in the country will reach a future market potential of $100 billion. The report can be found online at english.people.com.cn/200410/20/eng20041020_160915.html.
    
• TEXAS MOLD EXAMS
  Examinations for mold remediation and assessment licenses in Texas have been administered since August. Quade Stahl, head of the Indoor Air Quality Branch of the Texas Department of Health, dismissed a tip citing a 12.5 percent passing rate for the first 48 exams. “There are a lot of rumors floating around,” Stahl said Nov. 2, adding that results for the exams had not yet been compiled. The required passing grade for the exams is 80 percent.

Industry Doubtful Presidency Affects State of IAQ
By Steve Sauer

Although George W. Bush promoted his election-year views on indoor air quality earlier this year in a story for IE Connections, indoor air quality experts commented that the president’s victory in the polls this month would have little effect over the next four years on a number of topics related to indoor air quality and public health.

How agenda-dominating topics such as international terrorism and insurance costs would evolve “represents the fundamental forces that will ultimately influence the IAQ industry, as well as all other industries both domestic and international,” said Larry Robertson of Mycotech Biological. “When and if these issues are stabilized, I predict the IAQ industry will explode. Until then, we remain a sleeping giant, experiencing a moderate but tenuous growth that is far below its potential.”

“Both Republicans and Democrats see that IAQ is an agenda item that serves well on the public perception meter yet does not call for an inordinate amount of monetary appropriation to continue the current agency work,” said Richard Shaughnessy of the University of Tulsa’s Indoor Air program. “IAQ funding to federal agencies may continue to be consistent; yet at the same time, [they] may hold more stipulations attached to the monies based on ‘directed appropriations’ from Congress for spending the funds.”

A magazine serving the real-estate industry reported last month on the implications of a 2004 court verdict in which an Arizona apartment owner triumphed over a tenant who claimed the mold in her apartment caused seizures and other brain and muscle disorders.

The victory for defendant Equity Residential Trust came about after attorneys cited the report on indoor dampness issued in May by the Institute of Medicine. Based on the report, a district court judge threw out plaintiff Kari Kilian’s claim that the mold caused “brain injury, seizures, a movement disorder, a neurocognitive disorder and an immune system disorder,” according to Commercial Property News.

The judge cited the Institute of Medicine’s finding of “inadequate or insufficient evidence to determine whether an association exists” between neuropsychiatric symptoms and the presence of mold in damp indoor environments.

The magazine reported a “reversal in lawsuits” signaled by the case, Kilian v. Equity Residential Trust, although it quoted a National Multi Housing Council executive saying the industry was not “off the hook.” "Owners still need to act quickly and effectively before a mold situation develops because the study does say that it is a problem, that it causes type-1 diseases,” said Vice President Eileen Lee.

“Damp Indoor Spaces and Health,” the report issued in May by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, also contains lists of health outcomes for which there is either sufficient or suggestive evidence of an association with exposure to damp indoor environments or the presence of mold or other agents in damp indoor environments.

Two industry groups are currently working to create separate industry standards related to the cleaning and maintenance of HVAC equipment, a topic for which guidance already currently exists.

In separate statements, both the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers have publicly aired their intentions to proceed with setting standards for HVAC maintenance.

ACCA’s top official, President and CEO Paul Stalknecht, said in a phone interview last month that combining efforts “would be a prudent thing to do.” He indicated there while there has been discussion about joining forces with ASHRAE, there was currently “no activity to merge the two” organizations’ standards projects.

On Oct. 6, ACCA announced a campaign to produce a pair of extended care standards, with a news release stating ACCA would “develop standards on extended care for residential and commercial HVAC equipment.”

However, ASHRAE had approved the creation of a committee to write an HVAC system maintenance standard at its 2004 Winter Meeting held over nine months earlier. A March 10 ASHRAE news release pronounced the project to produce proposed ASHRAE standard 180P, “Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of HVAC Systems,” was underway.
One of ACCA’s two standards would address residential HVAC systems; the other, commercial systems weighing less than 25 tons, it said.

ACCA said these standards would “provide HVAC contractors with guidance on proper assessment and maintenance procedures to optimize operation, extended care, safety, and health of existing HVAC equipment.”

Stalknecht admitted that if ACCA and ASHRAE produce contrasting standards, they could provide HVAC contractors with nothing but ambiguity. However, he said ACCA would be in a better position than ASHRAE to produce such standards “in contractor speak.” He said that if ACCA and ASHRAE standards conflict, “contractors will fundamentally turn to the organization that represents them.”

ASHRAE, in the meantime, feels the opposite. “We like to think we are the world’s foremost technical society on HVAC&R,” said Ron Vallort, president of ASHRAE. He said that because ASHRAE devises standards on system design, “We feel it’s only fitting that we provide guidance on how to inspect and maintain these systems.”

In a telephone interview last month, Vallort said he could not predict how ACCA’s standards on HVAC maintenance would differ from ASHRAE’s. “Not knowing completely what they’re doing, I can assume there is some duplicating, but we can’t be concerned with that,” he said. “We just have to come up with the best standard to serve the industry.”

ASHRAE said its proposed maintenance standard “will define the maintenance required to minimize degradation of the building asset without compromising indoor air quality and other operational conditions and specify ventilation system periodic maintenance requirements for occupied indoor spaces.”

Bob Baker, who now sits as the chair for ASHRAE’s 180P committee, last year emphasized the need for such a committee within ASHRAE, publicizing an informational meeting that was to be held in conjunction with ASHRAE’s 2004 Winter Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. A story in the January 2004 issue of IE Connections mentions Baker’s involvement with coordinating the meeting, which within a few days resulted in ASHRAE’s approval of the committee.

“In the past, operation and maintenance of HVAC systems has been considered the responsibility of manufacturers of system components and owners and operators,” Baker said in ASHRAE’s news release. “As systems have grown more complex, the maintenance direction provided by the manufacturer of one component of a system has become less useful as the proper operation depends on all components working together.”

NADCA ACR 2005
Guidance for the cleaning and maintenance of HVAC systems already exists in the form of a standard first promulgated by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association in 1992.
The latest revision to “Assessment, Cleaning, and Restoration of HVAC Systems,” ACR 2005, was released last month and immediately replaces ACR 2002 in all NADCA training.
Copies of ACR 2005 are available for purchase from NADCA through its Web site, www.nadca.com, or by calling (202) 737-2926.

“There are NADCA members who are serving on ASHRAE’s SPC 180 committee,” said Aaron Mindel, executive director of NADCA. “It has been NADCA’s policy to assist any other HVAC-related organization with development of their standards as they relate to HVAC system hygiene and cleaning.”

Mindel added that until the organizations’ standards are available, he would not be able to comment on how they would affect HVAC contractors or how they would sit with each other or NADCA’s ACR 2005.

Product Reviews: Dueling Thermal Imagers
Francis “Rich” Finigan
President
Allstate Home Inspection Training Institute
Randolph Center, Vt.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to see into walls without dismantling finishes or using a borescope? Maybe you can, with a little help from our friends at Raytek, Flir or Moisture DM and their new breed of thermal imaging devices. Thermal imaging devices present the next best breakthrough for IAQ investigation.

But which one is right for you? To help you decide, Jody Thomason of Aerotech Laboratories and I took three different thermal imagers for a test drive and rated them. Our “track” for the test runs was Aerotech’s state-of-the-art training facility, its residential interactive learning center.

Before we continue, let me say you don’t exactly see through the walls, but you get a picture of what is occurring thermally behind the wall and between the ceiling and floor skins. Based on mass, emissivity, airflow and reflective characteristics, different building components will display significantly different thermal signatures.

Ordinary cameras, like our eyes, detect and capture images of objects reflecting light. Thermal imagers pick up images based on the amount of heat that is emitted from or reflected by objects.

Matter whose temperature is above 0 Kelvins, or -273.15 degrees Celsius, has molecular movement. When molecular movement occurs, there is a thermal signature. Thermal imaging devices detect this radiated heat, utilizing hundreds of thermal sensors, and convert the temperature differentials digitally into a distinguishable image.

One of the basic principles of air-conditioning is evaporation. Evaporation requires energy. As energy in the form of BTUs is transferred, the material giving up the BTUs becomes cooler. In most cases in which water has recently penetrated a structure, evaporation will take place, typically making the wet area of the building system colder than the same adjacent dry material. Once the thermal anomaly has been identified, the investigator can verify the suspected wet area with moisture meter readings. The scenario I have just described is the fastest and most reliable method of moisture mapping I have yet encountered.

Most IAQ experts realize that mold isn’t the problem; water is the problem. Mold is a natural result of water penetrating the building envelope and being absorbed by “dead” organic, often cellulous, rich building materials.

There has been some speculation that mold spores exist in the paper of dry wall, making it what I call a “Mold Chia Pet” (Just add water it grows mold!). Being able to “see” into a building cavity provides those using the thermal imaging technology with huge advantages over the lesser equipped investigators.

All of this becomes very relevant especially during exterior insulating finishing systems warranty certification, mold investigation or clearance for water damage restoration work. Currently, there are thousands of lawsuits against insurance companies because water restoration contractors mishandled the repairs after water intrusion took place. Clearance for this type of work should include a mold screening (Look to the IESO residential mold screening standard) and thermal imagers that can demonstrate the surfaces and cavities were dry before the contractor buttoned up the damaged area.

The purpose of this article is not to identify the many and varied uses of thermal imaging devices –energy audits, water proofing in commercial settings, home inspector applications to answer the age-old question “Are these walls insulated?” and viewing electrical equipment, just to name a few. Thermal imaging devices have been used successfully as a medical diagnostic tool detecting conditions related to breast cancer before they could be detected by a mammogram.

Now that I have provided a little background, let’s look at the comparisons of the three devices tested: the Moisture Detection & Measurement Inc.’s Moisture Finder, Flir’s B1 and Raytek’s Ti30.

• Field of view: Based on our field observations, the Moisture Finder appeared to have a larger field of view than the B1 or Ti30. The B1 as tested had a fixed 25-degree lens. Other FLIR and Raytek models have the ability to add wider view lenses.
   
• Ease of use: Both the B1 and Ti30 can be picked up and used right out of the case, whereas the Moisture Finder required downloading of imaging software from the Internet. Also, both the Ti30 and the B1 are easy-to-handle one-piece units. The Moisture Finder is a two-piece system.
   
• Ergonomics: The orientation of the Ti30’s screen and advanced pistol style point and shoot grip is easier to orient and view than the B1 or the Moisture Finder.
    
• Video interface: The video recorder, part of the Moisture Finder package, allows for recording of the images and also real-time viewing or review of the video on the thermal imaging device’s screen. The B1 has a cable that allows it to be connected to a television or video recorder during use. The Ti30 does not have direct video interface but can be accomplished through a computer interface.
   
• View finder “resolution” (graphic image portrayal on the screen): The resolution of every screen supplied adequate viewing. The B1 and the Moisture Finder were a bit clearer than the Ti30. Both the Ti30 and the B1 have multiple color palette features that change the coloration of the screen. The B1 has five different color palettes. This enhancement can provide dramatic distinctions on the screen that assist the field technician trying to identify thermal anomalies. Variable color screen palettes also provide colorful dynamic reports that are easy for the end user to understand.
   
• Software: The Ti30 software was really easy to load and intuitive to use. We loaded the software in minutes with a CD and could then review all of the captured images, change the pallets and create matrices, and even identify the temperature of 900 different positions on the image. Thomason, who is a sales representative for Flir, said the B1 comes with the basic software containing fewer features than the Raytek software. The Moisture Finder does not have a software function.
   
• Radiometric (temperature readings): The Ti30 has a real-time on-screen readout of the surface temperature at the point of contact by its laser pointer. The B1 is not radiometric; however, it comes standard with a laser pointer. Both the Ti30 and the B1 exceeded the manufacturers’ claims in terms of accurately reading temperatures at long ranges, and they were equal to each other. The Moisture Finder has no capabilities for temperature readings.
   
• Service: Because Thomason is a sales representative for Flir, he declined comment regarding service. My experience was limited to gathering information in gaining accessibility to devices. In doing so, I provided all of the manufacturers with the same information regarding the purpose of the testing: the development of a Consumer Report-like review of three different products. Representatives from Raytek and the Moisture Finder were very responsive and in most cases returned my phone calls the same day. They also made a strong effort to coordinate accessibility of equipment. Flir, on the other hand, took several days to return my calls, and required me to travel to one of their representatives in order to gain access to their equipment. [Editor’s note: This experience regarding service may not be typical of what all customers may find.]
   
• Training: I attended two days of the initial five-day training conducted by Raytek’s contractor, Snell Infrared. The training was extremely high-quality with plenty of props and interactive exercises interspersed with lecture supported by good visuals that had the days flying by. The instructors rank among the best. They engaged the students, maintained their interest and provided appropriate analogies and even a little bit of humor, all while elevating the knowledge, understanding and abilities of those in attendance. This rating is a little bit lopsided because I did not have the opportunity to attend training provided by Flir or Moisture Finder; nor had Thomason at that time. According to Flir’s representative, Dick Price, the Infrared Training Center, where individuals purchasing a device from Flir are trained, is certified by the American Society for Nondestructive Testing and ISO 9002.

The information contained in this article provides a disinterested third party’s perspective of the three thermal imaging devices’ features. Neither of the researchers reviewing the devices is an expert in the field of infrared technology, making our findings even more relevant to new users of the technology. I do not have a vested interest in any of the companies mentioned above, and the opinions rendered in this article are based on the trial runs that took place over an eight-hour period and are a composite of the scores that we agreed upon.

This article is not a recommendation by this publication but a brief research document to assist IAQ experts in making an educated decision regarding emerging technologies.

See the article for further comments on each category.

Francis “Rich” Finigan is the president of Allstate Home Inspection Training Institute, located in Randolph Center, Vt. He can be reached by e-mail at rich@allstatehomeinspection.com  or by phone at (800) 245-9932.