Twitter Updates

Twitter updates from week ending 2013-03-07

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • "IICRC S520 is a minimum standard", Davidge Warfield. #iaqa2013 ->
  • You cannot use particle counts to determine if there are IAQ complaints. #iaqa2013 ->
  • .3 microns not affected by room activity. #iaqa2013 ->
  • At Cassidy's presentation on particle counts. Concentrations fairly similar throughout building. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Ventilation decreased short term sick leave by 1.6 days per year #iaqa2013 ->
  • High CO2 affects decision making #iaqa2013 http://t.co/H2PNURkffI ->
  • DALY= Disability adjusted life year. Doesn't look like chronic effects that should drive our decisions. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Attending Bill Fisk session on benefits and costs of building ventilation. #iaqa2013 ->

Twitter updates from week ending 2013-02-28

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • ASTM recommends "pause points". At certain points, stop and process all the information gathered. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Lisa Rogers on ASTM Fungal Assessment Guide #iaqa2013 ->
  • States with more stringent asbestos rules: CA, UT, CO, TX, NY, LA, etc. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Asbestos possible unless surface is glass, metal, or wood. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Derrick Denis presenting on Asbestos. It is not totally banned in the US. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Derrick Denis a.k.a. "The IAQ Hottie" giving presentation on IAQA membership benefits. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Just finished my presentation on top IAQ publications and research out in last 12 months. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Bob Baker… Air leakage in ductwork doesn't get enough attention #iaqa2013 #resnet13 #acca13 ->
  • When do you clean the HVAC system after mold remediation? Ultimate: rough cleaning & repairs at beginning, again at end #iaqa2013 #acca13 ->
  • Imaginary station at Florida border that prevents sheet metal ductwork, even in commercial systems. 🙂 #iaqa2013 ->
  • Rule of thumb… Residential hvac equipment life 15-20 years. Commercial buildings much longer. #iaqa2013 ->
  • If in doubt, bring in supplemental heating or cooling during remediation. #iaqa2013 ->
  • If HVAC flooded, easy decision… Turn off, lock out and remediate. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Should you run the HVAC system when remediating the area? #iaqa2013 ->
  • Attending Bob Baker's presentation on mold issues in HVAC systems. #iaqa2013 ->
  • IAQ Website of the Month- January 2013 – http://t.co/wHt3Sy6B9a ->
  • Susan Valenti just showed me how to at pictures. Thanks @iaqsusan! #iaqa2013 http://t.co/ajIIrbxTb4 ->
  • I also stopped by the Qlab booth 310 and checked out their new sponge-swab for post remediation verification. #iaqa2013 ->
  • I just stopped by the Kanomax booth and checked out a cool new odor detector Booth 311. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Degrading nylon can smell like dead fish #iaqa2013 ->
  • Women are more sensitive to odors than men #iaqa2013 ->
  • Odors from mice and shrews! #iaqa2013 ->
  • Sewer gas is the most common intermittent odor. #iaqa2013 ->
  • TIF 880 for gas leaks. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Attending Jeff May's session on investigating odors. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Don't reuse holes from pin-type meters. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Demonstrating infrared cameras that communicate with iPads. #iaqa2013 ->
  • Measuring concrete: ASTM F 2170 Drill hole and put in humidity sleeve for 72 hours. Takes long time. #iaqa2013 ->

Twitter updates from week ending 2012-03-08

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • New WHO document:
    Environmental burden of disease
    associated with inadequate housing: http://t.co/bllVt67v ->
  • I'm back in town after attending #IAQA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Thanks to my two co-presenters, Ben Kollmeyer and Elliott Horner ->
  • #IAQA Luke Gard presentation. Found statistically significant reduction of cat allergen only with HEPA vacuuming. ->
  • #IAQA Moldy homes don't necessarily predict endotoxin levels in dust. ->
  • #IAQA Cultural air samples for bacteria should be shipped cool, not cold. Don't stress the organism! ->
  • #IAQA Jason Dobranic presentation… In general bacteria outnumber fungi in the Indoor Air. ->
  • #IAQA Spore traps lack accuracy and precision. Only two people in the room say they do regular viable sampling. ->
  • #IAQA Lab variability with spore trap analysis is frightening. 10 times difference with labs looking at the same slide! ->
  • #IAQA #acca12 Larry Robertson giving a great presentation on spore traps. ->
  • At legal session by Steven Mandell. The courts now accept that mold causes health effects. VOCs are not as straight forward. ->
  • I'm at the Indoor Air Quality Association Annual Meeting. I'll send out a few tweets under #iaqa12 ->

My Twitter feeds from Indoor Air 2011, Austin TX

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • Pregnant women in the U.S. are exposed to multiple chemicals. Excellent research article: http://goo.gl/xo27w ->
  • Current evidence does not support measuring specific indoor microbiologic factors to guide health-protective actions http://t.co/4b6hXko ->
  • Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health: http://t.co/TZj1tg5 via @NASciences ->
  • I'm just about to fly out of Texas. Keep up with the tweets so i can follow along with the action. Great conference! #indoorair2011 ->
  • "We need a IEQ professional practice degree" -Andy Ask. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Andy Ask advocates 7 years of formal education for practicing professions related to indoor environments. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Attending a session on the professional practice of IEQ consulting. After this i have to fly back home. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Filtration of outdoor air entering buildings may be feasible to reduce exposures and health effects in specific applications. #indoorair2011 ->
  • "Indoor air = Outdoor air (with exceptions )" #indoorair2011 ->
  • "43 chemicals found in virtually every pregnant woman" #indoorair2011 ->
  • Endocrine disrupting chemicals found in dust and targets children. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Im the session chair for odors! come one come all! Room 18. #indoorair2011 ->
  • High ERMI score at age 1 increases risk for asthma at age 7 (2.6 times). #indoorair2011 ->
  • Increased risk of asthma for high visible mold with young children. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Endotoxin and fungi have synergistic effect on health. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Mark Mendell presentation- quantitative sampling of microorganisms not able to identify causal relationship with symptoms. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Presenter with T-shirt… "keep it simple, clean, and dry and ventilate" #indoorair2011 ->
  • Assessments esp. needed when patients don't respond to regular treatments or they are needed year round. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Medical treatments don't address the underlying problem in environmentally induced allergies and asthma #indoorair2011 ->
  • Attending workshop on physician informed indoor environmental assessments by Grimes and others. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Question for Joe… "What are your thoughts on natural ventilation?" #indoorair2011 ->
  • In Chinese study, 84% preferred naturally ventilated building. #indoorair2011 ->
  • People have a wider comfort range in naturally ventilated buildings. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Next plenary session from Dr. Yingxin Zhu, an expert on thermal comfort. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Joe promoting sealed combustion appliances. You don't need a hole in the wall for combustion air. #indoorair2011 ->
  • You need to seal the return ducts to not kill anyone from carbon monoxide. #indoorair2011 ->
  • The cost of fixing a leaky building is less than testing the building. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Blower doors only calculate equivalent leakage area. You don't know where it's coming from. #indoorair2011 ->
  • Joe Lstiburek offends Texans in first 10 seconds of his presentation! #indoorair2011 ->

Twitter updates from week ending 2011-02-17

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • School district installed extensions to sewer vents on roof to prevent gases from being pulled back in. #iaqa2011 ->
  • "ozone requires high levels to be effective, 9-12 ppm" #iaqa2011 ->
  • I just finished an IAQA board meeting, heading to the expo hall #iaqa2011 ->
  • Thanks EMSL for a great party. Checked out the San Antonio River Walk with Andy Ask. Time for bed… presentation tomorrow. #iaqa2011 ->
  • http://drclaudiamiller.com/ resources on mcs /tilt toxicant induced loss of tolerance. #iaqa2011 ->
  • A hallmark symptom of gulf war syndrome is inability to drink alcohol. Speaker talking about loss of chemical tolerance. #iaqa2011 ->
  • MCS in most cases "your guess is as good as mine"… symptoms are non specific. #iaqa2011 ->
  • Manufactured housing units that were aired out… 375 passed and 1 failed. #iaqa2011 ->
  • Composite wood panels aired out for 3 weeks. Sheet vinyl and plastic wall panels for 3 days #iaqa2011 ->
  • Many manufactured housing units are able to achieve low levels of formaldehyde (below 16 ppb) #iaqa2011 ->
  • Elliot Horner describing how to air out plywood before being used for manufactured housing. #iaqa2010 ->
  • FEMA uses NIOSH'S limit of 16ppb of formaldehyde #iaqa2011 ->
  • Despite formaldehyde problems, advantages to modular housing… Tighter QC, stronger, dry, resource efficient, faster, etc.. #iaqa2011 ->
  • Formaldehyde background up to 30 ppb #iaqa2011 ->
  • Done with technical sessions for the day at IAQA's Annual Meeting, heading to the expo hall. #iaqa2011 ->
  • First question I ask for a home health assessment, "Are you under a doctor's care?" -Carl Grimes #iaqa2011 ->
  • "When assessing the indoor environment, put people first" #iaqa2011 ->
  • Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) greater than 8 ng/l indicate mold growth. Speaker recommends using sorbent tubes #iaqa2011 ->
  • Where are fragrances worst? Middle school where the whole bottle gets used #iaqa2011 ->
  • Folk belief in some communities that asthma will "transfer" to Chihuahua dogs! #iaqa2011 ->
  • "Watch your facial expressions" when doing a home health assessment in someone's house. #iaqa2011 ->
  • The future of sampling is microarray… "lab on a chip". Not commercially available, qualitative only. Star Trek scan of air. #iaqa2011 ->
  • "Wood rot fungi doesn't release a lot of spores" therefore not a huge IAQ issue. #iaqa2011 ->
  • OSB board can have little surface contamination, yet have lots of interior mold growth. "Eating it from the inside out." #iaqa2011 ->
  • "Wood rot is not mold (micro fungi). They have special enzymes" #iaqa2011 ->
  • "OSB holds on to water longer than plywood" #iaqa2011 ->
  • Presentation "fungal ecology of engineered wood" by Jason Dobranic, PhD #iaqa2011 ->
  • Spore release appears greatest in low relative humidity #iaqa2011 ->

Twitter updates from week ending 2011-02-03

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • Finally chiseled out of the Chicago snow, but had to wait 50 minutes on the train platform in 2 degree weather. Ouch! ->
  • CDC Review Finds No Link Between Problem (Corrosive/Chinese) Drywall and 11 Reported Deaths http://goo.gl/8JwA4 ->
  • Does the Smoke Ever Really Clear? Thirdhand Smoke Exposure Raises New Concerns http://goo.gl/BNDMD ->
  • Take my 2-question quiz on airborne contagious diseases: http://goo.gl/5h8Wn Let me know if you get 'em right! ->

Twitter updates from week ending 2011-01-06

~ Ian Cull ~ Leave a comment
  • "Green" school consumes almost double the energy (per square foot) of nearby non-green school: http://goo.gl/xJ5cy ->
  • "Humidity Illiteracy" My open letter to the editor of IE Connections Newspaper: http://goo.gl/5G8vH ->
  • What is a safe level? It depends. But remember… no safe level of exposure exists for cancer-causing substances. ->
  • The US still imports asbestos containing materials. Roughly 65% is for roofing products (source: USGS). ->
  • Environmental Health Perspectives: Scented Products Emit a Bouquet of VOCs: http://goo.gl/EQBg5 ->