By Bob Baker

May 23-26, 2000 the Florida Environmental Health Association, Inc. held a conference in Tampa with the above theme. Although the conference dealt with a number of issues ranging from water contamination risks to health issues associated with body piercing, the Thursday morning session on "Indoor Air" moderated by Tim Wallace of the Florida Department of Health is possibly of greatest interest to us. (Although I admit, that body piercing session aroused my curiosity.)

A Problem School

Mike Laudermilk from Palm Beach County reported on an interesting school situation. Apparently, parents in the community had developed a high level of concern over the lack of good preventative maintenance practices in the school district and the school in question in particular. When they decided they were not getting proper attention from the district administration, they resorted to a bit of a scam to get the Health Department involved. They recruited a couple of physicians and a principal to suggest there may be danger of an outbreak of Legionella.

When investigators from the health department investigated, they did not find any sign that would support any special Legionella risk. They did, however, discover numerous problems associated with the HVAC systems and most of which resulted from maintenance failings, inadequate housekeeping and a general failure to practice good property stewardship. This presentation set the stage for the question we would deal with the rest of the morning: Is a poor indoor environment a threat to children's health.

Health Effects of Fungi

David Krause of Indoor Air Quality Solutions in Tampa related a truly frightening array of possible impacts from exposure to fungi. He pointed out, however, that for these effects to come about there must be exposure to the fungi. Since our immune systems are so powerful, the small and temporary exposures we normally experience are unlikely to cause harm. Even where the exposure is great enough to produce an allergic or other response, the effects are normally temporary. It takes truly long-term exposures to lead to sensitization or other long term health effects.

This is why we are taking a close look at fungal populations in schools and homes. These are locations where children spend extended periods. If these are highly contaminated and remain so, there is the opportunity for the type of exposure that can lead to lifetime problems.

IAQ and Children

Dr. Howard Weiner from Boca Raton, Florida provided an enlightening medical perspective. He clearly articulated a "medical perspective" on many of the terms and conditions that we deal with so often in the indoor environment.

For years, many practitioners working with indoor environment issues have expressed the desire that the medical community would be come more interested in the many problems they deal with every day. For these people Dr. Weiner may well represent the fulfillment of that alleged Chinese curse, "May your wishes come true". He brings a combination of expert knowledge, a high level of medical training and scientific caution to the industry. Reported symptoms that many who work in the field routinely assign to causes in the building environment, he treats as complaints that could have any one of several causes, possibly unrelated to the candidate building.

Dr. Weiner is evidence that many in the medical community are beginning to become knowledgeable about conditions of their patients that appear to have building related causes. His caution also illustrates that this is a group that will have to see much more and better research and objective data before they agree on the extent of problems that many of us working in the field believe exist.

Children and Home HVAC

The morning sessions ended with a presentation I made that explored the relationship of mold growth in home HVAC systems and children. I pointed out that considerable evidence exists that there is a strong relationship between high levels of mold growth and adverse health conditions in children. I also related that none of the reported cases has yet established a cause-effect connection. Many of the data collection techniques have been suspect and often data is collected so long after the alleged exposure event that it may not have any relevance.

I used events reported in Cleveland where several children died in the early to mid 90's after exposure to a mold called Stachybotrys chartarum. In this case investigators initially reported a strong linkage. In fact, these cases led to that species of mold becoming the most often referred to as a major indoor problem. Later a review by the CDC of the earlier findings pointed out a number of questions about the conclusions reached.

We reviewed several facts: a) mold growth can be extensive in HVAC systems, b) problem buildings almost always have severely fouled air handlers, c) contamination from HVAC systems is spread very efficiently to building occupants. It was concluded that two conclusions rise from our knowledge to date.

• We have not yet proven that buildings are the cause of all of the health problems that have been reported.
• There is sufficient evidence of a strong relationship that we must do a better job of maintaining buildings and especially air handling systems. Air handlers especially must be kept clean and free of visible mold and bacteria growth.

Mr. Baker's field of expertise is the control of contamination in air-conditioning and ventilating systems by mold, mildew and bacteria. He writes and speaks frequently about the efficacy, legal risks, and regulatory issues involved in various control strategies. He serves on ASHRAE Technical Committee TC 2.3, TC 2.4, TC 9.8, and Sampling of Airborne Particulate Concentration in Commercial and Residential Buildings GPC 17P. He also serves as a member of ASTM D22.06 (Indoor Air Quality) and is on the Board of Directors of the Indoor Air Quality Association and the Florida Public Health Foundation. Because HVAC applications encompass new uses from an U.S. EPA regulatory standpoint, Mr. Baker works closely with the EPA and industry groups, including serving as the chair of the IAQ committee of the Consumer Specialty Products Association, to help formulate policy in this area.

Bob Baker is Chairman and CEO of BBJ Environmental Solutions, Inc., a company specializing in providing clean air through environmentally responsible products, such as BBJ MicroBiocide , 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, Mr. Baker can be reached at (800) 889-2251 or through the company web site at http://www.bbjenviro.com.