By Bob Baker

In 1994, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) investigated an outbreak of acute pulmonary hemorrhage among children in Cleveland Ohio. During that investigation they developed the hypothesis that massive exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum (atra) and other hydrophilic (water loving) molds might well result in severe lung disease in infants.

Since that time, "Stachy" has become the poster bug of dangerous organisms. Many electronic and print media stories have warned about deadly risks from "black mold". Many remediation contractors have used the presence of these growths to urge massive (and probably expensive) cleanup efforts.

In March of this year, CDC published a review of the 1994 report that suggested that the results reported at that time may have been biased and possibly an incorrect conclusion had been reached. Now a debate is raging. Are all of the concerns about Stachybotrys that have been expressed over the past six years valid or not? That question is tied in with another ongoing discussion.

Health Issues

The subject of health effects and the indoor environment has received a lot of debate throughout the last decade within the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). When Standard 62-1989 (Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality was published a lot of readers focused on the wording of the Purpose - "To specify minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality that will be acceptable to human occupants and are intended to minimize the potential for adverse health effects." Many ASHRAE members felt strongly that "health effects" were no business of an organization composed primarily of engineers and other technically trained individuals who posses few if any credentials in health matters. An equally vocal group argued that the impact of the indoor environment on health is the future.

This ongoing debate both impacted on and was impacted by all of the public interest surrounding the release and subsequent withdrawal of 62-R which was a substantial revision of ASHRAE Standard 62. The debate became so intense that members of society and technical committees largely involved in health effects matters speculated that their work might be discontinued. Those who opposed health submitted a petition to the ASHRAE board (the Avery petition). Finally, at the June 1999 meeting in Seattle, the matter was brought to a head by the appointment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate matter and bring a recommendation to the ASHRAE Board. This report (the Bellenger report) was delivered at the meeting in Dallas at the first of this year. Among other things, it concluded that, "Health impacts are interwoven throughout our standards and guidelines and removing this information would abrogate our responsibilities to our member ship and the general public."

The board accepted the recommendations of the ad-hoc committee during the February meeting. Many concluded that the issue was settled. It was very apparent, however, during the Minneapolis meeting (June 24-28) that the future direction of ASHRAE relative to health effects is far from clear. At one committee meeting submitted documents dealing in part with health issues were returned for revision. The reason cited was that, "There are several moving targets that Standards and Technical Council are attempting to deal with." It was reported that the board is asking the Bellenger committee to prepare an implementation plan for its report. This whole situation will continue to play itself out between now and the 2001 winter meeting in Atlanta. No one can claim that health effects no longer have visibility in the industry. Additional evidence is a trend in conference program content over the past year.

Other Conferences

It used to be that only indoor environmental professionals would band together in their various forums. Sometimes these discussions would include expressions of regret that health professionals were not present to share in the debates and discussions. That is changing. Recently, there have been more healthcare professionals showing up at IAQ and IEQ conferences. In addition, several conferences have attempted to bring IE and healthcare professionals together with a program agenda containing sessions directed at both groups.

The NSF Conference on "Indoor Air Health", was held during May 99 in Denver. This conference marked a beginning both for NSF and the IEQ/Health connection. Most of the agenda topics and presenters were from the IE/IAQ world as were most of those in attendance. Some complained that there was little program content that was new. It marked a starting point, however, for linking indoor air and health.

More recently, In May of this year, "Asthma & Allergen Control" was held in Dallas. This conference organized by Richard Shaughnessy of the University of Tulsa brought IE/IAQ and healthcare professionals together with joint sponsorship for the first time. The agenda featured content from both communities and the attendees discovered they had much to learn from each other.

A third conference held recently illustrates the potential challenges for our industry as we further develop our dialogues with the medical community. As we reported in an earlier issue, May 23-26, 2000 the Florida Environmental Health Association, Inc. held a conference in Tampa with the theme Children and Environmental Health. 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.)

Dr. Howard Weiner from Boca Raton, during his presentation both demonstrated a high level of knowledge of the indoor environment and a fair degree of skepticism that the extent of problems often reported by our industry really exist. 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 he and his colleagues as a group 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.

Our challenge will be to reign in our enthusiasm over having these new "partners" and discipline ourselves to develop objective data, be restrained in our conclusions and patient with their challenges. Otherwise, we will be dismissed as kooks and the medical community will return to their science and their patients. We will have lost an opportunity.

I have been told that an ancient Chinese curse goes something like, "May all of your wishes come true." It seems for many in the IAQ community a very important wish (health community involvement) is in the process of coming true. What remains is to see if it will turn out to be a curse or blessing.

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.