READ: EPA - Tools for Schools - Asthma

READ: EPA - Tools for Schools - Asthma

(1 RC) - Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, affecting millions of people of all ages and races. An average of one out of every 10 school-age children now has asthma, and the percentage of children with asthma is rising more rapidly in preschool-age children than in any other age group. Asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism due to a chronic condition, accounting for nearly 13 million missed school days per year… (EPA, Aug 2010)

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READ: EPA - Indoor Environmental Quality and Climate Change

READ: EPA - Indoor Environmental Quality and Climate Change

(3 RC) - Observations show that warming of the climate is unequivocal. The global warming observed over the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), with important contributions from the clearing of forests, agricultural practices, and other activities… (EPA)

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READ: EPA - Building Codes and IAQ

READ: EPA - Building Codes and IAQ

(3 RC) - Conservation-minded building codes have the potential to reduce naturally occurring air exchange for buildings by tightening the envelope and reducing pressurization of unconditioned spaces (e.g. duct sealing). Indoor moisture, altered airflows, lowered air exchange all have the potential for increasing occupant risk of exposures to indoor generated contaminants..… (EPA, Sep 2009)

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READ: Principles of Pediatric Environmental Health

READ: Principles of Pediatric Environmental Health

(4 RC) - Environmental factors play a large role in children’s health. According to the World Health Organization, more than 30% of the global burden of disease in children is due to environmental factors. Children’s growth and development are dynamic processes; they can be viewed at the molecular, cellular, organ, and whole-child levels. What determines the nature and severity of environmental factors’ health effects is exposure occurrence within the different developmental stages… (ATSDR, Feb 2012)

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READ: IEQ impacts of World Trade Center attacks

READ: IEQ impacts of World Trade Center attacks

(1 RC) - The draft proposed sampling plan provides an overview of how buildings (residential, office, and public) south of Houston Street, in Manhattan, would be sampled to determine if any remaining WTC-related contamination is present. As proposed, only dust samples would be taken from buildings made available by the owners or managers. Samples would be taken from locations where exposures are likely to occur, such as in elevated horizontal surfaces.… (ATSDR, Mar 2005)

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READ: IAQ Sampling Midwest School, Wyoming

READ: IAQ Sampling Midwest School, Wyoming

(1 RC) - On May 24, 2016, CO2 alarms outside the school went off, prompting an evacuation of students and staff. Air monitoring and investigation began two days later on May 26. ATSDR recommends that the building not be reoccupied until thorough investigation and sampling demonstrate no potential health hazards from building indoor air. … (ATSDR, Sept 2006)

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READ: Evaluation of Vapor Intrusion into Buildings - Colorado

READ: Evaluation of Vapor Intrusion into Buildings - Colorado

(2 RC) - Schlage Lock Company, located in Security, Colorado, discovered that the groundwater beneath their manufacturing facility was contaminated with the chemical tetrachloroethylene, which is also known as perchloroethylene (PCE). Schlage utilized the solvent as a metal cleaner and degreaser during the production of door locks and related hardware… (ATSDR, Nov 2006)

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READ: ATSDR Evaluation of IAQ - Corona Del Sol HS, Arizona

READ: ATSDR Evaluation of IAQ - Corona Del Sol HS, Arizona

(2 RC) - Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) was requested to provide assistance in addressing concerns about air quality at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, AZ. This health consultation follows up a previous report produced by ADHS in May 2008 and addresses previously unaddressed issues regarding possible exposure to and potential health risks from formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the indoor air at the school… (ATSDR, Sept 2008)

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READ: - Stachybotrys mycotoxin production on various building materials

READ: - Stachybotrys mycotoxin production on various building materials

(1 RC) - Mold growth in the indoor environment can generally cause allergic, infectious, or toxic symptoms in humans. It is conceivable, that spores or mycelium might potentially serve as fungal fragments for indoor air contamination in the course of the aerosolization process and that inhalation exposure along this route can lead to adverse health effects… (Indoor Air, 2020)

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READ: HUD - Healthy Homes Issues: Residential Assessment

READ: HUD - Healthy Homes Issues: Residential Assessment

(4 RC) - This background paper addresses the assessment of all types of hazards that may exist in homes, including biological, chemical, physical, structural, and behavioral. It introduces the reader to methods to assess for health and safety hazards, and discusses widely available visual assessment…(HUD, 2012)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Fayette County Courthouse

READ: NIOSH - HHE Fayette County Courthouse

(4 RC) - This HHE conducted by the CDC and NIOSH investigates the air quality of a county courthouse in Fayette county, looking for mold and other noxious air quality influencers. Employees had reported a variety of health concerns: headaches, nausea, tiredness, nasal and sinus symptoms, vomiting, burning eyes, sore throats, breathing problems, coughing, ear infections…(NIOSH, 2002)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Teletech

READ: NIOSH - HHE Teletech

(1 RC) - This HHE conducted by NIOSH and the CDC investigates a Teletech call center building to monitor and adjust the indoor environmental quality. Primary health concerns were: frequent sinus infections, respiratory infections, indoor allergies of unknown origin, hives, and skin rashes. Listed exposures included air fresheners, dirty air ducts and vents…(NIOSH, 2004)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Environmental Protection Department West Virginia

READ: NIOSH - HHE Environmental Protection Department West Virginia

(1 RC) - In June 2001, a middle-aged couple with a history of smoking moved into a newly built, two-story, woodframed home with a finished basement and adjacent crawlspace on land that was formerly mined. Shortly after occupancy, the 42-year old woman noted new-onset shortness of breath, lightheadedness, dizziness, and fatigue while in the basement… (NIOSH, 2004)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Health Science Center

READ: NIOSH - HHE Health Science Center

(1 RC) - This HHE conducted by NIOSH and the CDC investigates a health science center in response to reports of asthma and respiratory symptoms. Employees had expressed concerns about the air quality including the possibility that exposure to photographic chemicals leaking into the office space from the area above might have caused health effects experienced by employees…(NIOSH, 2004)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Justice Court Building

READ: NIOSH - HHE Justice Court Building

(2 RC) - This HHE conducted by NIOSH and the CDC inspects a justice court building in response to anonymous complaints about the indoor environmental quality. Since occupying the building in 1999, employees reported headaches, itchy and burning eyes, chronic sinus infections, asthma, heart palpitations, and memory loss…(NIOSH, 2003)

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READ: NIOSH - HHE Behavioral Health Hospital

READ: NIOSH - HHE Behavioral Health Hospital

(1 RC) - This HHE conducted by the CDC and NIOSH investigates a behavioral health hospital in response to complaints about asthma and other respiratory symptoms. This was the second request for an evaluation since February 2004. The first request concerned respiratory symptoms and illnesses, including asthma, that workers felt could be related to possible mold contamination in the ventilation system…(NIOSH, 2005)

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