Healthy Buildings 2009 conference in New York

Healthy Buildings 2009 (Syracuse, NY)Registration Is Now Open for Healthy Buildings 2009. Visit http://www.hb2009.org/home for more information. Healthy Buildings 2009 will take place in Syracuse, NY, USA from September 13 to 17, 2009. Join the world’s leaders at the Ninth International Healthy Buildings Conference and Exhibition.

Visit http://www.hb2009.org/registration to take advantage of Early Registration rates and choices of accommodations. This international meeting, hosted by Syracuse University and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE), will provide a forum for exchange of leading research and technology developments,a unique opportunity to share information on your company’s innovative products and services, and an extraordinary venue to network with national and global leaders and professionals in the fields of indoor air quality and healthy built environments.

Air Pollution role in arthritis?

Living near a busy highway may increase the risk for rheumatoid arthritis.

Harvard researchers studied nearly 100,000 women and looked at how far their homes were from roads with more than two lanes of traffic. Those living within 55 yards of a big road increased their risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis by nearly a third, compared with women who lived at least 220 yards away.

This suggests pollutants may play a role.

New sofas to blame for rash of allergies

Research is now confirming that pesticides packed into furniture coming from China are causing several health issues. You can read an article from the Sydney Morning Herald just published today at... http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-sofas-to-blame-for-rash-of-allergies-20090411-a3e2.html?page=-1

Care for your air brochure

The EPA published a new brochure in September of 2008 entitled, "Care for Your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality." It is available in .pdf format at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pdfs/careforyourair.pdf or in hard copy by ordering document number EPA 402-F-08-008 directly from the EPA.

This brochure was written for the consumer and provides basic information on common indoor air pollutants and remedies. While not as comprehensive as the NORMI protocols for improving IAQ, this EPA primer can be a useful part of an IAQ education program.

OSHA releases new respiratroy protection guidelines

OSHA has published a new guideline document, Assigned Protection Factors(APF), that provides employers with vital information for selecting respirators for workers exposed to contaminants in the air. The guidelines focus on mandatory respirator selection provisions added to the existing Respiratory Protection standard. OSHA revised this standard in 2006 to add APFs and Maximum Use Concentration (MUC) provisions.

APF refers to the level of respiratory protection that a respirator or class of respirators is able to provide against particles, gases, or vapors.The higher the APF number (5 to 10,000), the greater the level of protection provided to the user.

MUC represents the limit at which the class of respirator is expected to provide protection. Whenever a hazard's exposure level exceeds MUC, a respirator with a higher APF should be selected.

You can access this new document at... http://www.osha.gov/Publications/3352-APF-respirators.pdf