Environmental Health and Safety Blog | EHSWire

Dale Wilson, CIH, LEED AP

When the National Weather service issues a forecast calling for 3 to 4 inches of rain, most people react by wondering how it will affect their plans or travel.  I think about what water damage will occur.

 When heavy rains are forecast, are you ready? Do you know what to do if your building is affected by rain penetration through the roof or walls? What is your plan if your building is flooded by a local stream or river?  Even without bad weather, water damage is always a possible threat if your building has a water line break.  Or worse yet, do you know how to react if there’s a sewage back-up?

Depending on the water source your options for cleaning up and salvaging property vary greatly.  But for all kinds of damage, you need to have a plan in place anticipating what you will do, who you will call, and how quickly they will respond.  Emilcott was recently asked to work in four, very different, water-damaged commercial and/or multi-tenant residential properties.   These events included:

• Retail and Office Complex – Roof and Façade Leak


• Office and Warehouse – Broken Water Supply Main


• Multi-tenant Apartment building – Sprinkler Activation


• Public Housing Complex – Steam Leak

What did all four projects have in common?  The answer is time.  Lots of time!  Too much time between the initial event, the response and Emilcott’s resulting late involvement!  Time and water combined can grow to be an expensive and time-consuming enemy.  Failure to respond promptly will, very likely, result in mold growth within the building requiring significantly more demolition than if the condition is handled in a timely manner.  What is the definition of timely? As soon as it is discovered!

With the retail complex, we were called in approximately one month after the roof and walls began leaking.  An employee actually complained to their nearest OSHA office and OSHA issued a notice of potential violation to the employer.  Mold was present in a localized area of the store, along with a significant insect infestation due to wet, damp conditions of building surfaces.   Unfortunate results of the delay:  a mold remediation project was required and portions of the retail space were out of use for weeks.

The damage to the office and warehouse operation was more significant.  Water from the broken water main filled the 5400 sq. ft.  office to several inches and made its way to the adjacent warehouse.  The initial response by the building owner seems logical:  removal of standing water, placement of a few box fans to attempt to dry the carpet, and operating the air conditioning 24/7 as cold as the occupants would tolerate.  By the time we arrived just 5 days after the event, sheetrock walls were saturated at the base of every wall and elevated moisture readings were present up to 8 feet above the floor. Relative humidity was close to 70%, carpets had a strong musty odor, and internal wall cavities were impacted by mold growth even though no visible growth was observed on the exterior of the wall.  Final results of a mere 5 day delay in appropriate responsiveness:  the tenant and their sub-tenants loss use of the office area as trailers were brought in to house them while remediation and reconstruction occurred over a two week time period.

A kitchen fire occurred in the residential apartment complex triggered sprinklers to turn on which caused water to run from the sixth floor down to ground level.  Removal of standing water was the only initial response.  When Emilcott arrived 2 weeks later sheetrock walls were still saturated with water, visible mold was appearing in multiple, occupied apartments, and paint was bubbling and peeling from the walls.  Another significant mold remediation project was required, which in turn required relocation of tenants while remediation was in progress.

Finally, the public housing complex had experienced a steam leak for a period of several months.  Tenants in effected units were relocated and those apartments remained unoccupied.  However, an unusual occurrence happened with this steam leak as these apartments had plaster walls.  Mold grew quite well on the painted surface of the walls, something that may be expected, but due to high, high humidity and moisture levels in the plaster for extended periods of time, the analytical laboratory verified that the mold growth penetrated into the plaster from the surface.  This resulted in the demolition of the plaster walls and loss of effected housing units for several additional months.

For each of these properties and water-related circumstances, delayed and improper response increased the magnitude of the problem resulting in increased time that each space was unusable, and increased the total cost of response and repair. What should you do instead?  Bringing in a water-remediation expert immediately to identify the scope of the problem, develop a water response action plan, and implement that plan right away will minimize the damage to building materials and reduce impacts to building occupants.  In each of the four instances listed above, response actions like relocating furnishing away from walls or out of the area completely, immediately removing cove moldings, installing commercial grade dehumidification equipment, installing commercial grade floor fans, selective limited demolition, and actively monitoring and evaluating the drying process would have significantly reduced the duration of the response activity and the overall cost of each event. 

So, how can you reduce the costs of the surprise water problem? My advice is to plan now -- whether it is for rain and flooding that may occur due to weather conditions or for the pipe break that always happens unexpectedly.  Knowing who to call to determine the scope of the problem and who can implement the recommended response will save you significant time, money, property and hassle.

Lee Bishop, CIH

Have you ever wondered if the air your kids are breathing at their school is safe?  Well, so has the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

The US EPA has completed sampling outside air at 63 elementary, middle, and high schools in 22 states.  Even better yet, they have completed the analytical work associated with these samples and have uploaded more than 22,500 results to the EPA website.

The EPA is now analyzing the sampling results to see if there may be long-term health consequences for young people attending these schools.  Reports of the analysis have been released for two schools:  Pittsboro Elementary School in Pittsboro, Ind. and Minnesota International Middle Charter School in Minneapolis.  At both schools, levels of the high-profile pollutants monitored were below levels of both short-term and long-term concern.  EPA previously released analyses for two schools in Tennessee.  These results will also be used for air contaminant modeling programs.

The samples were analyzed for 6 distinct pollutant groups:

1. Carbonyls such as acetaldehyde,


2. Diisocyanates such as methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, and 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate,


3. Metals such as arsenic, cobalt, lead, manganese, and nickel,


4. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)s such as benzo(a)pyrene, and naphthalene,


5. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acrolein, benzene, and 1,3-butadiene, and


6. Other specific pollutants such as 4,4’-methylenedianiline, and hexavalent chromium (Chromium VI).

While some of these materials may be found in nature, they are concentrated in processed materials and uses related to dyes, plastics, tobacco, transportation, pesticides, and steel / energy production activities.  Many of the emissions related to these products can become concentrated in some areas.  Where schools existed in such areas, outside air was tested.

Particulates were collected by using the EPA’s PM10 method (for dust less than 10 um [microns] in diameter that can enter and be impacted in the lungs), and by the TSP method for particulate matter greater than 10 um in diameter and can be a human health hazard due to dermal contact and subsequent ingestion, or by drinking water contaminated with these materials.

Since these are OUTDOOR air samples – the results tell us a lot about the air quality not just at the schools, but in the communities around these schools.  Check out these data for schools in your community at http://www.epa.gov/schoolair/schools.html.

I’ve looked at the results for schools in New Jersey, and even though they are schools close to or in urban areas, the levels measured were well below the Short Term Screening Limits established by the EPA.  While the results are reassuring, they do reinforce that we do live in a chemical world!  I wonder what the air quality is like INSIDE my house. What do you think?

Dale Wilson, CIH, LEED AP


“Vapor intrusion refers to this migration of volatile chemicals from the subsurface into overlying buildings.”  Vapor intrusion (VI) air sampling is a method to evaluate if chemical vapors are entering a building due to contaminated soil or groundwater that is on or adjacent to the property on which the building is built. In order for vapors to enter a building from the soil or groundwater there have to be pathways such as  cracks in the foundation, openings around piping used for mechanical, pluming, and electrical systems, groundwater entering the basement just to name a few. Once vapors are in a basement or crawlspace, there have to be additional pathways for the vapors to enter the first floor occupied space. 

When it comes to vapor intrusion understanding “why it is happening” is just as important as understanding “what is happening”.

What is Vapor Intrusion?

“Vapor intrusion has become a significant environmental issue for regulators, industry leaders, and concerned residents. Degradation of the indoor air quality can cause fear and anxiety among building occupants, businesses, and other property owners.”

A Vapor Intrusion Project

Recently, Emilcott was hired to review vapor intrusion air sampling data collected by another consultant.  The building site was a large commercial property that was mostly composed of office space, but there was also an onsite daycare center.  After collecting data for several years, the vapor intrusion had not been resolved. 

After reviewing all the data, we made a site visit to help us understand what was contributing to the continued and increased vapor concentrations -- both in the basement of the building, which was used for storage, and in the first floor daycare center.   

Our initial site visit revealed multiple pathways that permitted vapors to enter the basement and additional pathways that permitted vapors to enter the first floor occupied space.  It was clear that the owner’s other consultant had focused on What Is Happening through continuous air sampling without understanding the dynamics of Why It Is Happening.  Based upon

• An analysis of the collected air monitoring data,


• A thorough site inspection, and


• An understanding of vapor intrusion causes and migration,

we were able to propose a step-by-step procedure to protect the client’s building and occupants. In addition, by including the client in the process, the client stated that they had learned more about the building from our visit than they had over the several years of data collection.

Vapor Intrusion – A Way Out

When reviewing a VI problem with a building owner or property manager, indoor air quality consultants should have answers to these basic questions to fully understand the problem and suggest a remediation solution:

1. What are the volatile chemicals that we are dealing with?


2. What are the risks of short-term and prolonged exposure to these chemicals?


3. Why and where are they getting into my building?


4. Can I stop the VI chemicals from getting in?


5. If I can’t stop the VI chemicals from getting in, what are the alternatives?

Interrupting and sealing the pathways is the only way to prevent building occupants from exposure to vapors. 

For our client the process of sealing pathways has been accelerated and should be complete in a few weeks.  With the complete understanding of vapor intrusion What? and Why?, a plan to seal the pathways between the ground and the basement, and the basement and the first floor, may reduce the occupants’ exposures to the vapors and avoid any increased levels of regulatory oversight and accelerated response actions.

Have you experienced a vapor intrusion problem that remains unresolved or puzzled the experts? Do you have questions about indoor air quality issues and evaluation techniques and best practices? Please share your story or questions below and we’ll respond quickly.

Genya Mallach - CSP
Most recently, we have had to educate ourselves on the wide-spread outbreak of influenza virus, H1N1, and the precautions necessary to break the pandemic, which is far from over. Not to downplay the risk of the H1N1 virus, a virulent, drug resistant form of Tuberculosis (TB) has appeared in the United States. This disease is so ancient that it has been found in the spine of a 4,400-year-old Egyptian mummy. Tuberculosis is still the top single infectious killer of adults worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, it lies dormant in one out of three people. Of those, 10 percent will develop active TB, and about 2 million people a year will die from it.

It was just six months ago that word was leaked to the public of a case of TB that was originally diagnosed in 2007, and has greatly alarmed the medical community. Oswaldo Juarez, a then 19-year old Peruvian visiting US to study English was diagnosed with XXDR (Extremely Drug Resistant) TB. This is a strain of TB that had never before been seen in the U.S.

Dr. David Ashkin, one of the nation’s leading experts on tuberculosis, described this form of tuberculosis as so rare that only a handful of people in the world are thought to have had it.The treatment of an XXDR TB is an equivalent to aggressive chemotherapy, requires strict quarantine and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat.

The questions we must now ask are: Should we consider testing of TB in the work environment? Should periodic testing of all workers be required? Should we be worried of another pandemic?

Sarah Stibbe Damaskos
Where were you the first time that someone casually mentioned that they were a Certified Industrial Hygienist? Chances are you immediately pictured some type of space-suited dental hygienist flossing the world’s most horrific tooth grunge.  Or maybe you heard the term “industrial hygiene” and the frightening image of super-sized Teflon underwear floated into your head?  The good news is that you were almost right – conceptually.

Certified Industrial Hygienists (“CIH”) are cool. Sometimes they do get to wear Major Tom kind of protective clothing and poke around dirty places but most of the time they’re more like a squad of Super Safety People and their goal is to protect you.  According to the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (www.ABIH.org) “Industrial hygiene is the science of protecting and enhancing the health and safety of people at work and in their communities.” 

Industrial hygienists (rather than be called Super Safety People which is so much better for T-shirts) fall into a large group more commonly known as Environmental, Health and Safety experts but CIH focus exclusively on Health – Occupational Health and Environmental Health.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (www.AIHA.org) has created this handy list of typical EHS roles: 

• Investigate and examine the workplace for hazards and potential dangers


• Make recommendations on improving the safety of workers and the surrounding community


• Conduct scientific research to provide data on possible harmful conditions in the workplace


• Develop techniques to anticipate and control potentially dangerous situations in the workplace and the community


• Train and educate the community about job-related risks


• Advise government officials and participating in the development of regulations to ensure the health and safety of workers and their families


• Ensure that workers are properly following health and safety procedures 

Essentially it means that a group of highly-trained, certified professional are able to prevent, investigate and address work and community safety issues so that you can live a longer, healthier life.  Specifically, industrial hygienists are focused on

• Chemical, Biological, Physical and Other Hazardous Agent Exposure


• Emergency Response Planning


• Community Impact and Awareness


• Workplace Conditions / Occupational Safety


• Detection, Planning and Control

If you own a business and your operation has the potential to expose employees or subcontractors or neighbors to possible health hazards, you need an industrial hygienist to reduce your risk, save money and, of course, offer everyone peace of mind. If you would rather pretend that environmental, safety or health issues are not important, I suggest you purchase a pair of Teflon underwear and super-size it.

How do you feel about being called an Industrial Hygienist? What would be an improved or more descriptive job title?