Green buildings are created to provide healthy and productive indoor environments for their occupants. While achieving these goals can consume energy and funds, efforts to conserve energy can end up degrading the quality of the indoor environment.

This program will address how a healthy indoor environment will more likely be achieved if certain priorities are established:  understanding the integrated relationship between saving energy and the achievement of good indoor air quality, the importance of effective air sealing of the building envelope, the ability to control air contaminants, and the importance of continually managing moisture and ventilation performance over the life of the building. It will address which building performance metrics are most important to have, and what are the best and most accurate ways of obtaining building performance information in a timely fashion. The program will emphasize how accurate diagnostic feedback on building performance in these areas will not only help achieve and maintain a healthy environment, but also reduce risks and uncertainties in building operation and reduce the time between identifying a problem with the building, and when it is understood and corrected.

Presenter:  David Bearg, Life Energy Associates, Concord, MA
 

Become an Energy Bean Counter

Topics to be covered:  reasons for energy accounting, getting started, variations in energy use, understanding your energy bills, methods of energy accounting, means of energy accounting, energy accounting software.

Presenter:  Rick Meinking, RM Services, Scarborough, ME
 

Building Diagnostics Case Study

Our 2010 building diagnostics case study will focus on a school that was investigated jointly by Turner Building Science (TBS) and the National Institutes of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH).  This school was originally constructed in the 1920s/1930s.  In 2004/5, a significant addition was constructed at the school, adding three classroom wings, Cafeteria, completely new mechanical systems, etc.  Soon after construction, the occupants of this building had symptoms related to adverse indoor air quality issues.  NIOSH will address the symptoms and their process for evaluating these types of conditions.  TBS will discuss the causal factors that were discovered during the site evaluation and review of the drawings.  Issues to be covered include damp crawlspace, poorly installed flashing, air leakage/humidity issues, heat pump operation/configuration issues, inadequate ventilation, surface drainage issues.

Presenters:  TBA
 

Choosing Green & Healthy Building Materials

(program description pending)

This session sponsored by the Maine Chapter of the U.S. Green Buildings Council.

Presenter:  TBA
 

Healthy IAQ Measures in Residential Settings

The concept of ‘Healthy Housing’ is spreading across America in an attempt to create residential settings free from harmful environmental toxins and triggers.  In this presentation, representatives from the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine, the Maine Asthma Council and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention/Healthy Homes Program will discuss ways in which homeowners, landlords, builders, weatherization specialists and other housing and health professionals can be proactive in the address of indoor air contamination within residential buildings. The program will cover:  the indoor air triggers of asthma and chronic health conditions in residential settings; the major causes of carbon monoxide poisoning in residential settings and the new state law requiring carbon monoxide alarms in certain dwellings; voluntary policy changes by homeowners, landlords and residential workers to help improve home indoor air quality; ways to adapt Health Housing principals for healthy indoor air quality with existing practices of development, renovation and inspections of residential buildings.

Presenters:  Ruth Lawson-Stopps, Maine Asthma Program, Augusta, ME; Eric Frohmberg, Maine Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Augusta, ME; and Tina Pettingill, Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine, Portland, ME
 

Hypothesis-Driven Investigative Strategies

Interpreting bioaerosols data remains a significant challenge.  Ensuring that data is interpretable requires the development, in advance, of specific hypotheses and strategies to test them. The session  will cover how to accurately record investigative data, develop hypotheses, design strategies that will produce interpretable data, and clearly report these data. Attendees will have the opportunity to work with actual case studies and scenarios and to practice developing better investigative strategies. 

Presenter:  Dave Gallup, EMLab P & K, San Bruno, CA
 

IAQ Myths & Scams

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the causes of indoor air quality problems, even among professionals. This session will discuss some common myths, such as the need for crawl spaces to be ventilated to the exterior, and that improved ventilation will prevent mold growth in attics. We?ll also cover some of the ways that people get ripped off buying equipment that not only doesn?t work but that can make an IAQ problem worse: exhaust-only dehumidifiers, ionizing air purifiers, and ultraviolet lights in air handlers, among others. 

Discussion will include some issues with testing of Chinese drywall and numerous photographs from the field.

Presenter:  Jeffrey C. May, May Indoor Investigations, LLC, Tyngsborough, MA
 

Managing the Risks of PCBs in Construction & Renovation Projects

This workshop will present the recent developments in EPA’s advisory on PCB-contaminated building products such as caulking and paints. The break out session will provide building owners and contractors with practical guidance on how to effectively navigate EPA regulatory maze, using examples from actual cases involving the removal and remediation of PCB-containing caulk from buildings. Practical advise will be provided to manage the risks in identifying these types of building products and developing mitigation strategies to address the concerns of various stakeholders including contractors, occupants, and State and Federal authorities.

Matt Fragala, MS, CIH, Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc., Needham, MA
 

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity:  Hitting a Moving Medical Target

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a diagnostic descriptor of individuals with acquired recurrent symptoms to low level volatile compounds. A unifying pathophysiological mechanism has not been established and globally accepted treatment guidelines have not been accepted. The frustration of not being able to compartmentalize MCS into a well-established disease model has led to a polarizing debate by clinicians and regulatory agencies. The practical matter is that health care providers will encounter patients either pre-labeled with this condition or be newly diagnosed based upon their symptom complex. We will review MCS from the prospective of  traditional Medical Toxicology and consider options to reconcile conceptual conflicts.

Presenter:  Tamas Peredy, M.D.; Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
 

Passive House Construction:  Heating Without a Furnace

This program presents the key concepts of "Passive House" construction, a rigorous standard for energy efficient residential construction that heats a building through the ventilation air system.  A certified Passive House uses 90% less energy for heating and cooling while greatly increasing the comfort and healthfulness of the building.  The program addresses both new construction as well as retrofitting existing homes to Passive House standard.  The session will explore the main principles of Passive House construction (super insulation, air tight construction, elimination of thermal bridges, specifying energy or heat recovery ventilation, high performance windows, passive solar gain, and energy modeling software); explores how to distribute heat through the ventilation air and the limitations of such a system; and why better thermal insulation and air tightness lead to a more comfortable home.

Presenter:  Jesper Kruse, Maine Passive House, Greenwood, ME
 

Tools for Office Buildings:  IAQ in the Office Environment

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH) has adapted the EPA’s Tools for Schools Program for the office workplace.  The program, Tools for Office Buildings (TfOB), aims to address the potential pollutants in the office that can cause health-related problems for the occupants. 

The presentation will begin with a discussion of the pollutants that may be found in the office work environment.  It will then describe the TfOB program by outlining the five major components and walking through the steps for implementing the program. The utilization of a team–based approach with building management, administration, and the building occupants to address IAQ issues in a proactive manner looking for low cost, no cost solutions will be discussed.  The two part training for team members, the checklists utilized by the occupants to assess all areas of the building, and the building walkthrough will be illustrated.   In addition, the collection of data, establishment of priorities, and determination of the significant findings and recommendations to be included in a final report will be outlined. 

The presentation will demonstrate the impact a TfOB program can have on IAQ in the office environment and the ease of program implementation and replication.

By attending the program, attendees will be able to:

• Identify potential IAQ pollutants in the office environment
• Implement an IAQ program in the office environment
• Evaluate the impact of an IAQ program in the workplace

Presenter:  Joan Simpson, Connecticut Department of Health, Hartford, CT
 

The Truth Behind Mold Remediation Practices

In recent years, there have been many “technologies” that have entered the mold remediation industry – some are truly effective and valuable while others may create even more problems and make the situation worse.  The pros and/or cons of “traditional” remediation, when to clean vs when to tear out, containments, baking soda and dry ice blasting, remediating attic spaces, heat and extreme temperatures, enzymes and other chemicals, and mold left in place will all be addressed.  Attendees will learn details about the technologies and either why they work effectively or why they do not.

The program will also review current guidelines and standards that have been set as well as the pros and cons that coincide with those and how they relate to current remediation practices.

Presenter:  Eric Anderson, Enviro-Clean, Inc., Smithfield, RI