MAINE INDOOR AIR QUALITY COUNCIL 

KEYNOTE SUMMARY:

30 years after banning production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), these compounds linger in the paints, finishes, caulk, mortar, flooring, and electrical components of our buildings.  Any building constructed between the 1940s and the late 1970s—including schools, office buildings, homes, multi-family dwellings, and municipal buildings—is a prime candidate for the presence of PCB-laden materials.

John D. Spengler, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation at Harvard University’s School of Public Health will present recent research on PCBs’ ability to migrate to dust, adjacent materials, and soils, and how even if undisturbed, PCBs in building components can impact occupant health.

 The presence of toxics in buildings presents a number of challenges for anyone involved in the maintenance and retrofit of existing homes, schools and office buildings:

• What maintenance practices can either aggravate or alleviate risk of PCB exposure?
   
• What are the core occupational health & safety considerations of weatherization, renovation and retrofits in homes, schools and office buildings?
   
• What are the regulatory benchmarks for product development, maintenance and mitigation of toxics in buildings?

 This session will provide a forum in which these challenges can be explored.

ABOUT JACK SPENGLER:

John D. Spengler, PhD, is the Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation at Harvard University's School of Public Health. Professor Spengler has conducted research in the areas of personal monitoring, air pollution health effects and indoor air pollution.  Several investigations have focused on housing design and its effects on ventilation rates, building materials’ selection, energy consumption, and total environmental quality in homes.  He is co-editor of three books:  Indoor Air Quality Handbook (2000); Particles in Our Air: Concentrations and Health Effects (1996); and Indoor Air Pollution: A Health Perspective (1991). He serves on the National Research Council’s (NRC) Institute of Medicine Roundtable for Environmental Health, and recently chaired an NRC committee on Green Schools.  In 2003, Prof. Spengler was recipient of the Heinz Award for the Environment; and in 2008, he was honored by the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate’s Academy of Fellows with the Max von Pettenkofer award for distinguished contributions to the field of indoor air science.