Air Quality Problems in the EPA’s San Francisco LEED EBOM Building IAQ Issues in a LEED Building Part ONE At the end of February 2016, NBC ran a segment investigating whether the EPA Region 9 building, at 75 Hawthorne Street in downtown San Francisco, was a Sick Building. All answers pointed to yes. In the

House Plants Can Contribute to Healthier Indoor Environments We spend about 90% of our time indoors. While inside, we are exposed to a variety of indoor air pollutants. Reducing or removing these pollutants and creating an optimal indoor environment is important to our health and well-being. House plants reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and are

WELL BUILDING STANDARD – How to apply it to any project There is a new green certification in town. It is called the WELL Building Standard and it targets the ways in which buildings can enhance occupant health. Indicative of the increasing emphasis on how work areas are designed (i.e., Google, Facebook, Air Bnb, LinkedIn),

LEEDv4 IAQ Testing Requirements Industrial hygienists across the US have been watching the USGBC as they’ve updated the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Testing Credit for Post-Construction. LEEDv4 IAQ Testing requirements have changed since LEEDv2009. Many health and healthy building advocates hoped they would lower the allowable levels of formaldehyde, but due to industry uproar that did

Indoor Air Pollution Near Busy Roads Freeways and other busy roads are sources of elevated auto emissions and indoor air pollution. These emissions can be harmful to human health for both people on the roads and people working, walking, and living nearby. Nearly 20% of the United States population lives near a high volume road,

Top 10 Tips to Look for Water Damage and Mold in Buildings Every year the rains return, soil dampens, leaks pop up, and mold in buildings becomes much more prevalent than during dry times. This winter’s forecast “El Niño” may bring more rain and possible flooding than California has seen in a decade. Many of

Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness What is the Difference? Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness are two distinct diagnoses. People often use the term “sick building” when referring to a property, but buildings don’t get sick – people do. I believe if there are numerous people suffering from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) it’s okay to

5 Ways Property Managers Limit Risk From Environmental Claims A property manager is often stuck between a rock and a hard place. Environmental claims are common pitfalls that cause even the best property managers to wind up on the wrong side of the bench in a courtroom. Here are several tried and proven ways property managers

“Stealth” Power Meters: Analog Meters with Hidden Transmitters A client recently shared their experiences regarding a stealth power meter that had been installed on their home. The following has been anonymized: We had opted out of the Smart Meter program about a year ago.  The electric company had come out and swapped in an analog

Magnetic Field Guidelines for the New Home  EMF is a broad umbrella term encompassing many aspects of electromagnetic issues that can affect human health. Subcatagories of EMF issues include RF Radiation (also known as ElectroMagnetic Radiation [EMR]), Interior/Exterior Magnetic Fields, Interior/ Exterior Electric Fields, Transient Voltage Fluctuations (also known as Dirty Electricity or ElectroMagnetic Interference