Healthy Home: Check for Lead in Plastic Toys and Painted Wood

Home Lead Testing with XRF is for Lead Inspection Expert
Home Lead Testing There are DIY home lead test kits available online and in some hardware stores, but the more reliable way of evaluating a home and its contents for lead risks is to hire a lead inspector. A lead inspector may utilize bulk sampling, which is destructive and will leave holes in materials, or
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Home Renovation: Tips for How Avoiding Lead Dust When Doing Repairs Yourself

How To Avoid Lead Dust For DIY Home Renovations
How To Avoid Lead Dust During Home Renovations Containment, Wet Methods, HEPA Vacuum and Prompt Clean-up are the main work practices to follow in order to reduce exposure to lead dust during renovation. Sticking to these concepts will help avoid most common pathways of exposing your family to lead dust. Whether or not the paint
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Pesticides – To Spray Or Not To Spray?

Pest Problem? Before you reach for the pesticides, bug spray, or call an exterminator, consider that once you’ve sprayed, pesticide residue can remain years later. Luckily, there are resources to help inform you whether you want to use them in the first place and what to do after the fact to limit exposure and clean
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New OSHA Silica Testing Requirement in Effect

New OSHA Silica Testing Requirement in Effect OSHA has issued two standards (“rules”) to minimize exposure to respirable crystalline silica. One rule applies to construction trades, and the other to general industry and maritime workplaces. This blog focuses on the new OSHA Silica Testing requirements for the construction industry. September 23, 2017, kicked off enforcement for
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What To Do About Dust and Smoke From Fires

Dust and Smoke from Fires Far more people have been impacted by dust and smoke than fires themselves. If you were directly impacted by fires you should read Cleaning After Fire. For others in the region who have been more directly impacted by dust and smoke from fires, please consider these tips to minimize health
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Cleaning After Fire

Cleaning After Fire The October 2017 California Fires in Northern California were devastating. Northern California will be dealing with the death and destruction of recent wildfires for years.  The immediate life safety concerns about fire are obvious and frightening, but what many don’t realize is that returning to fire damaged buildings is also hazardous. Cleaning
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SF Water Supply & Ground Water Testing

San Francisco Water Supply, New Chemicals & Ground Water Testing For the first time in nearly nine decades, San Francisco is blending local groundwater with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water, sourced from over 167 miles away.  For some, this change has been hard to swallow as San Francisco residents have long held bragging rights to exceptional
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Dirty Electricity from LEDs

Dirty Electricity from LEDs People interested high fidelity sound systems or low-EMF environments want to minimize electromagnetic interference (AKA: EMI, High-Voltage Transients, Electrical Noise, and Dirty Electricity) from lighting systems. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) – the curly pig tail variety with some mercury in them – are notoriously “dirty” and create significant EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
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IAQ Issues LEED Building San Francisco – Part Two

IAQ Issues LEED Building – Part Two As a healthy building inspector and industrial hygienist, I have performed several pre-occupancy IEQ tests to the LEED standard and specifically for LEED certification. I am familiar with both the testing and flush out options and IAQ issues related LEED Building certification. The flush out option is most
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Architectural Design – Mold Free Guarantee?

During one of my many presentations on Building Enclosure Commissioning to architecture firms, I had a question from an architect echoing the concern in many professionals’ minds about mold. The architect in question wondered if there is any way to guarantee “on paper” that mold will never occur in an assembly. Architectural design mold free
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