Air Quality Index (AQI) and You

Air Quality Index (AQI) and You During the 2018 Paradise Fire smoke wave, many in the Bay Area obsessively checked online for air quality information and updates. Here is an overview of a handful of real-time air quality websites I found helpful and how they compare. Keep in mind that climate change plus newer and cheaper
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DIY Box Fan Filter – MERV 13 versus HEPA Air Purifier

Air flow of fan filter on intake side. Wildfire smoke and air quality
DIY Box Fan Filter & Air Quality Experiment Here in San Francisco and surrounding areas kids are stuck indoors during this smoke wave caused by our wild fires with little or no air filtration. In San Francisco the school buildings are older and are not setup to have building wide air filtration. Nor can cash-strapped
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Interesting Things About EMF Testing

5 Interesting Things About EMF (Electromagnetic Fields): There are 5 different types of “EMF” that are commonly tested in buildings: low frequency magnetic fields low frequency electric fields “dirty electricity”, “high-voltage transients” or “electrical noise” radio frequency (RF) radiation alpha, beta and gamma ionizing radiation Each of the above types of radiation originates from unique
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6 Tips for Water Quality and Water Testing

6 Tips for Water Quality and Water Testing: Source matters – One of the most important variables in water quality is the source. Does the water come from an open water source like a lake or reservoir? Is it treated and delivered to a site via the municipal or county water service? Is it a spring
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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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Bay Area Air Quality Among Worst In Nation

Bay Area Air Quality Among Worst In Nation As an industrial hygienist it came as a surprise that the American Lung Association recently ranked Bay Area air quality among the worst in nation for air pollution and particulates. Unhealthy levels of pollution were found in numerous parts of the country, but the San Francisco Bay
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Tension at the Materials and Human Health Summit?

Building Materials and Human Health
Tension at the Materials and Human Health Summit? A report from Greenbuild 2013 This year 25,000 industry experts descended upon the Philadelphia Convention Center for a week of networking and education to discuss Building Materials and Human Health at Greenbuild 2013. I was fortunate enough to attend the Materials and Human Health Summit, an all-day
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EMF Rules of Thumb

EMF Rules of Thumb
Curious about general best practices for minimizing EMF exposure? This post is an excerpt from the Healthy Home Standard, and it includes many great EMF rules of thumb. This is part of a series about the Healthy Home Standard, and there will be another post on additional EMF best practices. The following EMF rules of
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Fluoride, Health and Drinking Water

Tooth Decay Trend in Flouridated and Non-Flouridated Countries
Fluoride, Health, and Drinking Water The addition of fluoride to the drinking water supply began in the 1950s as a method to fight against tooth decay.  Currently, 11 countries in the world have more than 50% of their population drinking fluoridated water. These include Singapore (100%), Hong Kong (100%), Brunei (95%); Australia (80%), Malaysia (75%),
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