Air Date: 2-21-2014 | Episode: 316
This week on IAQ Radio we welcome Derrick Denis, VP of Indoor Environmental Quality at Clark Seif Clark (CSC) and the 1st Vice President of the Indoor Air Quality Association Mr. Denis is a twenty year veteran of the Indoor Environmental Quality industry who in 2002 opened CSC’s Southwestern office located in Tempe, Arizona…
Full Description:
This week on IAQ Radio we welcome Derrick Denis, VP of Indoor Environmental Quality at Clark Seif Clark (CSC) and the 1st Vice President of the Indoor Air Quality Association Mr. Denis is a twenty year veteran of the Indoor Environmental Quality industry who in 2002 opened CSC’s Southwestern office located in Tempe, Arizona. Mr. Denis has contracted, managed, and/or performed over 13,000 indoor environmental quality (IEQ) projects with values ranging from under $25.00 to over $250,000.00. He is also the Chapter Director for the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) Phoenix Chapter, and is on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chapter of the Environmental Information Association (ElA).
Included within the projects Mr. Denis has managed are some very unique and interesting projects we plan to discuss. We will also preview some of the key events and presentations at this year’s IAQA conference coming March 17-19 in Nashville, TN.
Z-Man’s Blog:
Derrick drills down into IEQ
Derrick Denis (Industrial Hygienist and V.P. Indoor Environmental Quality for the firm of Clark Seif Clark, Inc.) was our guest on today’s episode of IAQ Radio. Over the course of his career, Derrick has been involved with numerous unique IEQ and environmental health and safety issues.
Nuggets mined from today’s episode:
- Derrick became involved in IAQ because of a “hero complex” his need to help others.
- IAQ may be a perception, for instance: a soiled HVAC return register can look unclean while the air passing through it is acceptable versus one which visibly looks clean but can have unhealthy air moving through it.
- There are sick buildings and sick building occupants. Both building occupants and buildings can be sick.
- Chemical Exposure Assessments are more common in industry, where there is a known hazard that needs to be quantified. For example: protecting pharmaceutical workers against the hazards of working with, handling or exposure to hormones.
- “I smell something tell me what it is” is how “Mystery Odor Investigations” often begin. Mystery odors are commonly related to components of sewer gases such as hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, etc.
- There is a difference between non-detectable, where a contaminant is present below the sensitivity of the instrument, and none present.
- Consumers watch TV shows like CSI and get the wrong impression that IEP experts with sophisticated instruments can solve complex problems in 30 minutes or less.
- The fuel consumed by burning wildfires is biomass. Wildfire residue has a different fingerprint than structure fires. Charcoal with its high carbon content is capable of burning again.
- Evacuation in the wake of wildfire heightens awareness. Smoke residues are unsightly and raise aesthetic concerns. Opportunity to file an insurance claim coupled with neighbors receiving insurance claim proceeds may heighten policyholder awareness.
- Concern over wildfire residue is gaining legal traction out west.
- Wood burning stoves and fireplaces are commonly found in areas prone to wildfires. Differentiating between preexisting levels of contamination and inordinate levels of contamination borne by wildfires is sophisticated.
- Sampling and testing for wildfire residue involves collecting surface material and sending to a lab for direct microscopy and sometimes Transmission Electron Microscopy and/or Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis.
- Necrotizing fasciitis (AKA flesh eating bacteria) strikes panic in the occupants of a building. Educating the client is part of an effective resolution. We don’t live in a sterile world. We carry and shed both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms. Deep cleaning and sanitizing makes occupants feel better. Clients must make practical decisions regarding sentimental items.
- Remediation workers for ricin and meth lab cleanup must be HAZMAT trained. Demolition of contaminated building materials may prove less costly than decontamination followed by post remediation verification.
- Indoor CO2 contamination posing a suffocation risk is being caused by CO2 tanks for carbonated beverages served on the premises.
- Mobile mini containment enclosures, HEPA vacuum shrouded apparatus and new cutting tools are available for use by remediation contractors.
- Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) is a growth opportunity for contractors who focus on healthcare facilities.
- “Presumptive Positive” is the recommended emergency response to hantavirus and/or “bird waste pathogens”.
- Zinc whiskers are a phenomena occurring in electrical devices. Zinc whiskers may occur in raised floors where the underlying side of the floor is coated with zinc. When the airspace under the floor is used as a air plenum zinc crystals can be blown out where they settle onto circuit boards and cause electrical shorting.
“You can’t fix crazy” an astute comment texted in by IAQ Radio listener John Lapotaire.
Derrick who provided good information for IAQradio listeners said that if you see his ponytail running away you ought to follow.
Today’s music: Private Investigations by Dire Straits.
