Air Date: 10-24-2014 | Episode: 344
On this episode of IAQ Radio Tony Havics, PE, CIH, CHMM, Wane Baker, PE, CIH and Tom Yacobellis joined us to discuss the reason particles behave the way they do, the challenges in determining how well we are capturing these particles, and the limitations of our instruments and equipment when it comes to particle capture and measurement…
Full Description:
On this episode of IAQ Radio Tony Havics, PE, CIH, CHMM, Wane Baker, PE, CIH and Tom Yacobellis joined us to discuss the reason particles behave the way they do, the challenges in determining how well we are capturing these particles, and the limitations of our instruments and equipment when it comes to particle capture and measurement. The committee working on the standard for in-field testing of Air Filtration Devices has been somewhat snake bitten and stalled but I spoke to the committee chair (Tom Yacobellis) and he is going to put a final push on to try and complete this much needed standard. In spite of not having a completed standard the information discussed on this show gives great guidance for how to handle the issue until the final standard comes out and it’s definitely worthy of re-broadcast.
Andrew Anthony “Tony” Havics, P.E., CIH, CHMM
Mr. Havics is an Honors graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), and a registered Professional Environmental Engineer (PE) with nearly 25 years of experience in environmental, health and safety consulting. He is the Past Chair of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Workplace Environmental Exposure Limit (WEEL) Committee that has set over 100 exposure limits for hazardous agents.
Wane A. Baker, P.E., CIH
Mr. Baker is currently the Training Manager at Trane Graduate Training Program. He is a graduate of the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) with 35 years of experience in the operation, maintenance and evaluation of various building types. This includes more than 30 years at a professional level in environmental consulting, construction and energy conservation. He has worked as an IEQ / EH&S professional on a full-time basis for the past 20 years.
Tom Yacobellis
Tom has 25 years experience in the design, installation, and restoration of HVAC systems and 20 years specifically in the HVAC remediation industry. Prior to becoming President of DUCTZ National Service Team, Tom was Founder and President of DUCTBUSTERS®. He was responsible for developing the largest independent network of licensed HVAC contractors dedicated to total system cleaning and restoration. He has served as President of the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) and also served on numerous other industry boards and executive committees.
Z-Man’s Blog:
Air Filtration Device Testing
Today’s episode of IAQradio featured a roundtable discussion on HEPA filtered air filtration devices with Tony Havics, Wane Baker and Tom Yacobellis. Tony, Wane and Tom volunteer on the IESO Air Filtration Device (AFD) Committee which is developing a testing standard for AFDs. While Tony and Wane are more scientific types, Tom is a hands-on field guy.
Nuggets mined from today’s broadcast:
· Interesting history of the origin of HEPA filter. Takeoff on a German gasmask filter captured during World War II. Used in the Manhattan Project as a mechanism to prevent the escape of radioactive contaminates. Today’s HEPA filters are made from glass fibers to be heat resistant and other suitable materials.
· Particle- is a small localized object to which can be ascribed several physical properties such as volume or mass.
· Aerosol- is a colloid suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas.
· Aerodynamics- the shape and density of particles are important. Most deeply penetrating size particles are 0.1 micro meters in size.
· Isokinetic sampling- the technique for collecting airborne particulate matter in which the collector is so designed that the airstream entering it has a velocity equal to that of the air passing around and outside the collector.
· More accurate method of sampling incorporating the same velocity, speed and direction of the airstream.
· False sense of security. While HEPA filtration is called for in multiple industry standards and guideline documents in real world situations it is very common for even brand new HEPA filters to leak significantly and pose a cross contamination risk. IESO is conducting testing on air filtration devices and has undertaken the development of writing a standard.
· Current state of the art for onsite testing of HEPA filter efficiency uses laser particle counter, a duct length of 8X-10 X duct outlet diameter, collection of 3 sets of 1 minute duration samples from the airstream. Ultraviolet particles and UV lights can be used to determine AFD filter failure points.
· Soft spot. HEPA filters lose efficiency on 10 nanometer size particles.
Dieterisms:
· Aerodynamic equivalent diameter- the aerodynamic equivalent diameter is the diameter of a sphere, with density -1g/cm³, that has the same terminal settling velocity under gravity a the airborne particle considered.
· Agglomeration- the sticking of particles to one another or to solid surfaces, is a natural phenomenon.
IAQ newsman Glenn Felman had good news to share, the RIA and Clean Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to cooperate and the joint IESO-RIA IESO/RIA Standard for Determining Impact of Fire-related Particulate in HVAC Systems was approved by ANSI.
Today’s music: “Particle Man” by They Might Be Giants
Z-Man Signing Off
