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- This paper summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge about the adverse impacts of indoor environments in schools on health and performance.
- "Research demonstrates that the quality of the physical environment affects student performance...An environment that includes appropriate lighting, sound, temperature, humidity, cleanliness, color and air quality can help students learn better. In many cases, improving these attributes can also reduce energy use."
- The vision of the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center, located at the University of Oregon, is to develop hypothesis-driven, evidence-based approaches to understand the "built environment microbiome".
- Organizations encourage spirit of cooperation between members.
- Since agreeing in the summer of 2009 to be part of an ICM pilot with IEHA, the University of Washington Building Services Department has learned a great deal about what it takes to integrate scientific data and measurement into an operation.
- Find out about The Clean Trust’s ultimate aim in promulgating standards.
- The International Executive Housekeepers Association (now “IEHA”) and The Housekeeping Channel (HC) are pleased to present free flu-prevention information for schools.
- Proper waste management promotes good indoor air quality (IAQ), decreases the need for pesticides, and controls odors, contaminants, and vermin.
- IEHA's Master's Program will be for IEHA’s elite members committed to continuous improvement and propagating professionalism.
- One of the best ways to capture tracked-in moisture and soil is through the use of floor mats. However, using the right floor mat is important.
- When renovating or remodeling, extra precaution should be taken to ensure the safety of students and staff. Here's how to do so before, during, and after renovation.
- Here's the details on how to keep students and staff safe when renovating and remodeling.
- The Clean Trust - formerly the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) - has announced that Mili Washington has been hired as the new Standards Director.
- The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) are partnering to reduce slips and falls by promoting the installation of NFSI-certified entrance matting, and carpeting wherever possible.
- After hypothesizing potential causes, you can perform simple checks to determine if the problem is obvious or if deeper investigation is required.
- Recommended techniques and tools to measure for adequate airflow, lighting, and thermal comfort - relative humidity and temperature.
- Evaluating the symptoms can help narrow down possible causes and can help you determine what checks need to be done.
- Determining where and when problems occur, and by which individuals, can help management determine the source of the indoor air quality problem.
- General process to troubleshooting indoor air quality problems in commercial facilities.
- Woodard has been the Director of Custodial Services at the University of Washington, Seattle, for 25 years, and is currently the Director of Building Services, which includes Custodial Services and Recycling and Solid Waste programs.
- The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is now The Clean Trust.
- IEHA’s goal in developing the ICM Module is to provide IEHA members and cleaning professionals with the skills to expertly measure processes and practices, better the performance of their cleaning organizations as a whole and to position themselves for success.
- ISSA's focus is on improving human health, reducing environmental impact, and positively influencing facilities’ and members’ bottom lines.
- The Clean Trust has announced the development of a certification exam for professionals in the mold remediation industry.
- Her past strategic involvement with the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) will help environmental services staff and other facility professionals understand how to make significant progress on the healthy and greener environments continuum.
- Restorers should understand building systems and the related physical laws in order to restore a damaged building to its intended function and use-life.
- The drinking water in thousands of schools contains lead and other toxins, prompting experts to urge administrators to look into treatment systems to protect students.
- Microbial communities are an important part of the complex, dynamic systems we call “buildings”.
- How can cleanroom cleaning procedures and technologies be adapted for attaining low airborne and surface bacterial levels in home, school, hospital, and industrial spaces?
- Carpet systems that meet or exceed CRI’s Green Label Plus standard can contribute one full Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Credit to the LEED ratings of the U.S. Green Building Council.
- As schools and universities continue on the green cleaning journey, one of the greatest opportunities for improvement that is still underutilized when it comes to reducing the impacts associated with cleaning is the cleaning personnel themselves.
- While most vendors of cleaning products offer training as part of the bundled cost that schools and universities are paying, far too often the quality of this training is inadequate.
- Evaluating and adjusting your facility's green cleaning program with a simple "green gap audit" can result in substantial cost and performance benefits.
- Ms. Gilmore Hall, RN, MS, CAE is the Executive Director of Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading membership organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices.
- A Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) assessor explains the benefits of certification.
- When signs of mold growth are present, open communication with building occupants is essential.
- Jeffrey C. May, MA, principal scientist, May Indoor Air Investigations LLC, and member of the HFI Healthy Carpet Workgroup, shares his perspective.
- Werner Braun, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), and member of the HFI Healthy Carpet Workgroup, offers his perspective.
- The common causes of mold growth and ways to prevent it.
- John Gayetsky has joined The Healthy Facilities Institute (HFI) Advisory Board. Gayetsky is the Environmental Management Specialist for the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), providing consultative, training, and technical support services to school districts across the U.S.
- Infectious disease expert says both are on the rise; more study is needed.
- AJIC study says a supplemental portable anteroom high-efficiency particulate air (PAS-HEPA) filter unit outside operating room suites may prevent secondary transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).
- VOC sensors optimize ventilation to help ensure better air quality for occupants and reduce utility costs for building owners.
- Carpeting can help hospitals improve sound-absorption, indoor air quality, staff and patient safety, and aesthetics, but it also poses many challenges.
- There is a growing recognition that facility management contributes to the health and well being of building occupants, thereby benefiting efficiency, productivity and profitability — key pillars of an organization’s bottom line.
- While there are services to protect adults from some environmental hazards at school, more vulnerable children lack the same protection.
- ICM is defined as an open-source protocol in which best practices are evaluated by scientific measurement of cleaning outcomes.
- To help meet the growing demand for green and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the Cleaning Industry Management Standard and Certification Program (CIMS) has been expanded to include Green Building (GB) criteria and an optional GB designation.
- View the overview of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the 'Outside' portion of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the 'Inside' portion of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the 'Classrooms' portion of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the 'Fixes' portion of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the 'Wrap-Up' portion of “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- Without a long-term commitment to comprehensive environmental management, not even the best high performance school can hope to stay high performing for very long.
- Introduction to “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- View the introduction to “The Virtual School Walkthrough: Identifying and Solving Common Indoor Air Quality Problems” produced by the non-profit Northwest Clean Air Agency.
- Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools (PCHS) optimizes efficiency, cleanliness, ease-of-deployment, and health factors through a carefully designed and documented system tailored for K-12 school districts.
- Johns Hopkins researchers identified Legionella growing in 50 percent of cultured water samples from 20 electronic-eye faucets in or near patient rooms on three different inpatient units, but in only 15 percent of water cultures from 20 traditional, manual faucets in the same patient care areas.
- Pathogenic microorganisms are transmitted in many ways in hospitals. One important consideration is the role that the environment plays in pathogen transmission, specifically leading to airborne and waterborne infections.
- Upholstered couches and chairs, rugs, and bean bag chairs harbor dust mites, pet dander, and other contaminants that adversely affect classroom environmental quality.
- Asthma is a big problem in schools, and reducing it is a way for cleaning product distributors to make a big difference.
- Indoor environmental quality is the sum total of decisions made by an enormous variety of individuals and institutions.
- Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
- The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program has been one of the most significant developments in the Green Cleaning movement over the past decade, but additional positive changes may now be afoot.
- Coal tar sealants are often used to protect and renew parking lots. Dust from this substance can get into buildings and cause a health hazard.
- The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships.
- Data from many facilities show that a properly commissioned building with controls and equipment functioning properly can save 5%-15% in total building energy cost. With a little knowledge this can be done without compromising IAQ.
- Since a floor that is slip-resistant when wet will generally be slip resistant when dry, taking measurements of the condition of floors by benchmarking the wet Coefficient of Friction (COF) is an important starting point to raise safety levels.
- Test scores improved when fresh air was properly circulated.
- Walk-throughs are a practical learning experience for staff that builds awareness, confidence and skills – essential elements of a sustainable IAQ program.
- Current technology allows easy and relatively inexpensive measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) as an indicator to help ensure ventilation systems (for high density occupancy zones) are delivering the recommended minimum quantities of outside air to the building’s occupants.
- Four elements - sources, the HVAC system, pollutant pathways, and occupants - are involved in the development of IAQ problems.
- A brief introduction to making measurements that might be needed in the course of developing an IAQ profile or investigating an IAQ complaint.
- The U.S. sustainable business market—referring to the development, manufacture, and sale of products that help us to conserve fuel, electricity, water, and natural resources and to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases—will increase dramatically in 2011, making the past two years look like “baby steps.”
- There are many factors that can affect IAQ, such as human activity within the building, the building’s construction materials, and the types of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in a building.
- How to prevent the growth of mold and mildew in the school environment.
- A green school is not necessarily a healthy school unless it takes into consideration the health of its occupants and is operated accordingly.
- Making the case for comprehensive IAQ management in schools.
- A healthy school needs to engage in a scientific and professional cleaning process to realize its health objectives.
- Green the plant logically: Not every initiative will have a positive, sustainable return.
- What benefits of healthy schools have been documented?