On November 8, 2007, at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Mahwah , New Jersey , more than 30 nationally known industrial hygienists, environmental consultants, and science professionals specializing in indoor air quality and indoor environmental quality issues will convene for the Crossroads IAQ/IEQ Conference. Discounted admission including food served all day to this event is being offered to Professional Organization members.

Ways This Event Will Benefit You:
· Interactive workshops and presentations
· Review of successful remediation techniques
· Participate in thought-provoking sessions
· Examine new products and techniques

Discounted tickets are available for students and members of professional organizations including ACHMM, AIHA, ASHRAE, ASSE, BOMA, CHESS, SWEP, and IAQA. In addition, professional credits are available from the American Indoor Air Quality Council (AmIAQC), Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. Additional sponsors for this event include Omega Environmental Services, Environmental Management Associates, the PMK Group, ATS Services, American Safety Insurance, and Herbert L. Jamison & Co.

Several ERMI species were selected as Group II species incorrectly. For example, geometric mean of 48 and 57 spores of Penicillium chrysogenum per 5 mg dust were found in 6 "sick" homes and 26 "reference" homes in Cleveland, respectively. Penicillium chrysogenum was categorized as Group II because scientists in EPA reasoned that 48 is "less" than 57. Environmental consultants generally agree that there is no difference between 48 and 57 spores/5 mg of dust, especially when MSQPCR analysis has half of log of variation (3.1 time difference). Ph.D. mycologists generally agree that Penicillium chrysogenum can grow on materials in water-damaged buildings. Eleven dust samples collected from six houses in Cleveland are not large enough to be used as study subjects for universal mold burden for nationwide locations. Same thing happened to some other Group II species, Acremonium strictum, Aspergillus ustus, Cladosporium cladosporioides-svar. 2, etc. Some ERMI Group II species were incorrectly selected due to lack of collaboration with mycologists and environmental consultants. As a result, houses have mold growth of those species will have lower ERMI and mistakenly appear as "healthier" than houses that don't have those mold growth.

Reference:
Vesper SJ, Varma M, Wymer LJ, Dearborn DG, Sobolewski J, Haugland RA., Quantitative PCR analysis of fungi in dust from homes of infants who developed idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhaging. J Occup Environ Med. 2004; 46:596-601.

A petition to EPA regarding ERMI has been initiated by Dr. Wei Tang on October 14, 2007 to improve the science of ERMI and fully disclose its limitations. This petition is his personal opinion and it is NOT the position of any organization or business that he is affiliated or working with. Please follow the link to read the details and sign the petition.

What good is a mold report if the homeowner or property manager cannot even read it? Many bar graphs for airborne fungal spores are not proportional to the concentrations of spores, which makes it confusing to read, even for scientists-not to mention homeowners or facility managers. For example, the ratio of bar heights of 1000 to 100 to 10 spore/m3 on a log scale graph is actually 3 to 2 to 1. It's good for scientific research, but it's certainly not helping when you try to explain the results to homeowners.

Presented and very well received at IAQA 2007 Conference in Las Vegas, MoldSense QGraph is "Visually-Comprehensive and Proportionally-Correct." Homeowner can see a clear visual representation of airborne spore profiles in all samples as illustrated on MoldSense QGraph. On the other hand, they cannot understand why other bar graphs are not even proportional to the concentrations reported. Show a copy of MoldSense QGraph to your customers, and you can easily increase your sales closing rate. Stop giving your customers a cloudy mental confusion and start providing them a clear visual representation. Switch TODAY!

It's not always easy to determine when to take a swab, tape, or bulk sample. In general, bulk sample is needed for "subsurface" mold growth. Carpet dust sample can be collected using a filter cassette and a high flow rate air pump. Air filter for HVAC system needs to be vacuumed first using a filter cassette before cutting a pieces of the filter if a lot of dust has been accumulated on the filter. Otherwise, significant amount of dust could be lost during the cutting process and transportation to the lab.

For mold growth located mostly on the top surface, tape sample is the best choice if the surface is fairly dry and only qualitative (or semi-quantitative) analysis is needed. Swab is more suitable for damp surface or when quantitative results is needed (culture and/or microscopic direct exam). A dry swab may be a better choice if the surface is quite wet. After taking the sample, the amount of suspected mold growth remains on the surface needs to be visually inspected to ensure a good sample collection. If the sample collection is not successful by using a tape or swab, it is recommended to collect a piece of bulk sample.

More than 95% of wall cavity samples received in mold labs should be rejected due to their trace overloaded with debris. Once the tacky impaction surface is overloaded with debris, it is very difficult for spores to be impacted onto the surface. It's also very difficult for the lab analysts to read an overloaded sample.

MoldSense Wall Cavity Sampling Protocol can solve this problem.
(1) Mark a drill bit 0.5 inch from the tip using a piece of light-color tape.
(2) Using the mark, drill a hole (about 0.5 inch deep) on the dry wall without penetrating the paper on the other side.
(3) Remove most of the dust and completely wet the dust in the hole using a wet paper towel.
(4) Push (not drill) through the paper at the end of the hole using a clean object.
(5) Use a commercial adapter to insert into the wall cavity to do sampling.

Follow those five easy steps and you can collect a clean wall cavity sample without gypsum debris.

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