sick buildings information

[Guest guest]

This was in Friday's Philadelphia Inquirer. I thought it might be of

interest to some of you.

Hugs,

M.

~~~~~~~

http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/08/03/business/SHEE

T03.htm

Friday, August 3, 2001

New training aims to diagnose sick buildings

A sheet metal workers' union and a contractors' group are

funding a program to teach members how to test air quality.

By Jane M. Von Bergen

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Twenty-five years ago, a mysterious ailment struck

conventioneers attending an American Legion gathering in

Philadelphia during the Bicentennial.

The air they breathed inside their hotel - the former Bellevue

Stratford - killed 29 of them and made 170 others sick.

The legacy of Legionnaires' disease and the spotlight that it

directed on the problem of sick buildings is one reason why

Philadelphia, along with four other cities, was chosen to

spearhead a new training program, sponsored by unions and

management, to teach sheet metal workers how to test, analyze

and balance the air inside a building.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that

there are 8,000 to 18,000 cases of Legionnaires' disease each

year.

" There's a problem that exists [in buildings]. It's a health problem

and an energy problem. We can cure this problem, " said

J. , president and business manager of Local 19 of

the sheet metal workers' union.

" I'm willing to bet that 50 percent of the ventilation systems have

some kind of contaminant in them, " said.

said mistakes can easily happen. One winter, he said,

someone accidentally shut the fresh-air intake to the union hall.

" This place was a mess, " he said. " Everyone was out sick [with

colds and the flu]. We fixed it. The next year, absenteeism was

down 75 percent. "

Sometimes ventilation systems are badly designed. Sometimes

building owners cut corners on maintenance or do not set up a

proper system in the first place.

During the 1970s, buildings often were constructed with

windows that did not open, making workers dependent on

air-conditioning systems to provide the correct amount of fresh

air.

Local 19 has long taught courses in air-system analysis.

Training coordinator McClure teaches a 300-hour

two-year course on air-balancing analysis for technicians.

The new effort, an 80-hour course followed by 24 hours of

testing, will lead to a Testing Adjusting and Balancing Bureau

certification that would qualify graduates to write legally binding

analyses of building quality.

The program, paid for jointly by the union and the Sheet Metal

and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association, cost $3

million to set up, with $500,000 just to cover instructional costs

for the first 175 students who will take the course around the

country, said S. Emblem, executive director of the National

Energy Management Institute. The students' tuition will be free.

The program was designed by the National Energy Management

Institute - a group made up of the Sheet Metal Workers

International Association and the contractors' national

association.

In Philadelphia, about 40 workers will be certified by the end of

the year.

" Right now there's not enough people to meet the demand, " Bill

Reardon, director of Philadelphia's sheet metal contractors'

association, said.

Not only does Philadelphia have old buildings that need refitting,

but the region's many hospitals and pharmaceutical companies

require exacting standards of air quality for " clean " operating

rooms and laboratories.

said he hoped the program would lead to more work for his

union members. He also would like to see legislation that would

give tax credits to building owners who upgrade ventilation

systems.

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Jane Von Bergen's e-mail address is

jvonbergen@....