Indoor Air Quality Testing and National Healthy Homes Month

Back in June of 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) inaugurated the first annual National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM) with the theme, “Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home.” This annual celebration has become an important time for government institutions, such as HUD, to raise awareness and provide resources to the public about what makes a home healthy, and to strengthen coordination and collaboration between housing and health at the federal, state and local levels.
 
With this in mind, HUD has shared the following basic principles for a healthy home:

• Keep your home Dry - Mold and moisture increase allergens and asthma triggers and can cause deterioration of a home.
• Keep your home Clean - Clean homes help reduce pest infestations and exposure to contaminants.
• Keep your home Pest-Free - Many pest treatments pose risks for families with health problems or expose young children and pets to poisonous residue. Non-pesticide treatments are best for a first line of defense.
• Keep your home Safe - A majority of injuries among children occur in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of residential injuries to children, followed by injuries from objects in the home, burns and poisonings.
• Keep your home Maintained - Poorly-maintained homes increase the risk for deteriorated lead-based paint in older housing which is the primary cause of lead poisoning in children less than 6 years of age.
• Keep your home Temperature Controlled - Houses that do not maintain adequate temperatures may place the safety of residents at increased risk from exposure to extreme cold or heat.
• Keep your home Contaminant-Free - Chemical exposures include lead, radon, pesticides and environmental tobacco smoke. Exposures to radon gas, carbon monoxide, and second-hand tobacco smoke are far higher indoors than outside.
• Keep your home Ventilated - Studies show that increasing the fresh air supply in a home improves respiratory health. Air filters in HVAC units collect and protect families from many particulates found in the air.

 
“The indoor environment quality of a home is important for people of all ages and a key component of a healthy home,” said Franco Seif, President at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “At CSC, we support the efforts of HUD and other agencies to increase awareness of healthy home issues and ways people can determine if they and their families are being exposed to pollutants or other indoor environmental issues. For almost 30 years, our building science professionals have been working on these same issues, performing countless home assessments to test for everything from mold, bacteria and radon to asbestos, lead and many other indoor environmental quality concerns.”
 
CSC also recently sponsored an educational video about National Healthy Homes Month that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/RPIHUSiuDsg
 
To learn more about this or other building science, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety testing services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. 
 
About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational, environmental, and health and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail