The HUD Smoke-Free Public Housing Rule in Puerto Rico and Testing for Tobacco Residues Indoors

There are over 300 public housing developments in Puerto Rico. For those financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), major changes were recently introduced for those living in and managing these properties.  
 
In late 2016, HUD announced that public housing developments in the U.S. would be required to provide a “smoke-free” environment for their residents. The effective date for the final rule was February 3, 2017 and it required thousands of Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to implement smoke-free policies by July 31, 2018.
 
By now, Public Housing Agencies in Puerto Rico and across the rest of the U.S. must have implemented a smoke-free policy banning the use of prohibited tobacco products in all public housing living units, indoor common areas in public housing and in PHA administrative office buildings. The smoke-free policy extends to all outdoor areas up to 25 feet from the public housing and administrative office buildings. This rule is meant to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in the housing; benefit the health of public housing residents, visitors and PHA staff; reduce the risk of catastrophic fires; and lower overall maintenance costs.
 
“The U.S. Surgeon General stated over a decade ago that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “Minimizing everyone’s exposure to secondhand smoke is important as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified it as a Class A known carcinogen back in 1992. In HUD’s multi-housing environments, secondhand smoke easily moves from unit to unit. This is also true in hotels and resorts and unsubsidized apartments and condos, many of which have smoke-free policies.”
 
Helping PHAs, property managers and residents concerned about exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in their home or business are the building science experts from Zimmetry Environmental. Their professionals provide air and surface testing along with consulting services to identify tobacco smoke, residues and other indoor environmental quality concerns. These services are available across Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
 
Zimmetry also recently sponsored and educational video about HUD’s smoke-free public housing policy that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/AwQPi29lzfA
 
To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, environmental, and compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies.  The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America.  The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.
 

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Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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