Healthy Homes Guide and Ways to Ensure Optimal Indoor Environmental Quality

Last month was National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM). The month of recognition, sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other agencies, is meant to raise awareness about what makes a healthy home and the connection between common indoor conditions and various health and safety issues.
 
HUD and a number of agencies and institutions have created online publications to help disseminate information on this very topic. A Healthy Home for Everyone (www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/publications/final_companion_piece.pdf), a guide produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), offers information about the connection between housing and health. It shares a number of facts, figures and tips for creating a healthy home. This is information is important as the document shares the following alarming statistics: 

• 1 in 16 homes have high radon levels
• 1 in 10 homes have water leaks
• 1 in 6 homes have structural problems
• 1 in 4 homes have lead-based paint
• 1 in 4 homes do not have a working smoke alarm

“While these numbers should raise eyebrows, there are many other common IEQ pollutants and contaminants frequently found in homes and other indoor environments,” said Derrick A. Denis, Vice President of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) for Clark Seif Clark. “These include, but are not limited to, secondhand smoke, sewer gas, asbestos, pesticides, mold, bacteria, carbon monoxide, rodent and insect allergens, and other substances. Since people spend most of their time indoors at home, at school, or at an office, overexposure to these substances can be a cause for concern. Increasing awareness is the first step towards creating a healthy indoor environment for everyone.  A Healthy Home for Everyone guide is a useful tool for increasing the public’s IEQ knowledge.”
 
The building science and indoor environmental quality professionals at CSC are dedicated to achieving this goal. They offer residential, institutional, commercial and industrial building assessments and testing for everything from mold, bacteria and radon to asbestos, lead and many other IEQ concerns. CSC has also recently sponsored an educational video about the CDC’s A Healthy Home for Everyone guide that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/PzXgPPlE1Jk
 
To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, building science, industrial hygiene, environmental, health and safety 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