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Archive for the ‘Environmental consulting’ Category
Friday, April 6th, 2012
A new report that comes from a study conducted by University of Toronto and the Ontario Health Coalition names indoor air quality as one of the key environmental issues that affect the health of Torontonians.
Indoor air quality can be affected by a number of specific issues; chief among them is mold caused by moisture. In the case of mold, the age of a house or building doesn’t necessarily play a part – new homes can be as susceptible to mold growth as older structures. What’s key is the construction methods used.
Green Technology
Newer methods and technological advances in the home building industry – or “green” technology – have come up with a number of solutions to this old problem. Among them is steel technology, some facets of which are only now being introduced to the Ontario market.
Steel-panel technology is composed of steel and an innovative variety of expanded polystyrene. Panels are joined together with screws and an adhesive foam in order to make up the outer shell of the house, eliminating the need for any wood in the frame. This type of construction is said to be stronger than the traditional wood frame and most importantly to air quality, provides an airtight building envelope that will prevent moisture entering the home. In addition, the polystyrene used is made with a chemical-free formula that is not subject to off-gassing, which is another concern when it comes to indoor air quality.
You may not be able to build your own home from scratch using these new “green” methods, but you can make sure that your old home doesn’t present the kind of environmental concerns listed in the report.
We Can Help!
ESG offers a variety of services to help give you peace of mind, including
Let us give you peace of mind – call the Environmental Services Group for a quote.
In The News:
ESG is now an official supplier of HGTV’s Income Properties!
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: Environmental Consultants in Toronto Ontario, Indoor Air Quality Testing Toronto Ontario, Thermal Imaging to Find Moisture Problems in Basements
Posted in Carbon monoxide, Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality, Indoor Airy Quality Testing, Mold Hazards | No Comments »
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
A recent episode of Wylde on Health, a weekly news magazine on health matters on CP24 TV invited Tara Valley, Senior Environmental Consultant and Indoor Air Quality Specialist for the Environmental Services Group on the set as an expert to comment on common health risks in the home.
The show’s title was “Home making you sick?” and host Bryce Wylde and Tara discussed some of the hazards and their remedies. “Mold and toxins can cause very serious health issues,” says Valley. “This is especially predominant among the young, elderly and individuals with respiratory problems,” Valley adds.
Mold in the Attic
She mentioned some of the “hidden” areas for toxins in the home, including the attic. “It can basically be a reservoir for moisture due to improper ventilation and insulation,” she said. Heated air is pushed up in a modern home, taking moisture generated lower down with it. Once it’s in the attic, the situation is exacerbated by ventilation and insulation issues, not to say leaks in the roof you may not even know about. The result: mold.
The segment showed graphic images of roof sheathing blackened by mold infestation. The host and another expert commentator, Dr. Hilary Deveber, a paediatrician and VP of The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, stressed the particular dangers to the respiratory tract and by extension, those with asthma and allergies.
Basements and more…
The basement is another hot spot for mold and other environmental issues. Poor grading on the outside can lead to chronic water infiltration, and again inadequate ventilation plays a role, along with the absence of a dehumidifier. Radon, a gas that rises from the bedrock and is a leading cause of cancer, is another risk commonly detected in the basement via cracks in the foundation or floors.
Testing and Monitors
Tara Valley demonstrated a number of high tech monitors and testing equipment used by ESG, including radon detectors and other indoor air quality testing devices. Other equipment detects ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. ATP is a protein that is is present in all living cells and its presence is used to find mold and bacteria where it may be hidden from the eye.
Other indoor air quality tests look for VOCs, or volatile organic compounds or off gassing from carpets, furniture and plumbing. Dr. Deveber mentioned the importance of checking the furnishings in your children’s bedrooms in particular.
Call The Professionals
When it comes to mold, the rule of thumb is that professional services should be used if the area affected is more than a meter squared. But – be careful who you contract.
“It’s important to contact a professional when you find mould in your home,” explains Valley. “It’s not just important to have the hazard removed and cleaned up, it is critical to have a final mold test to verify that the source of the mold has been properly removed to ensure it doesn’t return to harmful levels,” Valley says. “It’s very important to do your research to ensure that the mold testing company you hire is certified and fully licensed,” she stressed.
Further demonstration of the expertise of ESG was seen a few months ago on an episode of one of HGTV’s popular property renovation programs, “Income Properties”. The team at ESG was called in to assess the mold removal job performed on an old home that was being modernized for an episode.
We Can Help!
ESG offers a variety of services to help give you peace of mind, including:
Let us give you peace of mind – call the Environmental Services Group for a quote.
In The News:
ESG is now an official supplier of HGTV’s Income Properties!
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: chemical toxins and exposure indoors, Environmental Consultants in Toronto Ontario, Indoor Air Quality Testing Toronto, mold removal Toronto, Radon testing
Posted in Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality, Indoor Airy Quality Testing, Mold Hazards, News, Radon Testing | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
The Canadian Committee on Indoor Air Quality and Buildings recently commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct a survey among building professionals and get a deeper understanding of just how much or how little they know about indoor air quality. Doing so could give us all a sense of whether Canadian building professionals are on our side and ready to battle indoor air quality problems or in the dark and in need of major education.
Overall, the findings suggest that Canadian building professionals are in the know about the importance of indoor air quality, but they also suggest that many professionals don’t know how to properly remedy it and have rose-colored glasses on when assessing their own dwellings.
Most professionals at least understand that bacteria, second-hand smoke, and toxic mold are threats to indoor air quality and have a solid understanding of the breathing problems they create. Many of them also acknowledge that they get complaints from tenants relating to air quality and that they provide guidance to rectify the problems.
But there are some crucial knowledge gaps in other areas. The ERG survey suggests that most building professionals underestimate the threat caused by volatile organic compounds, which could include cleaning products in carpets, lead paint, and so on.
Worse yet, the majority of building professionals incorrectly identify the best way to repair indoor air quality. Only three in 10 know that “pollutant source control” is most effective, whereas almost half think “increasing ventilation” is the key and roughly a quarter believe “air cleaning” is best.
Almost every building professional reports that his or her space’s overall air quality over a typical year is good. However, only a third rate their air quality as “very good,” the highest possible rating.
So, these findings tell us that:
1) Most building professionals acknowledge that indoor air quality is important;
2) Most building professionals offer guidance to their tenants to help improve their indoor air quality;
3) Most building professionals don’t know the best way to improve indoor air quality;
4) Most building professionals believe their indoor air quality is satisfactory but has room to improve.
In other words, they know that bad indoor air quality is undesirable but don’t know how to fix it, don’t think their own building has it, and give incorrect advice on how to correct it when asked by their tenants. That’s an obvious generalization, as not every building professional is guilty of those traits, but it still illustrates a clear problem.
Thankfully, one key stat suggests there’s hope: the majority say that, when they need more information, they will in fact turn to environmental consultants and other indoor air quality experts. The key is to inform them enough that they realize they’re uneducated. That way they’ll turn to the certified professionals and take their indoor air quality to new heights.
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: Environmental Consultants in Toronto Ontario, indoor air quality, Lead Based Paint
Posted in Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality, Lead Based Paint | No Comments »
Sunday, October 9th, 2011
Last week, the World Health Organization released a study on worldwide pollution. It primarily discussed the rising levels of outdoor air pollution; given all the discourse on Global Warming over the last decade, that type of finding isn’t a huge surprise.
What was a big surprise, however, was the WHOs statement that more than two million people die per year from breathing in tiny particles present in indoor and outdoor air pollution. If that’s not a grave warning for us to improve indoor air quality, nothing is.
The point the WHO makes is many of the harmful particles we inhale are so tiny – 10 micrometres or less – that they penetrate into the lungs unnoticed, both inside and outside. They cause heart disease, asthma, lung cancer and acute lower respiratory infections.
The battle to combat outdoor pollution is easier to see. For example, the greenhouse gasses emitted from cars and trucks are usually visible, difficult to inhale and striking enough that they can motivate us to hop on a bike or take public transit.
But the effect of harmful particles inside is much more subtle. You could have volatile organic compounds in your home, emitted from cleaning products or even the lead paint on your children’s toys. You may have toxic mold spores causing respiratory troubles. You may be trapping “bad” air in your house by sealing it off to boost your air conditioner’s functionality.
Because indoor pollutants are tougher to detect, it’s especially prudent to hire an environmental consulting company for a thorough home inspection. A certified expert can identify all the sneakily dangerous compounds that might be in your home. For any families out there: considering that more and more studies these days show how bad indoor air quality hinders children’s development, the time to act is now!
It doesn’t get much more trustworthy than the World Health Organization. Respect its word and hire an expert to ensure your indoor air quality is tip-top.
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: environemental consulting, environmental consulting company, indoor air pollution, indoor air quality
Posted in Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality | No Comments »
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency recently stated that homeowners should commission professional cleaning companies to tackle mold-damaged areas in homes affected by disasters like flooding.
While the principle behind the suggestion is smart – homeowners aren’t educated about mold and should hire experts to take care of it – the cleaning-company idea is a dangerous one.
If moisture in your damaged home has fostered toxic mold growth and damaged your indoor air quality, it’s absolutely smart to get a cleaning done. But the key is to have an actual expert to the job.
An environmental consulting firm won’t just clean out mold for you. Its experts understand what mechanisms cause mold growth in the first place and how to avoid accidentally spreading spores during a cleanup. An expert cleanup doesn’t simply wipe away the mold; it eliminates it and disposes of it in a way that ensures it won’t return.
A cleaning company may do a fine job on the surface but it may also make some uneducated choices, such as using bleach to fight mold. A certified environmental expert, on the other hand, would know that the bleach method is a myth, and that bleach doesn’t not kill mold entirely.
It’s not that a thorough cleaning after a natural disaster isn’t a good idea; anything that removes moisture and/or debris from your home is helpful. However, if you do decide to hire a cleaning company, consider also hiring an environmental consulting company to finish the job. The real experts will eliminate mold and check for other environmental threats like lead, radon and asbestos.
Cleaning companies may save you backbreaking labor but, in most cases, they don’t know anything more about mold than you do!
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: Environmental consulting, indoor air quality, Radon testing
Posted in Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality, Radon Testing | No Comments »
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
What better way to fight indoor air quality problems in the home than to build a home that fights indoor air quality?
Avalon Master Builder has finished constructing its Discovery 4 House – the company’s first-ever net-zero home. So what does that mean?
It means the house produces at least as much energy as it consumes, meaning the net energy exchange is zero. It relies on renewable resources like solar energy to power itself.
The Calgary-based home is now on sale for $564,000. Its main goal is to create the ultimate green indoor living space, one that drastically reduces allergens and pollutants. It’s a worthy cause considering that Canadians spend 90 per cent of their time indoors and that poor indoor air quality can cause asthma, migraines, nausea and congestion.
The house’s heat recovery and ventilation system continuously exchanges air throughout the whole house, ensuring that residents are constantly breathing the freshest air possible. The system is crucial because the home is so tightly sealed to ensure no energy is wasted. A tight seal is energy-efficient but can damage indoor air quality by not releasing pollutants outside; the heat recovery and ventilation system remedies that problem.
The home also includes an energy-efficient appliance package and uses a water furnace fan coil to distribute solar-heated, filtered air through the home without using natural gas.
In theory, living at the Discovery 4 Home would give you the ultimate experience in indoor air quality. To ensure that things stay that way, whoever moves in will have to keep track of any basement moisture and consider hiring an environmental consulting firm to ensure the home isn’t at risk for any mold development. Mold spores are among the greatest threats to indoor air quality.
Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: environmental consulting firm, indoor air quality
Posted in Environmental consulting, Indoor Air Quality | No Comments »
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