Clean Air in the News in the USA and Around the World
(Reprinted with permission from DucTales May-June 2018, credit nadca.com and BreathingClean.com)
IDAHO
Boise’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) received complaints about scammers posing as technicians from a legitimate air duct cleaning company. The imposters went so far as to distribute fake coupons with their contact info and cold-call homeowners to book the scam jobs. Complaints to the BBB noted that the workers left without completing the work, leaving the majority of ducts and vents untouched. When customers called the company to complain, the scam was revealed.
LONDON
A recent study examining indoor air quality in five London schools found that children are exposed to higher levels of fine particulate pollution inside the schools than outside. The higher-than-expected pollution levels were attributed to schools being located near high-traffic density roads that allow more motor vehicle exhaust gasses and particulate matter. The contaminants were associated with increased asthma symptoms and wheezing in the children. A £1 million fund was created to help the worst-affected schools address the issues right away. The money will also provide 20 preschools with air quality audits and indoor air filters.
CALIFORNIA
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians was awarded the prestigious 2018 Virgil Masayesva Tribal Air Programs Excellence Award by a consortium of environmental agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The award recognized Morongo’s air quality program addressing indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools, public spaces and homes. For more than a decade, the Morongo’s air monitoring station has measured particulate matter and ozone in the region, and actively educated homeowners and building owners about monitoring IAQ.
GEORGIA
A leaking coil in a commercial air handling unit damaged the historic City Hall building in Duluth, Georgia. After professional assessments all returned a recommendation to replace the unit and and the damaged ductwork, the city council voted in favor of the replacement and remediation work, coming in at a cost of just under $50,000.
