A&WMA; Joins EEF's - EPA Advisory Group on IAQ Management — eWire Historical Archive

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A&WMA; Joins EEF's - EPA Advisory Group on IAQ Management

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A&WMA; Joins EEF's - EPA Advisory Group on IAQ Management

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Aug. 2 -/E-Wire/-- The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA;) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional organization that provides training, information, and networking opportunities to thousands of environmental professionals in 65 countries. This premier global network of environmental professionals announced today its participation as a member of the Advisory Group convened by the Environmental Education Foundation (EEF) under a contract from the Environmental Protection Agency â U.S. EPA's headquarters. The non-profit Environmental Education Foundation (EEF) is the world's largest environmental charity focusing on environmental, health, and safety issues, with 5500-members worldwide.

The purpose of the contract, according to David Mudarri, Ph.D., Indoor Environments Division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "[is] to promote EPA's indoor air quality guidance and encourage its use as the basis for managing indoor environmental quality risks."

According to Michael A. McGinley, Laboratory Director for St. Croix Sensory of Lake Elmo, MN, A&WMA; AB-7 Indoor Air Committee member and that organization's representative to the EEF Advisory Group, "The Environmental Education Foundation's leadership role in indoor air quality and recognition from the insurance and lending communities for their water intrusion and mold management program, has now led to their being awarded a contract by the EPA to expand their program to include additional IAQ-related items. This expanded program includes the use of the EPA's IAQ Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) software as an anchor for a total IAQ management program. A&WMA; has worked with the EEF and other industry partners to refine, rework, and promote the new EEF program now containing EPA's IAQ Guidelines to establish best IAQ practices and facilitate implementation of those practices by stakeholders, including insurance companies, financial institutions, and facilities, in general. A&WMA; has assisted with the process by being a resource for environmental professionals on IAQ issues, document review, two-way communication and industry/marketing outreach."

"IAQ guidelines that the entire industry is behind are industry-changing," says EEF Executive Director Troy E. Johnson. "With our program's adoption by a myriad of industry partners, this is now the standard for managing indoor air quality in commercial and multifamily residential buildings. We are pleased at the contributions and support A&WMA; has given to this effort." Johnson continued, "A&WMA;, via Mike McGinley, provided guidance and recommendations on the full range of issues for environmental professionals involved in indoor air quality. There were a few small, struggling trade organizations that popped up over the last few years to try to represent the IAQ professionals, but none fit our criteria of a "tier 1" partner like A&WMA; and their 98 years of providing service to environmental professionals. Additional work is still yet to be done on refinement of the EPA's I-BEAM software, EPA's draft IAQ Green Building Guidance, and the EEF's Operations & Maintenance Plan and Training Module. EEF is excited that the A&WMA; will continue to provide input and assistance in creating awareness and credibility for EPA IAQ Guidelines and the EEF O&M; Plan within the environmental and IAQ professionals industries."

"The A&WMA; Indoor Air Committee recommends that all facilities have an effective IAQ Operations and Maintenance plan in place," said McGinley "We strongly believe in fostering education and promoting widespread adoption of IAQ best practices within the IAQ profession and beyond, and look forward to continuing our work with the EEF to further develop and disseminate practical guidelines and implementation strategies."

The overall purpose of this contract is to expand on what the EEF has accomplished to date by including more of the major players in the IAQ field, commercial building, HVAC, building design/construction and property management industry, with a focus on major insurance and financial institutions, to gain a wider acceptance of the EEF program, including the EPA's I-Beam software and certain other EPA indoor environmental quality guidance, and to use this guidance as a basis for managing indoor environmental quality risks while protecting public health and lowering the risk associated with indoor pollution underwriting, as well as for asset-protection purposes.

A&WMA; joins ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co. L.P., the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), the Buildings Owners & Managers Association (BOMA), PNC Multi-family Capital, XL Environmental Insurance, Cleaning Management Institute (CMI), EMSL Analytical, Environmental Risk Resources Association, National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), Environmental Hazards Management Institute (EHMI), Environmental Monitoring Systems (EMS), HUD, The National Indoor Air Quality Institute, Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE), Hixson Architectural, IQAir, Pest Management Institute, Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK), The Naturalist Network and other organizations that support IAQ best practices, in working with the EEF's EPA IAQ Advisory Group.

The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA;) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional organization that enhances knowledge and expertise by providing a neutral forum for technology exchange, professional development, networking opportunities, public education, and outreach to more than 9000 environmental professionals in 65 countries. A&WMA; also promotes global environmental responsibility and increases the effectiveness of organizations to make critical decisions that benefit society. The Mission of A&WMA; is to assist in the professional development and critical environmental decision-making of our members to benefit society. The core Purpose of A&WMA; is to advance the environmental profession by providing a neutral forum for knowledge exchange and networking. ph: [REDACTED-PHONE] toll-free: 1-[REDACTED-PHONE]; fax: [REDACTED-PHONE]; www.awma.org

About Environmental Educational Foundation The Environmental Education Foundation (EEF) is the leading IAQ organization in the world. The EEF is a 501(c) 3 charitable organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of information regarding hazards to human health and threats to the environment. The EEF has a particular emphasis on hazards or threats which are associated with occupying, purchasing, insuring, selling or owning residential, commercial or industrial property, as well as testing methodologies and procedures to detect such hazards and threats. The EEF supports and develops programs that measure, mitigate or eliminate these identified hazards. EEF is partners with many government and non-governmental agencies and sits as Consultants to the United Nations on Environmental, Health and Safety issues. Contact: [REDACTED-EMAIL] ; www.enviro-ed.org ; Phone: [REDACTED-PHONE]

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