HOWITWORKS—
InstructorJohnTiffany
explains,ataPEFtraining
programonindoorair
qualityheldinAlbanyin
November,howtocalibrate
anduseinstrumentstotest
fo
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rant
Moldtrainingbreathoffreshair
ySHERRYHALBROOK “Thetrainingwasextremely someoftheemployeesandonerecently
Ifyouwerechallengedtopickthe informativeandItrulyenjoyedit,” spentacoupleofweeksinthehospital
dullestsubjectimaginable,whatwouldit DeSilvasaid.“Thisisinformation withpneumonia,shesaid.
F
E
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Y
B
be? everyoneshouldhave,becauseitapplies, “Wediscoveredhowdifficultitisto
Ifyoucameupwithmold,itmay notonlytoofficesandpublicbuildings, provesomethinglikethatiswork-
soundlikeawinner,butforgetit.People buttoourhomesaswell.” related,”Pitchersaid.“Wenowknowwhat
S
A
areactuallyonawaitinglisttogetinto DeSilvasaidthemostsurprising mustbedoneassoonaswerecognizea
PEF’sIndoorAirQualityTrainingon informationshereceivedwasthelackof problemandwehavemanynew
&
mold. statutes,regulationsandstandardsto resourcestohelpus.Wereallybrought
“Ilovedit,”PEFmemberSharon dealwithmold. backinformationwecanuseinthe
DeSilva,aseniorattorneyforthestate “Iwasverysurprisedthatno future.”
OfficeofTemporaryandDisability governmentalagencyevenmonitorsthe JeffGreene,aPEFRegion6memberat
L
T
H
Assistance(OTDA)inAlbany,saidofthe effectsofmold.Noagencyisinchargeof MohawkValleyPsychiatricCenterin
trainingsheattendedinNovember. thisimportantissue.” Uticawhereheisaplantsuperintendent,
ItwasthesecondtimePEFofferedthe PEFRegion9membersJanetteClark saidhe,too,appreciatesthewealthof
E
A
trainingthisyear,andeveryoneofthe50 andEleanorPitcherfromTaconic resourceshebroughtbackfromthe
H
availablespotsforparticipantswasfilled. DevelopmentalDisabilitiesServicesOffice training.
HalfwerePEFmembersrepresentinga (DDSO)cameupfromDutchessCounty Greenesaidhefeelsbetterpreparedto
widerangeofregions,agenciesand forthetraining.Clark,asocialworker, dealwithairqualityissuesnow.
occupations.Theotherswerestate saidshegotonawaitinglistafterfinding “Iwasveryimpressedwiththe
managers,andeightguestsfromother theprevioustraininginFebruaryalready knowledgeandexperienceofthe
unions,includingfivefromotherstates. fullwhensheappliedforit. instructors,”hesaid.“Theygaveusalot
“It’sveryexcitingtohavesuchstrong ClarkandPitcherhavebeenworking ofresourcestotakebackwithusona
andwide-ranginginterestinourtraining togetindoorairandmoldproblems CD,sowecangetanswersquicklywhen
programs,”saidPEFHealthandSafety resolvedataTaconiccommunitysatellite weneedthem.
ChairKathyD’Arminio.“Weworkhardto officeinUlsterCounty. “Theyalsoshowedusdifferent
makethemasinterestingandusefulas “Findingaboxoffacemaskswaiting instrumentsandhowtotestformoisture
possible.” asIwalkedintotheofficewaskindofa andmold.We’refortunatetohavea
Fundingforthetrainingisprovided tip-off,”Clarksaidofthesatellitewhich moisturemeterhereatMohawkValley
throughthePS&TContractandagrant hadrecentlybeenrenovatedand andthat’sthefirsttesttomake.
fromtheLaborDepartment. expanded.Avarietyofair-quality “Ifyoucontrolthemoisture,you
“Partofourgoalistoraiseeveryone’s problemsattheofficewerebothering controlthemold.”
awarenessandlevelofknowledgeabout
theissueofindoorairqualityandthe
potentialeffectofmoldinthe
environment,”saidJonathanRosen,
PEF’sdirectorofoccupationalhealthand
safety.“Thetrainingcoversboth
respondingtoproblemsandpreventing
them,andit’stailoredtotheneedsof
boththepeoplewhomaintainthe
buildingsandthememberswhoraise
concernswhenaproblemarises.
“Ourapproachis:Don’twaituntila
disasterhappens.Educatepeoplesothey
canworktopreventit,”Rosensaid.
DeSilva,whoalsohasacertificatein
environmentallaw,isthelaborchairof
thejointhealthandsafetycommitteeat
THEY’RELEARNING—PhilBacheoftheNYSPoliceandPEFmembersEvarist
OTDA.
Nicholas,JudyReganandSharonDeSilvacompleteagroupactivityatPEFindoorair
Page12—TheCommunicatorDecember2009/Ja
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