Indoor Air Quality in Rural Alaskan Homes

Residential indoor air quality is a pillar of environmental health. With exceptionally high rates of respiratory disease, a critical housing shortage and exceptionally demanding heating needs, Alaskan households face major indoor air challenges. In this session we will examine how the unique aspects of climate, geography, building construction and culture influence air quality in rural and remote Alaskan homes.

Nationwide, many agencies offer research, outreach material and best-practice recommendations regarding indoor air quality. Unfortunately, Alaskan environmental health workers are finding much of this material is poorly suited to the unique and challenging conditions of our state. A careful review of housing issues and respiratory disease rates details a web of weighty, and often unique, air quality factors that gravely impact health. By making use of available research, as well as field experience, we will explore and prioritize the air quality concerns which have the greatest impact on rural residents.

Looking towards the future, we will discuss how increased concern over heating efficiency and the progressive “tightening” of Alaskan homes will create new challenges for the residential environmental health professional.

We will describe a systematic, evidence-based review of health and housing factors and how it can be used to set priorities and a address a complex health topic. While this session will focus specifically on the residential indoor air quality issues of remote and rural Alaska, it will be well suited to anyone trying to develop or adapt health initiatives for a unique audience.

Pool Safety: From Technology to Construction

The overall goal of this presentation is to explain how the pool industry got to this point in our history. I will cover how to minimize suction outlet entrapment hazards through proper construction and sound hydraulics. The presentation covers proper application of SVRS technology, as well as the installation and proper application of the Safety Vacuum Release System.

Understanding the dynamic forces involved in pool, therapeutic and circulatory systems can and will reduce the hazards associated with child suction entrapment. After testing and demonstrations in labs addressing differential hold down forces(DHDF), it has been proven that the avoidance of this scenario will in turn make pools and spas safer for our swimming public. The pool industry is generally unaware of this problem, however through proper education, we can help industry professionals to recognize this deadly issue and correct the misuse of powerful pumps and inadequate plumbing/piping techniques. Through proper education of this issue, there should be no reason why we can‘t stop suction outlet entrapment in our lifetime.

Measuring Gravity Sewer Flow Accurately

Flow measurement is a missing link in computing why septic systems may fail. Calculating the estimated flow on a sewer system can be impacted by inflow and infiltration issues. The actual flow may be further impacted with wet weather events and its impact may be ignored. Measuring flow should indicate a state of hydraulic overloading if evident in the performance of any septic or sewer system. The importance of knowing anticipated sewer flow can gauge potential problems. Daily flow can exceed the system design capacity, resulting in frequent sewer backups or puddling of sewage onto the ground surface.

Sanitary sewer overflows are evident in cases where potential problems are compacted with additional flows. Values for estimated sewage flows will be compared. Inflow and infiltration are often not considered when sizing an onsite wastewater system or sewer collection system. Ways to correct I&I will be shared. Several solutions to measure gravity sewer flow accurately will be discussed.

Everyday HACCP

HACCP, in order to be successful in a food operation, has to be integreated into the everyday routine of the business. Owners, managers, food workers, and regulators must know their roles in support of this integrated effort and must perform their jobs in a way that reinforces successful application of HACCP in that food operation. Operators and regulators must work in concert with each other to achieve everyday HACCP through "active managerial control" of hazards.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE A BOMB FACTORY IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Ever wish you could just burn down a house to clean it up - We did just that. Come hear what goes into that extreme step. The media termed it the Bomb Factory. Learn how 20+ pounds of HMTD and other home made explosives were analyzed and destroyed with full approval of the neighbors.

The lecture will cover an overview of how the response unfolded from November 18, 2010 when the gardener stepped on a rock in the back yard and was severly injured by the explosion to December 9, 2010 when the largest cache of homemade explosives found in the US was destroyed by burning (along with the house) in 45 minutes. Unified command (60 agencies involved) was essential to the success of this response and gaining the support of the community was a must. We will talk about how EOD, Hazmat, and SWAT were blended to complete this task. How the air modeling programs you think work did not come through in the beginning but were modified by various groups to provide the info we really needed.

Yum! Brands-Working with You to Serve Safe Foods

Learn a brief history of Yum! Brands, Inc. (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, A&W and Long John Silver's) followed by a description of Yum's Quality Assurance organization at the corporate and individual Brand level. A handout of points of contact at Yum and the Brand will be provided. The bulk of the presentation will focus on Yum's food safety systems and how Yum strives to prevent food contamination and foodborne illnesses. The presentation will also briefly cover procedures and tools Yum uses to respond to foodborne illnesses.

We will discuss Yum's produce safety initiatives, Health Department inspection program and how a corporation can be notified automatically by a health department regarding problem restaurants . We will also look at Yum's process to respond to emerging food safety issues.

Pro-Active Food Safety [POSTER]

The City has adopted a new Food Establishment Inspection Grading regulation. The food establishments are subject to this new regulation and shall be enacted upon every routine inspection. The intent of this regulation is to provide a transparency to the public as to the current state of the foodservice in the City Of Hartford. It is our goal that this regulation will be an effective tool to help you maintain a safe, healthy and successful business that will attract customers and reduce public health risk. The Sanitary Inspection Grade will be provided by your Inspector at the conclusion of each inspection and shall be posted conspicuously by you for the Public to see. The score will be either an “A” or “B” with a passing score. A failed inspection will not receive a grade and will proceed with normal enforcement. The score will be Posted upon entry to the establishment as a Public Health Indicator for the customer and an incentive for operators to maintain a clean and healthy business.

Environmental Health Divorcing from Public Health? [LEARNING LAB]

In the era of budget cuts, many core environmental health programs are moving to code enforcement, natural resources, agriculture, and environmental protection. The lack of cohesiveness makes it difficult to look at the problems wholistically (i.e. a food service establishment with waste disposal problems may fall under the purvue of Agriculture, Natural Resources or Environmental Protection). The public no longer knows who to call, and no one agency is responsible for mitigation or investigation making coordination difficult. We have taken the public health out of environmental health.