Press Releases

What follows are our press releases listed in chronological order.

Clean Air Act tackles greatest environmental danger to Canadians: indoor pollution

Ottawa, October 19, 2006 - The Healthy Indoors Partnership (HIP) welcomes provisions in the Clean Air Act, tabled today in the House of Commons, dealing with indoor environments.

“Research has demonstrated that the average Canadian is more likely to be exposed to hazardous pollutants in their homes and offices than outdoors,” says Craig Jobber, Chairman of HIP’s Board of Directors. “Leading authorities have consistently identified indoor pollution as one of the most serious risks to human health. Yet air pollution in Canadian buildings of all types has until now received insufficient attention from government agencies.”

According to Jobber, there is a relatively well-developed policy framework for outdoor environment issues, with specific government ministries at the federal and provincial levels assigned legal authority, resources and responsibility to promote improvements in environmental quality. The same situation has not existed for most indoor environments, including homes, offices, schools and recreational spaces. “As tabled, the new Clean Air Act would provide a clear mandate and increased resources to Health Canada concerning indoor pollution. That would be an important step forward,” says Jobber.

Indoor air pollutants can cause or exacerbate respiratory and mental health problems, and some are linked to allergies and cancer. Further, given the evidence that outdoor particle pollution contributes to cardiovascular disease, it may be just a matter of time until we find a similar affect from indoor particle pollution.   

A recent survey of 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted by HIP, found that most households (73%) show signs of potential health risk from indoor air contaminants. While one in three Canadians think the air quality in their homes affects their health, most have a poor understanding of those health risks and what they can do to reduce them.

HIP is a not-for-profit organization that promotes healthier indoor environments in Canada through multi-stakeholder collaboration.

For more information on HIP, including a backgrounder and contact details, go to http://www.healthyindoors.com/english/pressroom/questionsanswered.htm

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‘Webinars’ keep people in Canada’s Indoor Environmental Quality sector up-to-date 

OTTAWA, August 28, 2006 - Jimi Arey gets lots of phone calls asking for advice. As an expert on indoor environmental quality and the principal of Arey Environmental Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Toronto, Mr Arey is a go-to person for questions about mold and other indoor health issues.

“I get a lot of calls, from areas in Toronto where there are big homes, people contemplating, ‘should I buy or should I not buy?’” he says, explaining that the homes in question are former marijuana grow ops and now have mold growing inside, due to the high moisture content.

But sometimes the experts themselves have questions. That’s why Mr. Arey was keen to take part in an web-based seminar After the Bust: Rehabilitating Homes used for Marijuana Grow Ops and/or Clandestine Drug Labs sponsored by the Healthy Indoors Partnership, a multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to improving indoor environments in Canada.

Participants in ‘webinars’ view PowerPoint presentations and other visuals using their web browers while listening on their telephone to the leader’s presentation. Since the presentation is live, participants can ask questions, make comments and exchange advice, all without leaving their office.

 “It was excellent, very cost-effective,” said Mr Arey. “The purpose of a seminar is to share information with a group of people in the same room. Webinars do exactly the same thing but provide you with a lot of time and money savings. When I say a lot, it is substantial. Imagine if you had to attend a conference. You’re looking to pay about $1000 to attend the conference, plus tickets and hotel.”

By comparison, a webinar costs $40, which includes a web connection and a toll-free teleconference connection. Instead of paying for each webinar he wants to participate in, Mr. Arey chose to join the Healthy Indoors Partnership and for an annual fee of $100, he gets four free webinars, along with the other benefits of membership.

A manager with Toronto Public Health was so impressed with the two webinars that he listened in on, that he also joined the Healthy Indoors Partnership. Peter Gauthier, Healthy Environments Manager for the city of Toronto’s West Region, found the webinar Scents in the Workplace: Research and Outreach to be “very informative” and appreciated hearing a wide range of perspectives on how to deal with former grow ops during the webinar After the Bust.

“We had over 500 grow ops reported in Toronto in 2004. It’s a big issue,” said Mr. Gauthier, who helped create a protocol for the city and is now looking at incorporating information he gathered from the webinar into their policy and procedures in dealing with grow ops.

“Everything changes and there’s new ways and better ways of doing things. The webinars allow the new ways of dealing with issues to come forward,” he added.

The Executive Director of the Healthy Indoors Partnership, Jay Kassirer, is pleased with the response to the webinars to date. “Participants in our webinars have rated them highly. They say they’re better than just a webcast or conference call and they like the interaction with other participants.”

At some locations, Mr. Kassirer says up to ten people have gathered together to participate. “We encourage groups to do this and don’t charge extra for more people at the same location or ‘connection’.”

The monthly webinars are held from 12 noon to 1;00 PM, Eastern Time. The following webinars will be held this fall:

• October 10, 2006: Health Canada Revises Residential Exposure Guidelines for Formaldehyde

In April 2006, Health Canada revised its indoor air quality guideline for formaldehyde, based on the most recent scientific evidence. A short-term exposure limit has been set at 123 µg/m3 (.1 ppm) in order to protect from irritation, and a long-term exposure limit has been set at 50 µg/m3 (.04 ppm) to prevent chronic respiratory symptoms.  This webinar will outline the revised guideline and its scientific basis, which includes epidemiologic, clinical, and toxicological studies. It will also discuss the impact on housing.

Presenters: Nicolas Gilbert, Air Health Effects Division, Health Canada; and Ken Ruest, Policy and Research Division, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

• November 14:  News and Views about Lighting and Health 

A new understanding of how light influences people has excited many lighting designers and researchers. Some argue that new forms of interior lighting might improve the health and well being of people in everyday environments, and that updated lighting recommendations should have this aim. September 2006 sees the Second CIE Expert Symposium on Lighting and Health occur in Ottawa. Based on the symposium presentations, this webinar will introduce you to the latest thinking on topics such as: non-visual photoreception of light, cancer risks of shift work, effects of dim and bright everyday environments on mood, and future directions for lighting practice.

Presenter: Jennifer Veitch, National Research Council of Canada's Institute for Research in Construction  

• December 12: Children’s Health and Indoor Environments

Emerging research suggests that indoor dust is an ongoing source of contaminants, particularly for children. Dust can contain pollutants tracked in from outside, indoor pesticides, lead from old paint and particles from consumer products. Find out more about dust and children, as well as other key children’s environmental health issues. You’ll also be introduced to new resources for service providers and parents with tips that promote “childproofing for environmental health”.

Presenters: Loren Vanderlinden, Jill McDowell, Toronto Public Health 

To register and for more information, go to www.healthyindoors.com and in the left hand column under Search our site, type in the the word webinar.  

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For more information, contact:
Jay Kassirer
 Executive Director
Healthy Indoors Partnership
(613) 224-3800
kassirer@healthyindoors.com
www.healthyindoors.com

Peter Gauthier 
Healthy Environments Manager
West Region
Toronto Public Health
(416) 338-1583

Jimi Arey
Principal
Arey Environmental Inc.
(416) 996-2739
www.mouldyhome.com

Healthy Indoors Partnership Launches Today
New initiative aims to achieve healthy indoor environments in Canada

Toronto, Ontario - (September 22, 2003) - Today marks the launch of the Healthy Indoors Partnership (HIP), Canada's first national not-for-profit organization focused exclusively on indoor environment issues. The HIP joins together a wide range of government, non-government and industry stakeholders to address an emerging public health issue: indoor environments.

Formed after five years of research and consultation, the HIP aims to raise awareness of the opportunities and benefits that improving indoor environments can bring to the health, well-being and productivity of Canadians, as well as to build a movement towards creating a powerful and permanent response to the indoor environment issue in Canada.

"The problem of indoor pollution in Canada has grown because there were no clear structures or strategies for addressing indoor environment issues at the national level" said Craig Jobber, Co-Chairman of the Healthy Indoors Partnership. "In contrast to outdoor environment issues, government policy toward the indoor environment has been limited and fragmented. Our research identified an urgent need for improved communication and coordination among those interested in healthy indoor environments, and the Healthy Indoors Partnership intends to provide just that."

Several leading U.S. authorities, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and others have consistently identified indoor pollution as one of the most serious risks to human health. In the U.S., indoor pollution is estimated to cause thousands of cancer deaths and hundreds of thousands of respiratory health problems each year.

To guide its work, the HIP has developed a national strategy based on extensive cross-Canada consultations. The HIP has three main areas of focus: the consolidation and integration of research; the promotion of guidelines and best practices; and the fostering and marketing of outreach programs.

"Canadians spend the majority of their lives indoors, be it inside vehicles, offices, restaurants, shopping malls or houses," said Mr. Jobber. "Despite the progress that is being made, there is convincing evidence that many of these indoor settings are damaging the health of the people working and living in them. Our goal is to bring people and ideas together to develop a vision of what is possible in the field of healthy indoor environments. We encourage private, public and not-for-profit organizations and individuals across the country to join our partnership and help us create and maintain healthier indoor environments in Canada."

The newest source of information and resources on indoor environments in Canada, the HIP offers a free quarterly newsletter to help Canadians stay up-to-date on indoor environment issues and operates the only national clearinghouse of such information in Canada. The Healthy Indoors Partnership is also the co-sponsor of the upcoming International Conference on Indoor Environment taking place September 28 - 30 in Vancouver, in collaboration with the Air and Waste Management Association. Other events will take place this fall in Toronto and Montreal as the launch rolls out across Canada.

The Healthy Indoors Partnership is supported by a unique partnership of government, private sector and NGOs. Partners of the program include Health Canada, the National Research Council, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Natural Resources Canada, Pollution Probe, the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre, National Air Technologies, CIMATEC, the Canadian Carpet Institute, Broan Nutone Canada, Venmar Ventilation Inc., and many others.

For more information on the Healthy Indoor Partnership visit www.healthyindoors.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Craig Jobber
(416) 292-7600
cjobber@natech.ca