Free IAQ Workshop Scheduled in Two PA Locations in April

A free Indoor Air Quality in Pennsylvania Schools workshop is scheduled for April 18 in Reading, Pa., and April 19 in Gibsonia, Pa. This intensive four-hour workshop will help all levels of school personnel and environmental health specialists to identify, prevent and manage indoor air quality problems in school buildings.

The workshop will make indoor air quality issues approachable by demonstrating how available resources can be tailored to specific needs. It will outline a practical pro-active management approach and how to use it to achieve meaningful improvements. Attending the workshop will also provide an opportunity for participants to meet with other school personnel, environmental health and indoor air professionals who are working to improve indoor air quality.

The workshop begins at 9:30 a.m. with sign-in, coffee and introductions. The day ends at 3 p.m. A working lunch, sponsored by the American Lung Association of Pennsylvania, will be served from noon to 1 p.m.

Bruce Snead of the Engineering Extension at Kansas State University will be the instructor. He has been providing workshops on radon, indoor air quality and energy use in buildings throughout the Midwest and in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years. In 1995, he became the first trainer nationwide to begin workshops based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tools for Schools action kit.

Participants will receive a copy of Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Pennsylvania Schools by the Pennsylvania Department of Health; Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools, a kit developed by the EPA that includes practical tips and checklists; and a listing of other indoor air quality resources developed by government agencies and professional organizations, most of which are available free through the Internet.

This free workshop is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III. It is held in collaboration with the PA Department of Education, the PA Department of Environmental Protection, the PA Department of Health and the American Lung Association of Pennsylvania.

It is endorsed by the PA Association of School Business Officials and the PA Association of School Administrators and held in cooperation with the PA Associations of Elementary and Secondary School Principals and the PA School Boards Association.

To register, please call (215) 387-4096 or send e-mail to [email protected].