Indoor Air Disasters: Stories of Recovery from Katrina, Hurricanes, Wildfires, and Other Disasters
The U.S. has had fires, floods, and storms in recent years, such as Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans in 2005. The “Katrina cough” affecting residents was soon reported in U.S. news outlets. What is the effect of disasters on IAQ? Can we prevent carbon monoxide poisonings? This presentation will tell stories from past disasters, and suggest ways we can avoid problems in the future.
Speaker
Henry Slack
Since 1991, Henry Slack has managed the Indoor Air Program for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4, which covers eight southeastern states. In this position, he offers expertise concerning indoor air to citizens or public agencies with questions on topics as diverse as mold, odors, ozone, carbon monoxide, air cleaners, ventilation systems, and secondhand tobacco smoke. The EPA program is non-regulatory. A frequent presenter at conferences, he wrote (with Janise Palmer) and presented “Elevated Radon in Concrete Residential Buildings” at the ASHRAE Indoor Air ’13 Conference in Vancouver, B.C.
Mr. Slack had a temporary assignment to the CDC National Center for Environmental Health, Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch, in 1998, where he investigated the use of unvented residential heating appliances (which could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning). In 2004, he was appointed a Fellow through Partners of the Americas, and spent a month and a half in Barbados training and assisting staff of the Barbados environmental agency.
In previous work, was responsible for energy management programs for the U.S. General Services Administration, Region 4; designed rooftop air conditioning units for Seasons-4, Inc., a small manufacturer; and served as the Energy Coordinator at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
Mr. Slack earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1974 from Southwestern at Memphis (now called Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and a Master of Science in 1980 from Georgia Institute of Technology. He became a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Georgia in 1988, the same year he joined ASHRAE.
