International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants
Encyclopedia
The International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants (IAC2) is the certifying body for home and commercial building inspectors who perform inspections to determine the quality of indoor air. The nonprofit association was formed to address the need for special or ancillary inspections requiring qualified professionals who are called upon to assess airborne hazards in a home or building's interior, such as mold
, radon
, carbon monoxide
, pesticides, asbestos
, lead
, and other threats to human health and safety.
While some of these hazards may be naturally occurring, such as radon, the IAC2 seeks to train and certify inspectors to identify and offer recommendations for mitigation of such potentially hazardous conditions, ensuring a safe and healthy environment for a home or building's occupants.
The IAC2 was founded in 2006 by Nick Gromicko
, who also founded the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), whose headquarters are located in Boulder, Colorado
. IAC2-certified inspectors must complete Continuing Education training and testing, and must follow a strict Code of Ethics. There is no cost to join for qualifying inspectors, who are eligible for other benefits, such as free education and training, and access to free marketing and other business-related materials in order to better serve the public.
The World Health Organization
has published several reports concerning the hazards of indoor, airborne pathogens that threaten the health of those susceptible to mold, radon, and other biologicals versus those who may merely be sensitive but still susceptible to the illnesses such hazards pose.
Indoor air pollution is a threat worldwide, according to WHO, which estimates that 1 million children and 600,000 women die each year as a result of the lethal effects of air pollution, including pollution caused by smoking
cigarettes and burning biomass fuels. Many homes in poverty-stricken Third World
countries use cook stoves and heating sources that do not properly vent to the outdoors, creating potentially fatal hazards to a home's occupants. Many organizations, such as Trees, Water & People, are working to alleviate this threat by providing safe and simple-construction cook stove
s for low cost or free.
The IAC2 asserts that many indoor air pollution hazards in developed countries, such as the United States
and Canada
in North America
, as well as European countries, face similar but subtle threats to human health, especially when it comes to green technologies that are improperly installed, or components that are available but not used, such as radon mitigation systems, which are recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to protect against this potentially deadly yet naturally occurring carcinogen. The IAC2 sees it as their role to provide education and training to their international members to address the often under-diagnosed problem of indoor air pollution in homes and commercial buildings.
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
, radon
Radon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
, carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
, pesticides, asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, and other threats to human health and safety.
While some of these hazards may be naturally occurring, such as radon, the IAC2 seeks to train and certify inspectors to identify and offer recommendations for mitigation of such potentially hazardous conditions, ensuring a safe and healthy environment for a home or building's occupants.
The IAC2 was founded in 2006 by Nick Gromicko
Nick Gromicko
Nick Gromicko is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of , the nonprofit International Association of Certified Home Inspectors , based in Boulder, Colorado. InterNACHI is the international trade association of the inspection industry and has operations in about 60 countries...
, who also founded the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), whose headquarters are located in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. IAC2-certified inspectors must complete Continuing Education training and testing, and must follow a strict Code of Ethics. There is no cost to join for qualifying inspectors, who are eligible for other benefits, such as free education and training, and access to free marketing and other business-related materials in order to better serve the public.
The World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
has published several reports concerning the hazards of indoor, airborne pathogens that threaten the health of those susceptible to mold, radon, and other biologicals versus those who may merely be sensitive but still susceptible to the illnesses such hazards pose.
Indoor air pollution is a threat worldwide, according to WHO, which estimates that 1 million children and 600,000 women die each year as a result of the lethal effects of air pollution, including pollution caused by smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
cigarettes and burning biomass fuels. Many homes in poverty-stricken Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries use cook stoves and heating sources that do not properly vent to the outdoors, creating potentially fatal hazards to a home's occupants. Many organizations, such as Trees, Water & People, are working to alleviate this threat by providing safe and simple-construction cook stove
Cook stove
In cooking, a cook stove is a very basic stove heated by burning wood, charcoal, animal dung or crop residue. Cook stoves are the most common way of cooking and heating food in developing countries....
s for low cost or free.
The IAC2 asserts that many indoor air pollution hazards in developed countries, such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, as well as European countries, face similar but subtle threats to human health, especially when it comes to green technologies that are improperly installed, or components that are available but not used, such as radon mitigation systems, which are recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) to protect against this potentially deadly yet naturally occurring carcinogen. The IAC2 sees it as their role to provide education and training to their international members to address the often under-diagnosed problem of indoor air pollution in homes and commercial buildings.