Assessment of Urban Dwellings for Indoor Toxics (AUDIT)
Sponsor: U.S. EPA
Principal Investigators: SUNY Upstate Medical U. (J. Abraham) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 11/00 - 11/04
This project addresses issues related to the development of pediatric asthma and exposure hazards in indoor environments. The 100 homes selected for this study are located in Syracuse. Measurements for the study include health status assessments of newborns, and in-home levels of particulate matter, allergens, temperature, humidity and airborne pollutants.

Click here for the latest annual report submitted to U.S. EPA.

Development of Indoor Sources Sampling and Environmental Control Technologies (DISSECT)
Sponsor: U.S. EPA
Principal Investigators: SU (J. Zhang) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 11/00 - 11/04
This project involves the construction and commissioning of the world-class Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory (BEESL), a unique full-scale thermal and air quality test facility at Syracuse University. Construction of the facility was completed in October 2001 and this laboratory will be important for learning more about the physical transport and effects of various intervention technologies on air pollutant dynamics.

Bio-aerosol Project (ACCURATE)
Sponsor: U.S. EPA
Principal Investigators: SUNY ESF (S. Anagnost) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 01/02 - 11/04
This project is a field and laboratory study designed 1) to identify specific fungi present in the 100 AUDIT study homes in Syracuse and 2) establish any links between molds and pediatric asthma. To date, 97 fungi have been identified to genus or species. Of these, more than 80 are "mold" fungi.

Healthy Homes Evaluation
Sponsor: NYSERDA and Niagara Mohawk
Principal Investigator: SU (J. Zhang) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 10/02 - 09/04
Niagara Mohawk is working with NYSERDA to evaluate and document the performance of 15 to 20 air cleaning/purification products for commercial buildings. The effectiveness of these products for removing pollutants will be evaluated in the newly constructed environmental full-scale test facility at Syracuse University. The results of the testing will be compiled and disseminated to building owners, HVAC engineers, IEQ consultants, and consumers by the NYIEQ Center. For more background information on the proejct, please examine the Healthy Homes Brochure.

The final report for this project has been submitted to NYSERDA and Niagara Mohawk. A presentation on the results of the study was held at the Green Building Salon meeting in Syracuse on July 7, 2004. For a copy of the slides presented at the meeting, click here and you will be taken to the STAR Center for Environmental Quality Systems' website.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Center
Sponsor: U.S. EPA
Principal Investigators: Syracuse Research Corporation (P. Goodrum) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 06/03-05/04
The Probabilistic Risk Assessment Center was established as a new research program in FY 2002 at the Syracuse Research Corporation. The central theme of the Center is the development and application of probabilistic modeling approaches (e.g., Monte Carlo simulation). Because of variability in exposures and health outcomes among an exposed population, probabilistic models can be very useful for quantifying the likelihood that contamination will exceed levels of concern. A diverse array of projects is underway, including probabilistic modeling of indoor air pollutants.

Effects of Uncontrolled Air Flow on IEQ
Sponsor: Department of Energy and NYSERDA
Principal Investigators: CDH Energy Corp., SU (J. Zhang) and NYIEQ
Grant Period: 05/03-05/05
The premise of this poject is that buildings do not function as they should because complex HVAC systems interact with the building envelope, causing a variety of unintended and therefore uncontrolled airflow problems.

Uncontrolled airflow problems result from design flaws, construction flaws, commissioning deficiencies and operation problems. These uncontrolled airflows create a wide range of problems that impact energy use, peak demand, indoor humidity control, indoor environmental quality and building durability.

The objectives of this project will be to:

• Conduct field research to understand the magnitude and impact of uncontrolled air flows in small commercial buildings;
• Use full-scale laboratory testing and computer simulations to quantify the impact of uncontrolled air flows on indoor environmental conditions and building energy use;
• Demonstrate the impact that improved new construction and retrofit techniques will have on building efficiency and air quality in actual applications; and
• Disseminate this knowledge to the building community through a series of practitioner seminars.