Course Structure & Content:
The course comprises 8 lessons, as follows:
Environmental Impacts on Buildings
- Scope, nature, and principles of building biology
- Environmental impacts on buildings
- Climate, building location, radon, air quality, allergies, temperature, humidity, light, EMR
- Creation of electric fields
Chemicals
- Air pollutants
- Cleaning chemicals
- Chemical breakdowns
- Leakages and spills
- Pesticides – household, industrial, agricultural
- Solid Waste pollutants
- Persistent organic pollutants (POP’s)
- Formaldehydes
- Heavy metals
- Ammonia
- Resins
- Where different chemicals originate in a building
Building Surrounds
- Creating a buffer zone
- Windbreaks, hedges, screens
- Creating shade
- Designing a healthy home garden
- Going natural in the garden
- Avoiding problem materials
- Disposing of waste
- Making compost
- Working with rather than against nature
- Energy conservation
- Solar house design
- Green principles for house design
Furnishings
- Gas appliances, heaters and fireplaces
- Furniture
- Materials characteristics
- Floor coverings
- Cane
- Metals
- Fabrics
- Flame retardation treatments
- Mattresses
- Dry cleaning and mothballing
- Temperature and acoustic properties of fabrics
Finishes
- Chemical reactions
- Lung disease, cancer, skin disease
- Paint
- Repainting
- Timber finishes against decay
- Varnishes and oils
Pesticides & Alternatives
- Types of insecticides -inorganic and biological (organophosphates, carbamates etc.)
- Rodenticides
- Miticides, Bactericides, Algaecides, Termite treatments
- Understanding pesticide characteristics -toxicity, persistence, volatility, etc.
- Common chemicals used in buildings, and natural alternatives
- Common garden chemicals and natural pest/weed management
- Understanding Insect Pest Management options
Managing Interior Environments
- Assessing air quality
- Ventilation
- Temperature control
- Cleaning
- Acoustics
- Electricity
- Domestic pets
- Light
- Colour
- Indoor plants
- Other hazards
Consulting
- Services that can be offered to a client
- Checklist of building hazards
- Procedures and business practice for a consultant
- Setting up costs
- Operating a business
- Developing a business plan
- Determining fees to charge
Each lesson includes an assignment for submission to the school. This will be marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
LESSON AIMS
- Explain the impact of the macro-environment (location) on health.
- Develop an understanding of chemicals used in and around buildings and their impact upon human health.
- Explain the impact of building surrounds, including a garden on the interior environmental conditions.
- Choose interior furnishings that are not likely to damage human health.
- Explain the health implications of using different types of finishes, including sealers, paints, preservatives and stains.
- Explain the health implications of using alternative methods of pest control in buildings and adjacent gardens.
- Plan health-conscious management systems for interior environments.
- To develop an appreciation of the opportunities for, and implications of, advising people on the health status of buildings and recommending changes to the management of their use.
CHEMICALS IN BUILDINGS
Chemicals are used in most buildings in a variety of different ways, for example:
- As a construction material (e.g. bitumen roofing, insulation materials, etc.)
- As a lubricant (e.g. grease or oil to make door hinges move easily)
- As a sealant or coating material (e.g. paints or varnishes)
- As an adhesive (e.g. glues which fix other materials together)
- As a cleaner
- As a pesticide (e.g. to control termites on foundations, to bait vermin, etc)
- As a fungicide (e.g. to control dry rot).
In many cases, the chemical is meant to do a job, and then disappear. However, this is not always the case. Residues of chemicals are usually left behind and some chemical residues may accumulate with repeated use of the same chemical.
Although no single chemical may cause problems, the cumulative effect of many different types of chemicals can increase a person’s sensitivity and eventually lead to problems.
WHY STUDY THIS COURSE?
This course provides students with insight into the many ways that buildings can impact upon the health of their occupants.
Here the emphasis is on the environment rather than the materials used to construct the buildings, which is the focus of our Healthy Buildings I course.
- Understanding more about chemicals used in buildings, as well as other factors such as lighting and ventilation will help you build a detailed knowledge of how to make a building interior healthier for its occupants.
- Apply what you learn to your home, your workplace, or other buildings. Make a difference to your own health and that of others.
- This course can enhance existing building and design knowledge or serve as a foundation towards other studies and higher level qualifications.
- Use your knowledge in roles which entail the planning, design and construction of buildings as well as inspections of existing buildings for health risks.
You can start the course at any time; it is studied by distance learning. Study with the guidance and support of our highly knowledgeable specialist tutors.
