Indoor Air Quality – with Steve Froelicher

Dr. Steve Froelicher is a Senior Scientist at Prism Analytical Technologies. Dr. Froelicher received a B.S. in Chemistry from Northern Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University. Steve has worked at Prism since 2011 and his interests include understanding and correlating VOC sources, improving and developing new methods for VOC and semi-volatile (SVOC) detection, and educational awareness of VOCs for the air testing community. Dr. Froelicher has also been an Adjunct Chemistry Lecturer at local universities for the past 23 years.

September 18, 2019

Steve will be presenting on:

  • Formaldehyde: the molecule, reactivity, basics
  • VOCs: other common VOCs in buildings and their hazards
  • Construction items, furniture, source control
  • Methods for identifying VOCs: Flame Ionisation Detection, Photo Ionisation Detection
  • Detection and measurement as it relates to green building rating systems

Specific learning objectives that will be covered:

1) Understand how formaldehyde is a silent threat to respiratory distress by understanding the basic properties of the formaldehyde molecule

2) Understand the sources of formaldehyde, especially the somewhat hidden sources such as in cabinetry, etc. and how use of quality products and design can help reduce these effects.

3) Understand how formaldehyde is monitored and the current guidelines (or lack of or confusing guidelines) for formaldehyde exposure

4) Understand how formaldehyde can be remediated but possibly never entirely eliminated from living spaces.