ROCIS Blog
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Blog posts about all ROCIS topics
Interview with Elly Helgen
We are overjoyed to introduce Elly Helgen as the newest member of the ROCIS team! Elly joined ROCIS as the SWPA Project Coordinator this summer. We asked Elly a few questions about what brought her here and her connection to air quality. Take a moment to get to know...
Interview with Bill Collinge
We've had the pleasure of working with Bill Collinge over the years as we developed our data tools for the Low Cost Monitoring Project. Bill has recently joined the ROCIS team as an air quality analyst. In the short time he's been with us, he's already helped us...
Radon Reality Check
by Shaina Lacap The ROCIS radon data shows that we should all be testing for radon, but testing isn’t enough.While most Americans are aware of the risks associated with smoking, the health impacts of radon often fall under the radar. Radon is the second leading cause...
Cut it Off at the Source: Tips for Reducing Indoor Emissions
When it comes to pollution control, addressing the source of the pollution itself is the key. Both the cooking of food and the burner use can be a major emission source, so how you cook can make a big difference. Here’s how to tackle cooking and burner emissions of...
Channel The Flow: Tips for Improving Kitchen Range Hood Use
Most range hoods currently installed in homes are not very effective due to their design and/or operation and maintenance. Here are some easy things to do to improve the removal of pollutants, odors, grease, and moisture from cooking in your home. More information and...
Humidifiers and Particles: What You Need to Know
When you turn on a humidifier, you could be sending more than just water vapor into the air. While we don’t know the precise degree to which contaminants in water are aerosolized and inhaled, we do know that humidifiers can create a cloud of particles in indoor...
Breathing lessons from 400 Pittsburgh families
Don FuglerCarbon dioxide (CO2) is everywhere. It’s in the breath you exhale, the emissions from your gas stove, and the smoke from your fireplace. Plants use it during photosynthesis to produce oxygen and sugars. Everyone knows CO2 as the “greenhouse gas” that leads...
Filter Forensics: Beyond Counting Particles
ROCIS is collaborating with University of Pittsburgh’s Nesta Bortey-Sam, Ph.D., and doctoral candidate Abdul Alobireed at the School of Public Health on a project to analyze the contents of dirty air filters, used in furnaces, central air conditioners, portable air...
Simple IAQ Interventions with Big Results
Because most modern air pollution (at least in southwestern Pennsylvania) is so small that it’s more or less invisible, it can be easy to ignore. That’s part of why we run the Low Cost Monitoring Project. Not only do we loan low cost air monitors to our LCMP...
ROCIS Pays Tribute to Don Fugler
After nearly a decade at ROCIS, Don Fugler is heading into a well-earned retirement. Don Fugler was a part of ROCIS before there was a ROCIS. When Don set out to assess the existing knowledge about reducing exposure to exterior pollutants, what he found was crucial in...
Induction Stove Resources
by Tom PhilipsBackground: The following short list of annotated resources on induction stoves provides an update to the resources in the 2019 ROCIS Range Hood Guide update. The list addresses both residential and commercial buildings. The resources are listed in...
Keep a Lid on It: Best Practices for Reducing Cooking Pollution in Homes
How safe and healthy is your indoor air when cooking at home?Whether you cook for pleasure, for the health benefits, for the cost savings, or just as a matter of course, you probably make food in your kitchen on a regular basis. Not only does cooking release odors and...
What’s Cooking: Update to ROCIS Range Hood Guide, January 2024
This update was created by Tom Phillips, ROCIS Technical Advisor, Healthy Building Research ROCIS offers a comprehensive Range Hood Guide on our website for anyone—from homeowners to contractors—to use in the process of choosing and installing kitchen range hoods....
Particle Pollution Solutions In Your Home
Pittsburgh Has a Particle Pollution Problem The air quality in Pittsburgh is among the worst in the country, but you can protect the air you breathe in your home. ROCIS presents the following overview of particle pollution and what you can do about it indoors. First,...
Talking Turkey About Indoor Air Quality
With a focus on reducing the health effects of outdoor pollutants indoors, what does ROCIS have to do with cooking?No, we are not addressing outdoor grilling. Cooking in kitchens is a significant, consistent contributor to indoor air quality. While the best way to...
How to Assemble a Fan Filter
The fan/filter is a DIY and low-cost strategy to effectively remove particles in the air. Our team recommends using a MERV-13 20×20 4″ filter for desired filtration and longevity. Through our Low-Cost Monitoring Project participants, we have seen a significant...
Purple in Pittsburgh and Abroad
Low-cost air monitoring is a rapidly evolving field with the acceleration of new and modified products. One monitor which performed well in a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is the PurpleAir PA-II Dual Laser Air Sensor. This laboratory analysis provided...
Inversions in SWPA
“Weather inversions don’t inherently stink. It’s the pollution trapped by inversions that stinks.” —Mark Dixon Smoke has been a fixture in the coal-rich inversion-prone Pittsburgh region for centuries. Only in the 1900s did community members finally come together to...
Millvale Community Library: Why We ROCIS
For 150 years, Millvale has sat opposite Lawrenceville on the Allegheny River, sharing in many of the economic successes of the region. When much of local industry left Pittsburgh with a trail of economic and environmental distress, Millvale shared in that as well....
ROCIS February 26, 2016 Stakeholders Meeting
Part of our mission at ROCIS is to build a network of stakeholders in the region who recognize the impact of poor ambient air quality on indoor spaces. ROCIS stakeholders include practitioners, researchers, product developers, contractors, advocates, and more. Our...