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CDC Selects AQS to Continue Providing Allergen and Endotoxin Analyses for National Health and Nutrition Survey

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 15:00 CST

Air Quality Sciences, Inc. (AQS) has been selected to continue indoor environmental analyses in 2006 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

For more than 40 years, CDC has measured and established detailed health profiles for the US population, which are used to provide annual estimates on a range of diseases and their potential causes. Public health officials, legislators and physicians also use this information to develop sound health policies, direct and design health programs and services, and expand health knowledge.

Beginning in 2005, NHANES began collecting indoor dust samples from approximately 7,000 participants' homes each year for allergen and endotoxin analyses. Indoor allergens associated with mold, cats, dogs, rodents, cockroaches and dust mites are being measured using the latest instrumental techniques developed by AQS. Fungal allergens for Aspergillus fumigatus and Alternaria alternata are measured as well as endotoxin, associated with gram negative bacteria growth.

Exposure to endotoxins and indoor allergens are among the strongest risk factors for developing asthma and triggering asthma and allergy attacks. Since 1980, as US buildings and homes have become tighter and the use of synthetic materials has remarkably increased, indoor environmental quality has deteriorated, and not surprisingly the prevalence of asthma has risen by 150 percent.

According to the CDC, approximately 20 million Americans have asthma, including nearly 6 million children. In 2002, asthma accounted for an estimated 14.6 million lost school days and cost the US economy $14 billion in annual health care expenditure.

"These analyses will help health professionals understand the types and levels of allergens present in homes. Thus, this important information will generate a better understanding of the relationship between household allergens and respiratory illnesses such as allergies and asthma," said Marilyn S. Black, PhD, CEO and chief scientist with AQS.

Air Quality Sciences, Inc. is a fully integrated indoor air quality (IAQ) company that provides solutions to create healthy indoor environments and avoid potentially dangerous indoor pollution. As the only IAQ firm with internal labs that are both ISO 9001:2000 registered and AIHA EMLAP accredited, AQS sets the standard for effective diagnoses and solutions. AQS is also the technical partner for the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, which provides an independent, third party certification for low emitting products used indoors. To learn more about AQS and GREENGUARD, visit www.aqs.com and www.greenguard.org, respectively. To learn more about indoor air quality, visit Aerias-AQS IAQ Resource Center at www.aerias.org.

 Contact: Kelley Gullison (770) 933-0638 x 239 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=32202F683F0161E2 www.aqs.com

SOURCE: Air Quality Sciences, Inc.

Source: MARKET WIRE

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