The air quality in many commercial buildings is giving property owners and managers major headaches. Building occupants today are no longer willing to tolerate and quietly suffer their headaches, allergic reactions, nausea and other more serious aliments brought on by poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in hotels, schools, hospitals, surgery centers, offices or other commercial or institutional buildings. There have been many well publicized law suits, building evacuations, renovations or demolition of new and existing buildings that are focusing attention on building air quality.
Building air quality is an issue that cannot be ignored. When air quality complaints surface, whether the problem is simply a comfort issue, an incident or a full blown sick building, owners and managers of commercial buildings must respond. Healey & Associates routinely assists building owners and managers address existing and potential Indoor Environmental Air Quality problems and has developed a series of informational notes designed to address such problems. The articles include:
Occupants of buildings expect a healthy, comfortable and productive environment. In the hot, humid climates of the Southeast and Caribbean outside air contains a large quantity of moisture that provides an unforgiving environment for architects and engineers. Unless the building envelope and the heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system can maintain proper humidity levels inside the building mold and mildew will most certainly appear. Maintaining positive internal building pressure and humidity levels below 60% is absolutely essential to provide proper indoor air quality in buildings.
Exhausting air from spaces like restrooms employee break rooms and other areas without replacing it creates a negative pressure that draws unconditioned air through exterior walls and cracks at windows and doors. As the outside air is drawn into a building by the negative pressure that is created by breezes or exhausts, the moisture in the air often condenses when it comes in contact with the cooler surfaces and condenses. The condensation provides the moisture fungi requires for growth. The stage is now set for mold growth and a major IAQ problem that could have been avoided by taken preventative actions or implementing systems such as those discussed in this section. Learn to recognize mold and initiate action to eliminate it!
Temperature of: 770F to 880F
Relative Humidity: 70% to 93%
Former employees of New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are suing the building's owner for allegedly exposing them to unhealthy levels of carbon monoxide and other toxic chemicals. Home heath care workers are suing a building owner in Deland, Fla. for more than $15,000 in damages, claiming they are suffering from symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS).
Lawsuits related to indoor air quality are becoming more common, though t he number of cases, which have been decided by a jury, is still fairly small. "Indoor air quality problems are growing and the best ways to reduce problems involve regular cleaning and getting more outdoor air into buildings," said Jan Sundell, a Swedish expert in engineering and health sciences.
"We don't know the agents (causes) and enormous research is needed," he said. "But we do know that old-time hygienic measures, such as cleaning, help. We also know t hat outdoor airflow matters. The more you have, the fewer problems."
Ailments, such as allergies and asthma, are often categorized as Building Related Illnesses (BRI) because they describe a specific condition that can be documented by physical sign or medical tests. Sick Building Syndrome (SIS) involves symptoms that generally disappear when the affected person leaves the building. SIS symptoms include headaches, fatigue, itching and burning eyes, runny nose , dry throat, dry skin, flushed facial skin, and itching of the scalp and ears.
"Preventative maintenance and regular monitoring of known causes seem to be the best way to avoid potential IAQ problems," said Henry M. Healey, President of Healey and Associates. "You also need heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that are as simple as possible to maintain and operate. Make sure maintenance schedules are specified. Have a copy of OSHA regulations an d keep good records. The HVAC system design is more than making occupants comfortable."
Listening to the tenants and clients in your facility is instrumental in finding and fixing problems as quickly as possible. "Investigate reported problems and take corrective action quickly," Healey said. "Cleaning the ducts without investigating first may compound the problem. You have to determine what the problem is to find the solution."
Acting on the reported problems quickly also has an advantage on the state and federal levels as well. "While we often assist facility managers once an OSHA complaint is filed, it is better and less expensive to address complaints before they escalate and involve regulatory authorities or attorneys," he added.
Indoor air quality is a matter, which lends itself to proactive management. In preparing a proactive IAQ plan it is important to understand the historic causes of IAQ problems and IAQ issues which are unique to particular environments such as healthcare.
The key to a successful IAQ Prevention Program is an IAQ plan to prevent and address IAQ problems. The plan should keep things simple or implementation of the plan will be difficult. In most buildings one person should be responsible for managing the IAQ program. The person should understand building systems and activities and have the authority to take corrective action when problems are found.
Create a written plan that includes a description of major building systems, equipment locations, and areas they serve. The plan should include a list of activities in the building including normal hours and days of service, occupancy load and contaminants known to be released. Have a checklist for visual inspection of building systems as well as a list of operat ing performance criteria, and maintenance program requirements and procedures.
Be sure to maintain building systems according to your schedule and control any release of indoor air contaminants, outdoor air contaminants and the moisture within the building. Inspect the building for indicators of potential IAQ problems on a regular basis. Odors, excessive dirt on supply/return grills, smoke damage or staining and discoloration are good indicators of a problem. If you are planning any renovation or construction, have work plans and procedures to maintain good IAQ throughout the entire process.
Training of your building maintenance, engineering and management staff is critical to a successful IAQ program. "You need to stay in constant communication with your building's occupants as well as periodically measure the indoor air quality of your building to ensure their comfort.
In an effort to address existing or potential indoor air quality concerns, Healey and Associates recommends a comprehensive investigation into the reported IAQ problems. "Often, facility managers will ask for the air to be tested or ducts cleaned when they suspect they have a problem," said Henry Healey, President of Healey and Associates. "Getting air quality tests before you understand the problem or having ducts cleaned is expensive and most likely, will not cure the problem."
A careful and thorough evaluation must be performed on the existing operations and building as well as the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to ensure the "indoor air" conditioning and delivery system is working at it's full potential and that the components are working properly.
Indoor air quality investigations are typically started with occupant interviews to gather information related to symptoms and timing patterns of discomforts the building occupants are experiencing," Healey said. Interviews are followed by an inspection of the building, build ing operations and the HVAC systems to gain a familiarity with the entire facility and it's operations.
"The intent of the initial survey is to identify potential pollution sources and/or contaminants that could be contributing to the reported IAQ problems. This is done in order to develop an approach to diagnosing and correcting the potential problems," Healey said.
Once the background survey and review is com pleted, a thorough inspection of the operations and the mechanical equipment (HVAC) serving the building and the physical space is performed and an analysis of the HVAC distributions system throughout the building is made. Temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, air currents and relative pressures between adjacent spaces and zones are checked in order to evaluate the distribution system and ventilation throughout the building as part of the investigation.
After all the data is compiled, the final report and recommendations for corrective action is provided.
If you would like more information on IAQ or are considering an investigation of potential problems in your commercial building, email Henry Healey at healey@flaenergy.com.
Healey & Associates has developed a system capable of improving and protecting the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in existing Commercial, Institutional and Industrial (C&I) buildings. The approach consists of adding a dedicated "Outdoor Air (OA) pre-treatment system" with appropriate Components and Controls to the fresh air intake of buildings to pre-condition the outdoor (fresh) air that enters the building. The Outdoor Air System, originally developed to address one of the major causes of poor air quality inside buildings, mold and mildew resulting from moisture and high humidity levels, has been reconfigured and refined to reduce the vulnerability of buildings to threats from external air borne contamination including smoke or toxic releases.
Once the OA System, consisting of a filtration system, cooling/heating coils, dampers, associated controls and components, is installed, all outdoor air entering a building would be pre-conditioned (filtered, dehumidified etc.). The OA system would be designed to pressurize the building or selected area and eliminate the entry of unconditioned, outdoor air into the building. The System would serve to reduce the moisture levels in the building, one of the primary causes of poor IAQ in existing buildings, as well as the load on the existing HVAC System. The removal of the moisture load would permit the supply air temperature to be raised (temperature reset), and the heating (for humidity control) to be reduced, providing better humidity control and an economic benefit by virtue on an energy reduction. Implementation of such a system can provide an energy cost savings that will repay the cost of the installation over time by virtue of a reduction in the cooling load on the buildings HVAC Equipment and a reduction or elimination of the Outdoor Air load during unoccupied times.
While the specific economics will vary from project to project, the long-term economics will generally be positive, essentially providing a payback for a project that addresses a multitude of health and safety problems. At the present time, it simply is not possible to seal the buildings to protect the occupants from a threat (smoke or toxic emissions) from the outside air. Additionally, numerous buildings are presently suffering from reported IAQ problems resulting from high humidity levels. The approach developed by Healey & Associates is designed to help address both of these problems. The recommended system is not intended to take the place of a full scale building renovation to address IAQ problems, rather it is designed as a method of quickly addressing one of the major causes of poor IAQ (high humidity levels-mold and mildew) and providing a means of minimizing, and reacting to, contaminants external to the building in a cost effective and complimentary manner.
Numerous IAQ investigations have been conducted, and remediation projects developed, only to be delayed because of the magnitude of the costs and the disruption the remedial work would create to the functioning of a C&I Building. This approach, that can be implemented without disruption to the building or its occupants, is designed to address IAQ Health and Safety problems in such a way as to complement long range solutions to the problems while reducing (to some extent) operating costs of the HVAC system. The "OA System" can be installed with very little disruption to a building’s operation, provide an immediate improvement in indoor air quality, and a reduction of the vulnerability of a building to contaminants or threats from outside the building.
If your building has humidity problems or there are concerns over the possibility of airborne contamination from the outdoors, the system as described in this paper that has been installed in numerous healthcare and government facilities may be useful in your building. Contact Henry Healey, P.E., President of Healey & Associates (healey@flaenergy.com) for additional information.
"There's something in the air," may be a common daily phrase but one that can make a hospital engineer concerned. Outbreaks of tuberculosis in health care facilities across the nation have focused attention on hospital ventilation systems and procedures designed to prevent airborne disease transmissions. "It can no longer be called just a sick building anymore," said Henry Healey, president of Healey & Associates. "In many cases, it is becoming a matter of life or death."
Healthcare workers can be at risk and health care facilities and facility managers have been charged with negligence. Healey & Associates is working with several healthcare facilities in the development of new policies, procedures and training programs designed to protect patients, visitors and staff against airborne transmission of infectious diseases.
"The recent outbreaks of TB only adds to the increasing list of outdoor air quality issues that can impact the health and safety of patients, staff and visitors in health care facilities," Healey said.
Monitoring, continuous evaluations and upgrading of ventilation systems in all health care facilities is required. "Quite often," Healey said, "facility managers will ask for the air to be tested or ducts to be cleaned when they suspect they have a problem." Getting air quality tests before you understand the problem or having ducts cleaned is expensive and, most likely will not cure the problem.
"A careful thorough evaluation must be done on your system to ensure it is working at it's full potential and the components are working properly," he said. "Indoor air quality issues should be a top priority for hospital administrators," Healey said. Hospital and hospital administrators are being held liable for disease transmissions. To avoid problems and potential liability, ventilation in isolation rooms, intensive care u nits and laboratories should be inspected, tested and balanced to ensure that they are in compliance with ACHA (HRS), CDC, ASHRAE and OSHA standards, guidelines and regulatory requirements.
Particular attention should be focused on the design and operation of the ventilation systems to ensure that any contaminated air is discharged safely. This means that it should be supplied, distributed and exhausted in a manner that prevents the spread of disease.
"One of the first items that should be checked," Healey said, "is the ventilation and distribution system design. Is it correct for your facility and it's current use?"
"Routine inspection and maintenance of ventilation and distribution systems is one of the most important and most cost-effective items that every facility manager must do,"Healey said. "Health care facility managers should ask themselves, 'how can I show (in court) that I was not negligent?'. Obviously inspection, maintenance and monitoring must be adequate and documented. Indoor air quality is a real concern that may be a matter of life and death in healthcare facilities. It must be addressed."
Healey & Associates has developed a training program outlining the steps facility managers should take to avoid problems with infectious airborne diseases and minimize potential liability. The program details how and what to check and how to train staff in safety precautions. If you would like more information on a training program for your facility or would like a complete evaluation of the indoor air quality and/or code compliance for your facility, contact us (healey@flaenergy.com) for an appointment.