Indoor Air Quality

For example, we solved one "indoor air quality" problem by discovering that the sun was shining in on the office personnel, making them miserable. The "indoor air quality problem" was solved by simply installing blinds. In another investigation, we discovered that a sewer line in the building had broken and sewerage was leaking between the floors. In one notorious case, the "indoor air problem" was caused by a basement generator which produced an annoying hum that aggravated the occupants, who blamed their discomfort on the air. More recently, indoor moulds (molds) have taken a high profile although their presence in a building is seldom actually responsible for objective discomfort.

Poor lighting, poorly designed furniture, poor labor relations, noise, and a variety of other non-air related issues can result in the lowering of occupant tolerances and an increase in employee complaints. As a consequence of these contributing factors, reports of discomfort in the work environment are ultimately blamed on the quality of the air. It is possible that seemingly unrelated factors may be contributing to the overall lowering of comfort levels and the raising of complaints.

Limitations
Where an actual illness is reported by a building occupant, it is possible that there exists an airborne etiological agent in a building which may have contributed (at least some degree) to the illness. In one project our personnel investigated, an office worker was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Without any rationale or foundation, the attending physician informed his patient that her work environment was to blame for the condition. Such a statement obviously alarmed the office personnel and unfairly placed the building management in an unwinnable position. Given that sarcoidosis is a medical enigma (the exact etiology is not known), there was no scientific or medical reason to blame the workplace. Subsequent investigations by a member of our staff revealed that the indoor environment was perfectly acceptable and the physician was challenged to support his conclusion – which he eventually retracted.

The point here is not to criticize the medical profession, but rather to note that all too often it is too easy to merely blame the working environment, without any further thought, or investigation.

Indeed, to identify the specific etiological agent for an illness, the investigator is greatly aided by having a specific medical diagnoses. If the problem is described as an allergy without information from the allergist, the situation becomes a little more complicated. It has been estimated that between 10% and 20% of the U.S. population exhibits an allergic reaction to something. Therefore, if the physician informs us that the occupant is allergic to “mould,” there is not much information in the diagnosis. However, if the physician states the occupant is allergic to Memnoniella, that provides us with an extremely valuable clue.

Unfortunately, the reported discomfort is usually general malaise (drowsiness, lack of attention, etc.) and the etiology may remain unknown even after an extensive investigation. But at least a thorough investigation may eliminate many possible contributors.

In the case where a very small fraction of the occupant population describes the problem as "running nose," "itchy eyes," and other similar symptoms, it can be virtually impossible to find the offending epitope. In theory, the causative agent could be found in almost anything in the building: the carpet, small house-plants in the office, the dander of a co-worker's pet brought in on the clothes of the co-worker or even the skin cells of a particular co-worker. The point is this: It is virtually impossible to sample for everything that could cause problems; the possibilities are countless.

Therefore, a successful indoor investigation requires something more than merely collecting samples willy-nilly, in the hopes that something will come of the results. IAQ investigations require an approach that is equal to the problem; an approach based on years of experience in the investigation of numerous situations.

Forensic Applications, Inc. personnel have performed indoor air quality exposure investigations in criminal investigations, office environments, residential settings, and industrial facilities. Our approach is one of complete objectivity balanced with sound science. We consider the entire indoor and outdoor influences, and how those parameters may affect the person.

Sampling is performed only where there are definitive Data Quality Objectives to be met. Forensic Applications, Inc. is well versed in establishing such DQOs, and has done so for a variety of high profile projects. For example, our Senior Forensic Industrial Hygienist represented law enforcement and industrial hygiene, in the Legislative Work-group for the State of Colorado and was the primary author of the proposed mandatory assessment protocol ¹ in the Regulations Pertaining To The Cleanup Of Methamphetamine Laboratories for the State of Colorado.

The objective of a general indoor air quality investigation is to determine the adequacy of the air in the building based on national consensus standards for specific conditions and contaminants. During our surveys, we identify obvious deficiencies with the quality of the air at the building and provide a list of recommendations. Based on the information we gather during a site visit, we then begin to look for other, less obvious possibilities and present the findings in a clear concise fashion that, if necessary, is defendable in future litigation proceedings.

Recently, there has been much attention paid by the media and "pop" industrial hygienists to bioaerosols as the exclusive cause of illness in buildings. But bioaerosols such as Penicillium, Cladosporium and others have been shown not to constitute a health hazard even at elevated concentrations. Admittedly, other microbials such as Stachybotrys atra, Aspergillus niger and A. flavus are known to produce powerful exotoxins, but these organisms are ubiquitous in our breathing air and do not normally constitute a problem until the population is extremely elevated. So how high is elevated? Find out here.

Nevertheless, where even one building occupant is hypersensitive to an immunogen stimulus, a serious problem may exist. The immunogens may be in the form of paper fibers, plant residues, or even non-biological entities which do not act directly as antigens but rather act as haptans, such as formaldehyde. Therefore, indiscriminate preliminary sampling for such things as cat dander, pollen or mould may result in spending a lot of money without getting any useful data. Occasionally, some IAQ investigators report microbiological monitoring simply as "negative" or “positive.” These are meaningless results since unless one has already identified the specific offending immunogen, one would not know what "positive" meant.

We have often been able to identify anomalous conditions which have been significant contributors to the degradation of human health during a cursory preliminary investigation.

Benefits
We approach indoor air problems in a very comprehensive manner. Our investigations are exhaustive. We evaluate the entire working environment, looking for sources of problems.

Following our survey, the client will have tenable data which qualitatively characterizes the air for the most reasonable suite of potential contaminants. The data are collected using state-of-the-art techniques and interpreted with the highest standard of care. The data are presented along side national consensus standards for comparison.

Where quantitative sampling is required, we use analytical and sampling methods which have been developed and validated by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and OSHA. We use only laboratories which have been accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) or have received national recognition in non-accredited areas of analysis.

All of our work is highly confidential. Whether our projects are for law enforcement agencies, or homeowners, we do not disclose the particulars concerning our work to anyone (including regulatory agencies) without the client's permission, or during the course of legal proceedings. We report directly to whomever the client may designate. Frequently, we are asked to provide written reports only to the client's legal counsel and identify the discussion as a "Privileged and Confidential Work Product" to limit disclosure as defined under the discovery process.

Our standard approach to solving indoor air quality issues has satisfied such clients as National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Standard Scope-of-work
FACTs will usually tour the subject building during normal occupancy to visually and chemically evaluate the surroundings. During this time, we request a member of the maintenance staff who has complete access to all parts of the facility.

During the initial tour, we inspect the HVAC system and look for common problems such as restroom exhausts placed at fresh air intakes and improper maintenance practices. We consider the possibility of microbial agents as we tour break areas, science rooms, locker-rooms, the roof, basement, and other areas. We will look for other common problems such as birds nests at intakes, mouldy or pollinating house plants, freshly plowed nearby fields, fugitive emissions from neighboring facilities, and new furniture.

During our walkthrough we consider lighting, ergonomics, and noise aspects of the HVAC. Although we may collect some air samples, we have found that the best information is usually derived from a thorough tour of the building.

During our visit, we are quiet and unassuming, causing no disruption to the normal operations of the building or class rooms. All of the instrumentation that we use during our preliminary walk through is virtually silent (but unfortunately, not invisible).

Sampling
Air quality in an otherwise uncharacterized building is usually assessed, in part, based on the concentration of common indoor air-quality indicators. Frequently, we measure the following parameters:

Carbon monoxide
Carbon dioxide
"Total" hydrocarbons
Relative humidity
UFPs

Documentation
Following the visit, we prepare a written interpretation of the data and observations. We describe why a particular analyte was sought and its significance. We provide a brief toxicological review of the contaminant, where appropriate.

We compare the results of air monitoring with occupational limits set by national consensus such as the American Society of Heating Refrigeration Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) for indoor air quality, ASTM (FACTs is a member of the ASTM International Committee tasked with developing new standards for the assessment of indoor moulds, and sampling protocol for airborne moulds).²), the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and others. The final report provides a section on recommendations and conclusions and what follow up sampling (if any) is needed.

We can specialize our sampling and investigative methods to meet your needs.

1 Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment, 6 CCR 1014-3, State Board of Health/Hazardous Materials and Waste Management, Regulations Pertaining To The Cleanup Of Methamphetamine Laboratories: Appendix A Methamphetamine Laboratories Sampling Methods and Procedures; and Attachment to Appendix A Methamphetamine Laboratories Sampling Methods and Procedures /Sampling Theory

2 D22 Committee (D22.08) and Work Item ID: WK3792; ASTM Committee D22.05.06

Visitors to this page generally have an interest in scientific issues. If you are interested in such matters, you may find some of our other discussions interesting.

To visit our page concerning air monitoring aspects of moulds, click here.

For our discussion on the state-of-knowledge of the health effects of indoor moulds, click here.

A discussion concerning myths surrounding duct cleaning, can be found by clicking here.

For issues surrounding the history and cause of carpal tunnel syndrome click here.

For a discussion concerning indoor radon click here.

For a discussion concerning the myths associated with laboratory fume hood face velocities click here.

For a discussion concerning laboratory fume hood evaluations, click here.

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Revised April 21, 2005