Could your building be sick?

Typical Problems     Causes     Solution Services

Office buildings are typically air tight with no opening windows, and 75% to 90% of the air is recirculated stale air.  Carbon dioxide, chemicals, fine dust particles and microbes build up in these offices. The Occupational Safety and health Administration (OSHA) and the World Health Organization say that one-third of commercial buildings are sick buildings.

Typical Indoor Air Quality problems found in offices...

Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
A study by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) found HVAC system deficiencies in 52% of the office buildings with air quality complaints.

Typical problems are:

• HVAC systems designed to supply the bare minimum of outdoor air
• Ventilation air not delivered to the occupants’ breathing zones
• Low-quality air filtration
• Poor operating and maintenance practices
• Moisture or dirt in the duct system

Chemicals
New building materials, carpets, furniture, copy machines, printers, carbonless copy paper, people, and cleaning products give off gasses.

It is best to avoid products that give off gasses; however source control can be very effective for office machines that give off ozone, printing solvents and paper dust. Spot ventilation can exhaust most of these pollutants outside instead of recirculating them back into everyone’s lungs.

Dust
EHSI/Healthy Buildings, Inc. has found high levels of fine dust particles in many offices with complaints.  The sources of these particles are:

• Paper handling and machines that release thousands of invisible paper fibers and starch into the air
• Manufactured fibers from carpets, cubical dividers and clothes
• Fiberglass fibers from duct lining
• Dander from people and pets at home brought in on occupant’s clothes

Most of these particles are extremely small and:

• are irritating to eyes, nose and skin
• are not filtered out by typical air filters
• can be breathed deep into the lungs
• can only be reduced by improved ventilation and filtration

EHSI/Healthy Buildings, Inc. uses three methods to measure these very fine particles:

• Laser particle counter measures all particles over 0.3 microns (the diameter of most hair is 100 microns)
• Spore traps capture both molds spores and fine dust from the air.  An environmental lab identifies and counts the mold spores and dust particles captured
• Tape lifts, bulk or vacuum samples for lab analysis

Most Common Causes of Air Quality Problems in Offices...

• HVAC design, operation and maintenance deficiencies
• No one responsible for IAQ in the building to compile complaints, check on HVAC operation and maintenance, follow up and get problems solved
• Maintenance - inadequate weekly cleaning, damp dusting, carpet cleaning

EHSI/Healthy Buildings, Inc.’s Goal

Our goal in all investigations is to understand the root cause of the problem before offering solutions.

WE DO NOT sell any equipment, filters etc.

WE DO NOT recommend equipment (magic boxes) that promise to solve all your air quality problems.

WE DO NOT believe that duct cleaning or treatment will, by itself, solve IAQ problems. 

WE DO work with you to identify the source of the problems.

WE DO consult with Ph.D. mycologists, chemists, toxicologists and M.D.s when needed to solve problems.

WE DO maintain resource lists of qualified professionals who can get the recommended work done.

WE DO get most of our clients from client referrals and from government and nonprofit environmental organizations such as the American Lung Association, the EPA and Health Departments.