Page 86 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2019

INDOOR AIR QUALITY
there and potential for odor influx from other exhausts is also ob- served. Standing water or clogged roof drains should be addressed, fresh air intakes at ground level, running below ground, or adjacent to loading docks and garages can introduce contaminants into the building. Filtration condition and change out schedule should be ascertained—at least quarterly or more often. Roof cooling towers should always be a focus with an emphasis on legionella treatment programs (same for hot tubs).
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018, Legionellosis: Risk Man- agement for Building Water Systems and REHVA—Legionel- losis Prevention in Building Water and HVAC Systems establish minimum risk management requirements for building water and HVAC systems. New York City now has registration and inspection requirements since the past Bronx outbreaks.
Case Study 1: Maintenance and Renovation
Building maintenance and renovation activities can accelerate in- door air quality complaints, especially if the ventilation system is rendered ineffective. Interior painting, carpeting installation, dry- wall work, and floor sealing all off gas volatile organics and should take place during non-occupied hours. Additional ventilation may be required in addition to existing and running ventilation to clear volatiles and odors before the space is re-opened.
A small-scale incident entailed renovations to an office area which overhung an open building entrance area below. Occupants
had closed all supply vents as the overhanging office was colder in the winter due to inadequate insulation below. After renovations, the residual volatiles—while not exceeding occupational exposure limits—formed an irritating atmosphere affecting occupants.
A larger scale incident involved a large manufacturing location which underwent floor sealing on an unoccupied Friday night and the building and HVAC system were left closed all weekend. When workers arrived at the plant on Monday, there experienced irrita- tion and strong odors and emergency ambulances were called.
Both incidents required extended special ventilation support. Several incidents investigated involved dust debris on baseboard heaters never cleaned up after renovations. Heating season resulted in dust rising and causing nose bleeds in the sensitive population, those with sinusitis. All dust and debris from renovations should be carefully HEPA vacuumed.
Case Study 2: Furniture
New furnishings can also be a cause of IAQ incidents. Two IAQ assessments in the same time period noted office occupants com- plaining of “vomit odor.” These incidents were traced to a shared office partition vendor who admitted that insulating foam was con- taminated with butyric acid and replaced the partitions.
A stockbroker IAQ assessment identified a 27-year-old man with a weeping/bleeding rash over 75 percent of his body. This rash was traced to the formaldehyde containing fire retardant used on
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