Page 34 - OHS, October 2020

IH: INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Maintaining Indoor Air Quality: Common Sense First
Determining the quality of indoor air begins with managing expectations, and having standards in place.
BY TOM BURGESS
It started with one employee, then two, then three. A worker said she was experiencing symptoms of an allergic response—sneezing, runny nose,
watery eyes. A colleague agreed, saying he thought he might be experiencing similar issues. Another coworker, overhearing the conversation and convinced he was also having symptoms, began a search on the internet.
These alleged symptoms were not experienced by everyone; indeed, not even by most colleagues in the upscale, well-maintained office building. But the minority was very vocal, and complaints began to circulate. We must, the workers insisted, have the air tested for mold spores. Though the facility’s management was unconvinced, they were willing to make the investment in indoor air quality testing, simply to address their tenant’s concerns.
My testing was thorough, and science-based. In addition to air sampling, I asked the usual questions. Have there been any recent changes? Is the janitorial staff using a different type of disinfectant? Has someone brought in a new houseplant? The results were conclusive: there was no mold, or any other issue with the air quality. Nor were there any underlying factors that must be present for mold to exist, such as excess moisture. In this particular instance, it seems that the root cause was not an air quality issue at all— just the highly persuasive powers of suggestion and peer pressure. Even after the test results were shown to the workers, some were skeptical. After all, it’s easy to point to a problem and prove that something exists, but it’s more difficult to prove that something does not.
Still, every worker’s concern is valid, and should always be treated with the utmost seriousness. Even though there were no issues this time, next time may be different—which is why managers must always be vigilant and listen carefully, even when it sounds like “the usual complaints.”
Expectations and Standards
Determining the quality of indoor air begins with managing expectations, and having standards in place. First and foremost, there is a distinction be- tween health and comfort. Both are absolutely impor- tant, but that doesn’t mean they have the same prior- ity. In some facilities, workers can get accustomed to some discomfort, as long as it isn’t too disagreeable. Older buildings may be a bit stuffy. Maybe opening a window will do the trick. Perhaps it gets drafty in the winter, and everyone knows to keep an extra sweater at their desks. I once worked in a multi-story building with a cafeteria. If the wind was blowing in a certain direction at lunch time, some of the exhaust would get pulled into the air handlers and the entire floor would smell like french fries. It didn’t endanger anyone. We got used to it.
That is why, when I conduct a site visit, I always take a close look at the environment to determine what is expected and acceptable. We expect a dentist’s office to smell like a dentist’s office. Offices attached to a chemical plant or manufacturing facilities may also have safe levels of odors present. The air quality standards for a warehouse are different than those for a medical facility. OSHA and other occupational exposure limits aren’t really helpful in this situation. The odor at a gas station will be well below OSHA limits, but you wouldn’t want that same odor in your office building.
It is also important, before you start taking out carbon dioxide meters and peering into air ducts, to look for obvious issues that may be right in front of your eyes. If the maintenance crew has left a full dumpster directly in front of an air intake, that may account for the unpleasant stench now permeating the building.
Real World Scenarios
At other times, there may be a basis for legitimate con- cern. I was called in to inspect a medical office plaza after numerous employees expressed concerns to management about the building’s ventilation. It was a new, state-of-the-art facility whose owners had made
30 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2020
www.ohsonline.com
Gill Thompson/Shutterstock.com