Indoor Air Quality - Are you concerned?

3/26/2021 (Permalink)

Do you have any concerns about the indoor air quality of your office or other business property?

Has the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of your commercial building ever been tested?

There are three main strategies to controlling IAQ.

1. Managing pollutant sources. This is done by simply eliminating pollutants if possible, by setting physical barriers (containment), by managing air flow with pressure differentials or by timing the necessary release of pollutants to coincide with times when the building is not occupied.
2. Diluting pollutants and remove them through ventilation.
3. Using filtration to clean the air of pollutants.

According to the EPA on their website, EPA.gov:

Indoor air quality is a major concern to businesses, building managers, tenants and employees because it can impact the health, comfort well-being and productivity of building occupants.

Most Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors and many spend most of their working hours in an office environment. Studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others show that indoor environments sometimes can have levels of pollutants that are actually higher than levels found outside.

Pollutants in our indoor environment can increase the risk of illness. Several studies by EPA, states, and independent scientific panels have consistently ranked indoor air pollution as an important environmental health problem. While most buildings do not have severe indoor air quality problems, even well-run buildings can sometimes experience episodes of poor indoor air quality.

A 1989 EPA Report to Congress concluded that improved indoor air quality can result in higher productivity and fewer lost work days. EPA estimates that poor indoor air may cost the nation tens of billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and medical care.

SERVPRO of Culpeper & Fauquier Counties uses the three methods above during the mold remediation process.  If there are other IAQ concerns in a building, we often refer to our sister company, MB Mold & Air Quality Testing.  The CIEs (Council Certified Indoor Environmentalists) and CMSIs (Council Certified Microbial Investigators) at MB Mold & Indoor Air Quality Testing can test and monitor for most aspects of indoor air quality.  They specialize in Mold, Toxic Gases, Environmental Gases, Allergens, VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) and Methamphetamine residue.  They can assess IAQ issues and recommend resolutions.