IAQ 2016 Defining Indoor Air Quality: Policy, Standards and Best Practices Co-Organized by ASHRAE and AIVC

The wood floorings are perceived as natural and healthy materials. They are, however, a potential source of indoor VOC’s, which may worse the IAQ and human health. A new generation of biocompatible wood floorings has been tested for the VOC’s emissions and related health impact, together with floorings without evident low-emission attitude. The emissions have been measured using SPME GS-MS technique. The health impact has been classified using chemical and medical databases. Biocompatible floorings emissions resulted in naturally occurring terpenes, showing no evident treat to human health. Other flooring’s emissions are compared with an analysis of potential hazards.

With the increase in Legionella outbreaks in the past year, the industry has placed greater attention on the maintenance of building water systems, even establishing minimum legionellosis risk management requirements through ASHRAE Standard 188-2015. Director of Liquid Solutions at Goodway Technologies Ray Field, BChE. will speak to how Legionella develops, is transmitted, and how it can be managed through a five-step preventative maintenance program. He will explain how proper maintenance not only reduces the risk of a Legionella outbreak, but leads to better indoor air quality, lower operational costs and longer industrial equipment life.

There are no consensus criteria or standard evaluation procedures for this parameter. General principles for the establishment of building dampness criteria are discussed and a comprehensive dampness protocol is proposed. Assessment is based on review of site history, visual inspection and moisture measurements.

ASHRAE Standards addressing VOC mixtures were developed with considerable scientific uncertainty. The IAQ Procedure is being used to lower ventilation rates based on assumptions that Contaminants of Concern (COC) can be used as surrogates for overall IAQ and that concentration limits suggested by “Cognizant Authorities” can be used to determine if IAQ is acceptable. Standard 189.1 specifies a list of 32 VOCs for pre-occupancy sampling, with high performance credits awarded when measured concentrations are below State of California target values. This review examines assumptions underlying Standards 62.1 and 189.1 in view of recent studies and field experience. The authors propose that ASHRAE organize a Multi-Disciplinary Task Group to review issues associated with VOC mixtures and make recommendations to update current standards.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) program completed evaluations of water damage and mold contamination at three schools. We looked at employee symptoms, workplace conditions, and the effects of remediation on the work environment. We evaluated the ventilation system renovations and the effect these changes had on fungal contamination. We used supplemental evaluation tools such as measuring allergens present in dust to aid in our understanding of damp environments and potential health effects. We identified areas in need of improvement at each facility and research areas to pursue in future investigations.