Iaq assesment report

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

ASSESMENT

Emma Flanagan

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term which refers to the air quality within buildings and structures,

especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Also called "indoor

environmental quality" describes how inside air can affect a person's health, comfort, and ability to

live a normal day achieving full physical and psychological potential. It can include temperature,

humidity, lack of outside air (poor ventilation), odors, pathogens, allergens, mold, visible dust and

exposure to other chemicals and biological contaminants.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 2

Main factors of indoor air quality ...................................................................................... 3

When size matters .............................................................................................................. 5

Findings ............................................................................................................................... 8

Observations ....................................................................................................................... 9

Air monitoring ................................................................................................................... 10

What can I do? .................................................................................................................. 12


THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED FOR:

LOCATION OF PROPERTY:

DAY AND START TIME OF INSPECTION:

DAY AND START TIME OF REMEDIATION (IF APPLICABLE):

METHODOLOGY (IF APPLICABLE):

NOTES:

ABSTRACT

Over the past 40 years, a revolution has taken place in building design and construction.

Modern houses and buildings have been compared to forts and spaceships, with self-contained

ventilation systems designed to provide a closely controlled environment that created nearly

optimum conditions for most occupants.

Then came the "energy crisis". To reduce energy costs, buildings were better insulated and

computerized controls were added to reduce the use of heated air during non-use hours. At the

same time, synthetic components replaced traditional natural building materials. Buildings "sealed"

or insulated to preserve conditioned air also preserved and concentrated the air contaminants

released by building components and operations. The ventilation systems also became breeding

grounds for microorganisms. Both air contaminants and microorganisms were recirculated

throughout the building.

Indoor air pollution, poor indoor air quality and sick building syndrome have become serious

concerns for an increasing number of families and employees who are being challenged to find an

answer.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that several factors

contribute to poor indoor air quality. The list can be extensive. The most common factors can be,

from a very high level, classified as air contaminants and biological contaminants.


MAIN FACTORS OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY

� Certain chemicals from household products and home appliances are known to irritate the eyes,

nose and throat. However, for many chemicals present in indoor air information is lacking on

possible health effects of long term exposure, such as cancer or reproductive effects.

� Radon occurs naturally in parts of Europe. It can get inside buildings and may leadto lung cancer.

� Suspended particles can cause harmful effects on health, particularly on the respiratory system.

� Microbes, such as moulds and viruses, can contribute to the development ofasthma and allergies.

� Pets and pests such as dust mites, cockroaches, and mice, are important indoor sources

of allergens.

� Low humidity causes eye irritation, dryness of the skin and the nose, and rashes, while high

humidity fosters the growth of moulds and dust mites.

� Insufficient ventilation, one of the most important factors in poor indoor air quality, may affect

health and work performance.

� Indoor temperatures that are too high or too low are unpleasant and can be unhealthy.

To determine whether pollutants may cause health effects, it is necessary to consider four aspects:

• Toxicity of pollutants and their concentrations in indoor air. Indoor air can for instance contain

organic compounds, particles, or microbes that may cause allergies or other health effects.

• Exposure. People are mainly exposed to air pollutants when breathing but may also be exposed via other

routes, such as dust ingestion. Since exposures can vary, even very low and very high exposures should be

considered and not only average ones.

• Exposure-response relationships. To assess the risk posed by a given pollutant, it is important to know how

the body responds to different concentrations in air. Health effects observed in people who have been

exposed to pollutants at work are valuable in determining the risks posed by a particular pollutant. However,

such findings may not be directly applicable to the general public that is exposed less frequently.

• Risk characterisation. In the final step of the risk assessment process, all the collected scientific evidence is

analysed to determine the probability that a specific pollutant will cause illness.


AIR CONTAMINANTS These can be divided into two categories: particulate, which can

include solids and fine droplets (mist), and gas and vapor.

Large particulate, which often comprise visible dust, usually is filtered by a person's

respiratory system and often can lead to upper respiratory complaints. Smaller particulate,

which often is invisible, can behave much like a gas and may be deposited in the lungs.

Particles of concern include tobacco smoke, asbestos fibers, and business machine

chemicals. Dusts in general often are referred to as nuisance dusts.

Gas and vapor can cause health effects in several ways. They may be upper or lower

respiratory irritants or they may be absorbed into the bloodstream after respiration. They

may affect various parts of the body, causing headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Gases of

concern include carbon monoxide (CO) from combustion sources; formaldehyde from

paneling, particle board, carpeting, and furniture; and volatile organic compounds (VOCs),

the name for a wide variety of chemicals from such items as adhesives, carpets, furniture,

and ceiling tiles.

BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS This group can be subdivided into allergens, which include

fungi, spores, and insect parts and feces; and pathogens, bacteria and viruses, which

normally are contained in or on particulate matter.


WHEN SIZE MATTERS

The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing heath problems. Traditionally,

the environmental sciences have divided particles into two main groups and these two groups are

different in many ways. PM10 is particles between 2.5 and 10 microns (micrometers) in diameter (a

human hair is about 60 micron in diameter). PM2.5 is particles smaller than 2.5 microns.

There is more than size that is different in the particle content of air. Each type of particle has

different material compositions and can come from different places. The smaller the particle the

longer it can remain suspended in the air before settling. PM2.5 can stay in the air from hours to

weeks and travel very long distances because it is smaller and lighter. PM10 can stay in the air for

minutes to hours and can travel shorter distances from hundreds of yards to many mile because it

is larger and heavier.


When you inhale, you breathe in air along with any particles that are in the air. This breath of air,

along with the particles, travel into your respiratory system, and along the way the particles can

stick to the sides of the airway or travel much deeper into the lungs. Your lungs produce mucous

to trap particles and there are also tiny hairs (called cilia) that move the mucous and particles out

of the lungs. PM2.5 can get down into the deepest (alveolar) portions of the lungs when gas

exchange occurs between the air and your blood stream. These are the most dangerous particles

because the alveolar portion of the lungs has no efficient means of removing them and if the

particles are water soluble, they can pass into the blood stream within minutes. If they are not

water soluble, they remain in the alveolar portion of the lungs for a long time.

However, when the small particles go deeply into the lungs and become trapped this can result in

lung disease, emphysema and/or lung cancer in some cases. Exercise and physical activity cause

people to breather faster and more deeply and to take more particles into their lungs. The United

States Environmental Protection Agency reported “studies suggested small particles can leave the

lung and travel through the blood to other organs, including the heart”.

The main effects associated with exposure to particulate matter may include: premature

mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (indicated by increased hospital

admissions and emergency room visits, school absences, loss of work days, and restricted activity

days) aggravated asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function

and increased myocardial infarction. Epidemiologic studies suggest that exposure to particulate

matter may result in tens of thousands of excess deaths per year, and many more cases of illness

among the US population.


People with heart or lung diseases such as coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and

asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at an increased risk, because

particles aggravate these diseases. People with diabetes also may be at an increased risk, possibly

because they are more likely to have underlying cardiovascular disease, and older people may be

at greater risk due to undiagnosed heart or lung disease or diabetes. Infants and children are also

at risk for several reasons, first their lungs are still developing and they have an increased level of

activity and play. This is when they would be more likely to have asthma or acute respiratory

disease, which is aggravated when particle levels are at their highest. It has also been suggested

that high exposure to particle levels may attribute to low birth weights in infants, pre-term

deliveries and possible fetal and infant deaths.


FINDINGS

Initial findings: (check al that apply)

1. During our walk through we continue to find a moderate amounts of visible dust

throughout the residence on horizontal surfaces. This condition will lead to poor air quality

as there is increased particulate and it promotes dust mites, both of which are well known

trigger reactive airway disease.

2. There was (no clutter, minimal clutter, some, general clutter of contents –in which

particular areas- that hinders effective cleaning. This leads to persistent dust and

particulate.

3. The carpeting also traps dust particles, mold and allergens. Considering to replace some

areas with hardfloor will alleviate the present condition and help to maintain better air

quality.


OBSERVATIONS

Dust indoors contains a large amount of pathogents and specific allergens. It is an indisputable

fact that an elevated particle content in air increases the load on the airways, and that at the same

time these particles may be carriers of specific irritating and allergenic agents. The particle content

of air should therefore be kept low, i.e. elimination measures such as good cleaning and good

ventilation (inclusive of good filtration of supply air).

How long particles remain airborne, before their sedimentation on interior surfaces, depends on

their size and weight: if for particles of 1μ it takes 4 hours, and for 0.3μ particle 5-6 days,

10.0μparticle will take only 3 minutes. Heavier particles larger than 10.0μ fall down and are

deposited on interior surfaces and released into the air when disturbed in the process of human

activity.

Particulate matter is removed by cleaning. The total suspented particles –TSP- (below the size of

10.0μ particles) can be primarily eliminated by means of ventilation and filtration. Particles under

1 μm in size normally constitute 99.9% of the number of particles in room air, and have a mass,

which make up ca 30% of the total mass. The movement of particles in air is also affected by their

charge and the presence of electric fields.


AIR MONITORING

As part of this inspection we utilized a Dylos 1100 Pro laser particle counter. This device precisely

measures the fine particles in the air that we breathe in. The Dylos DC1100 counts individual

particles in two size ranges which will roughly correlate to PM2.5 and PM10. A total of ## readings

were taken as indicated below:

The average total respiratory suspended particles was ### ug/m3

Our inspection and review of the data revealed the calculated Air Quality Index (AQI) by the US

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on a concentration of ### ug/m3 PM 2.5 particulate

matter is ### .

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

Kitchen Living

room

Family

room

Basement Master

bedroom

Bedroom

2

Bedroom

3

Bedroom

4

Count PM 2.5 8100 6000 9212 2246 5952 6524

Count PM 2.5


“EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level

ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and

nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards

to protect public health. Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that

pose the greatest threat to human health in this country.”

So the particles count (ug/m3 mass particle standard) is only a component of what is weighted in

the EPA outdoor air pollution index. After analysis of the index, we have correlated the average

PM2.5 ug/m3 that was determined in your property to the particle pollution to the EAQI weighted

number. http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=resources.conc_aqi_calc

According to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) an AQI value between ## and ##

is categorized as unhealthy. Furthermore, on the day of the assesment the reported outdoor AQI

for the region was ##. This indicates that the indoor air pollution of your property was ## times

worse than the outdoor pollution. http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi


WHAT CAN I DO?

First, comfort conditions, the thermal environment can be addressed by ensuring

recommended temperature and humidity levels. Recommended temperature ranges are 68 to 76

degrees in winter, and 74 to 80 degrees in summer. Relative humidity should be maintained within

a range of 30% to 60%. Maintaining conditions within these ranges may reduce complaints.

The most important step, however, is to ensure that building ventilation is as effective as

possible. Because symptoms often are related to a gradual buildup of several air contaminants, one

effective remedy is to dilute these unwanted contaminants with outdoor air. Many ventilation

systems include outside air intakes. However, in an attempt to reduce energy costs, these intakes

may be partially or fully closed. Adjusting the supply of outdoor air to recommended levels (15-20

cubic feet per minute, per occupant, for most office areas) may be the most effective step in

improving indoor air quality.

The next step is to ensure that air is circulated uniformly throughout the entire building.

It also may be possible to reduce contaminants by eliminating sources within the building.

Information on cleaning and maintenance products should be reviewed to ensure that the products

are used properly and are not a source of odor or contaminants. It is not unusual to find business

machines such as photocopiers in a small room with little or no ventilation, even when the

manufacturer recommends "adequate" ventilation or even exhaust ventilation.

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Iaq assesment report