Indoor Environmental Quality /MoldBy:

Andy Crause, CIHDivision Manager

Bureau Veritas North America, Inc.Detroit Regional Office

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Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

► Any factor of the built environment that impacts the health and/or comfort of building occupants.

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Different Workforces, Different Expectations

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Classes of Problems

► Employee complaints can be classified into two types of building problems:

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)

Building-Related Illnesses (BRI)

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Sick Building Syndrome

► Complaints are often:

Subjective (not measurable)

Non-specific in nature

Associated with periods of occupancy

► Causative agent(s) difficult to find.

► Symptoms often disappear when the employee leaves the workplace.

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Associated with complaints of discomfort including:

Sick Building Syndrome

► coughing

► difficulty concentrating

► sensitivity to odors

► muscle pain

► fatigue

► asthma attacks

► headache

► nausea

► dizziness

► dermatitis (rash)

► eye, nose, throat and respiratory irritation

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Sick Building Syndrome (cont’d)

► Why are symptoms often difficult to diagnose, or to pin to a specific cause or exposure?

They can overlapping with symptoms due to other causes • Nausea or headaches due to food, medication,

vision, etc• Personal health issues

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Sick Building Syndrome (cont’d)

► Exposures in a building may include multiple factors and/or agents, including:

Microbial (mold, bacteria, virus)Emissions from equipment (ozone, particulates)Poor ergonomic conditions Poor lightingLack of temperature control Job stress (your boss).

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Sick Building Syndrome (cont’d)

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Building Related Illnesses (BRI)

► Clinically-defined illness of known cause.

► Often documented

Physical signs

Laboratory findings

Medical data supports correlation

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Building Related Illnesses (cont’d)

► Examples:

Infections such as legionellosis

Allergic reactions (pet dander, dust mites, etc.)

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Aspergillosis

Tuberculosis

Histoplasmosis

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Perception is Reality

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Conducting an Investigation

► Don’t overthink it!

► Start with the easy stuff.

► Ask questions and listen to the answers. This will determine where your investigation will lead.

► There is no “battery of tests” to run or “standard protocol”. Every investigation is different!

► Don’t be surprised if the “Indoor Air Quality” complaint that prompted the investigation has little, if anything, to do with indoor air quality.

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Conducting an Investigation (continued)

►Chemical sampling??? Don’t even think about it until you have a strategy and a hypothesis.

►Mold sampling??? See above.

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Essential Tools Optional Tools

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Essential Steps to Take

► For reactive, complaint-drive investigation, find out what the complaint is directly from the complainant, if possible.

► Visually inspect the HVAC equipment serving that area

Is it equipped with an outdoor air intake, and are the intake louvers open? Adjustable?

Any obvious contaminant sources near the intake?

Are the filters in good shape and not overloaded?

Any standing water or rust in the condensate drain pan (indicates the pan is not draining)?

Does the equipment look like it is being maintained?

Is access to the HVAC equipment difficult?

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Essential Steps to Take (continued)

► Walk through the occupied space looking for…..

Obvious housekeeping issues

Potted plants

Do people seem to be crammed into the space?

Are the supply diffusers evenly distributed?

Is it drafty? Or “stale”?

Temperature gradients

Odors

Evidence of moisture incursion or visible mold

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Essential Steps to Take (continued)

► Find the thermostat(s) serving that area

Is the thermostat in the “On” position or the “Auto”?

There should be a continuous supply of air to the occupied space, and if the thermostat is in the Auto position, then the HVAC unit will shut down when the thermostat is satisfied, suspending the flow of supply air to the space.

Is the thermostat placed near an exterior wall or in someone’ office?

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Essential Steps to Take (continued)

► Inspect the space above the suspended ceiling (if there is one).

Is the space used as a return plenum?

Any noticeable odors?

Excessive dust or construction debris?

Evidence of moisture incursion?

Any breaks in ductwork connections?

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ASHRAE 62

► The 62-2007 ASHRAE Standard Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality

Acceptable IEQ = No known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which a substantial majority (80% or more) of the people exposed do not express dissatisfaction.

► Intended to assist professionals in the proper design of ventilation systems for buildings.

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Sampling & Testing

► Must be conducted by experienced professional

► Must prepare a sampling strategy before samples are collected

► Do not take samples just to take samples, or because the occupants (or the boss) want them.

► You may be creating data you do not need, or data that actually works against you.

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Fungi (Mold) – The Basics

► Fungi

Neither animals nor plants, in a kingdom of their own.

Develop from spores

• yeasts, mushrooms, and rusts.

Filamentous fungi

Yeasts (single cell)

2-40 microns

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TOXIC BLACK MOLDOne of Mankind's Biggest Enemies!

Fungi (Mold) – The Basics

► Toxic Black Mold:

This term has been coined by the media, attorneys and salesmen.

Headlines about “athlete’s foot” don’t sell newspapers like “toxic mold”

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Health Effects Associated with Fungi (cont’d)

► Infection (Aspergillosis)

► Type I Allergy (rhinitis, sinusitis)

► Type III Allergy (hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asthma)

► Toxic effects (mycotoxins)

► Irritant effects (microbial VOCs)

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Health Effects Associated with Fungi (cont’d)

► Between 10% and 20% of the population is allergic to something1

► 6% of the general population have respiratory allergies to fungi.1

1 Horner, W. E. Helbling, A. Lehrer, S. B. Fungal Allergens Clinical microbiology reviews. April 1 1995, Vol. 8 No. 2, p. 161

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Fungi Growth

► Its all about the water (moisture)

Liquid Water

Water Vapor

► Without adequate moisture, fungi will not grow

► Other required conditions for growth will be present in every building

► The only component that can be reasonably controlled is moisture

Nutrient Fungal Spores

Moisture

Temperature

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FUNGI (Mold)

► No federal regulatory standards governing the concentrations of fungi:

In indoor air

On surfaces

Is there really such a thing as atypical building?

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Types of Samples that May be Collected for Mold

► Air samples (culturable and non-culturable)

► Tape-lift samples (non culturable)

► Swab samples (may be cultured or analyzed directly)

► Bulk samples of material (may be cultured or analyzed directly)

► Always use an AIHA EMLAP-accredited laboratory.

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Photo by Steve Rupkey

Fungal Evaluation - Air Sampling

► Not recommended as a routine assessment tool

► Can produce false negatives

► Will not change outcome of assessment if visible mold is present

Visibly mold-contaminatedmaterials should be cleanedor removed, regardlessof the results of airsample analysis.

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Developing a Sampling Plan

► Ask: Why am I collecting samples if there is visible mold?

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IF You Collect Air Samples

► Collect at least triplicate samples of both culturable and non-culturable fungi at each location.

► Collect at least 2 sets of outdoor samples.

► Expect huge variations from one sample to the next, as well as variations between samples in the same set.

► Expect to find fungi in ALL samples.

► Do not sample during rain events.

► Do not sample when there is snow on the ground.

► Culture samples must be allowed to incubate for about 10 days, typically (no immediate results).

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What is PCR?

► Polymerase chain reaction

► A DNA sequence (“primer”) of specific species of fungi is compared to that of a bulk or dust sample to see if that species of fungi is present in the sample.

► Analysis can be done in hours

► Can speciate, provided the primers used match the fungi in the sample

► Cannot tell whether the fungi is dead or alive

► Currently, there are 14 laboratories in the US (and one each in the UK and Germany) “licensed” by EPA to perform this analysis.

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What is the ERMI Index?

► Dust samples were collected by vacuuming 2 m in the bedrooms plus 2 m in the living rooms from a nationally representative (whatever that means) 1,096 homes in the United States using the Mitest sampler

► Dust was analyzed by mold-specific quantitative PCR for 36 “indicator” species

► Based on this, an "Environmental Relative Moldiness Index" scale was created to be used for home mold-burden estimates in epidemiological studies.

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Air Sampling & Testing for Chemical Contaminants

► Considerations

Standards/guidelines Long vs. short term samplesArea vs. personal samples Control areasField blanksMethods vs. limit of detection Locations

► Interpretation not always clear

Building conditions at time of samplingIntermittent source of pollutantNumber of samplesAnalyzed using accredited laboratories using recognized methods

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Sampling

► Common Indoor Air Pollutants

Carbon MonoxideFormaldehyde Nitrogen OxidesOzoneVolatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)

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Common IEQ Problems

► ProblemToo HotToo Cold

► Common CausesEverybody is different!HVAC not balanced or sized properlySupply diffuser blowing directly on someoneSolar heating by windowsRadiant heating from equipment System shuts off at 6:00 pm people still at workHigh humidity

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Common IEQ Problems (cont’d)

► Intermittent Odors

Keep a log of when these things happen

Try all the common sense solutions first

You may not ever solve it

Air sampling will not likely be of any help.

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Common IEQ Problems (cont’d)

► Problem

Headaches

► Common Cause

Poor Lighting

Poor vision

Glare

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Common IEQ Problems (cont’d)

► ProblemExcess Dust

► Common CausesLack of general housekeepingFilters not changed in HVAC unitsBuilding at slight negative pressureBuilding vibratesSupply diffusers never cleanedLined ductwork disintegrating and becoming airborne

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Common IEQ Problems (cont’d)

► Did the occupants recently move into the problem building?

If so, was the relocation popular?

Were there any problems in their former building?

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Common IEQ Problems (cont’d)

► It’s Stuffy in Here!

Occupants have covered vents or diffuser vanes

Thermostat is in “Auto”mode rather than “On” so no continuous supply of air

Not enough supply diffusers

Ductwork is disconnected

There is no return air grille in that room

* Use ventilation smoke tubes to show air movement or lack of it

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Physical Stressors

► Workstations

► Lighting

► Vibration

► Noise

► Drinking water contaminants

► Electromagnetic radiation

► Poor vision – you need glasses

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No Clear Cause

► MAY NOT BE AN AIR QUALITY ISSUE

Psychogenic

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No Clear Cause (cont’d)

► Psychosocial StressorsExcessive WorkloadWork PressureRole AmbiguityConflicting Job ExpectationsPoor Interpersonal SkillsLack of Participation in ManagementPressures from home

► Human Condition

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