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At Q-1, we feel a responsibility to stay abreast on state-of-the-art building maintenance and to address the challenges our customers face in every aspect of our industry. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has forced building owners and managers to incur expenses that were not budgeted. Many of you had no way to recoup the expenses incurred thus diminishing the return on your investment. In a business sense, many of us were not happy with this change.
The next round of requirements I'm afraid will be the Federal Government mandate on the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issue. Whether it is Federal government regulated compliance or market force based change bear little difference. The results are the same-more cost to run your business. Many discussions, meetings, seminars, etc., we attended give us a feeling that you, our customers, will sooner or later have to deal with yet another sweeping regulatory actions that will have a significant impact on the profitability of our investment. Just suppose that each public building is required to have its air ducts cleaned on a regular basis. This would easily be a greater expense than the ADA requires for investors and building owners. The difficulties associated with cleaning air ducts is that there are so many ducts not accessible for cleaning, not even visible, and some cannot even be located on the plans! Also, how can one be assured that the duct cleaning service provider actually cleaned the ducts. It's just not visible in so many areas.
In anticipation of meeting this seemingly insolvable problem, Q-1 located a patented product that helps air duct cleaners by using a special video camera. It helps technicians see the ducts as they are cleaned, record before and after conditions, and store the process on tape for later use. We believe this is an outstanding defense tool against compromised air quality. It is not a perfect solution to answer the all-encompassing IAQ issues owners will encounter, but it would certainly help ease tenants or employees who constantly complain about poor quality of air, where no one seems to be able to pinpoint the cause.
Sick Building Syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity claims are on the rise in our litigious society. Our awareness can go a long way at heading off problems before they get out of control.
We will give you additional information on the issue of indoor air quality in the coming months as we are continuously searching for better answers.. Do you know of any other solutions? Please send your questions, ideas or experiences to our office or to ckimg@Q-1.com. Your business could be featured in an upcoming issue of Quest.
Indoor environmental problems have five common causes, and more than one may be active at any time: an inadequately cleaned environment, poor ventilation, pollutants emitted from sources and activities inside the building, contamination from outside sources and biological contamination due to a lack of moisture control.
Cleaning is the key to a healthy environment. The inadequately cleaned environment is the consequence of inattention to the different emissions and by- products of activities indoors and the need for constant ordering. Poor ventilation often is the result of dirty air filters that need periodic cleaning or replacement. Emissions from cooking or tobacco products always need to be removed. Left alone, they build up, damaging materials, causing odors, and in some cases, increasing cancer risks to humans. Particles from the outside are humans. Particles from the outside are constantly being tracked or blown inside. They need to be removed through cleaning.
Before the 1974 energy crisis, most buildings were designed to provide maximum comfort to inhabitants. For example, work areas were larger. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were designed to provide as much as 15 cfm of outside air for each building occupant. Since 1974, buildings have been designed to save energy. The size of spaces for heating and cooling have been reduced, and outdoor air ventilation lowered to five cfm. Moreover, many ventilation systems do not effectively distribute air to people in buildings. Inadequate air diffusion combined with reduced ventilation causes pollution levels to build up. Reduced emphasis on cleaning only compounds the problem. As pollutant concentrations rise, so do health complaints.
Many indoor pollutants come from sources inside the building. Humans emit may infectious agents, particles, fluids, and gases. Adhesives, vinyl wall coverings, rubber molding, manufactured wood products, copying machines, pesticides, and cleaning agents can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde and benzene. Some VOCs can cause health effects at high concentrations, and some are know carcinogens. Tobacco smoke is a common source of indoor air pollution. It contributes to harmful levels of VOCs such as benzene. It is the single leading source of harmful concentrations of respirable particulate matter found indoors.
Sources outside the building also contaminate indoor air. For example, pollutants from motor vehicles, plumbing vents, and building exhausts enter buildings through windows, doors, and improperly located outside air intakes. Combustion particles and combustion products such as carbon monoxide and soot can enter a building from attached or underground garages. Contaminants in soil or on hard surfaces outside are tracked, blown, or drawn into buildings. They can rise to comparable outside concentrations in house dusts and in carpets and other fabrics.
A major cause of illness indoors is biological contamination. It is, or is derived from, living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, mites, and other biological material such as insect parts. All of these can originate both inside and outside of the built environment.
Biological contamination occurs most often when moisture and food sources for living organisms are not properly managed. Ironically, mechanical ventilation systems often serve as homes for these contaminants. Biological pollutants such as fungi and bacteria breed in water that has been allowed to accumulate on hard surfaces in humidifiers and cooling coil condensation pans. They also breed where water has collected on or under cellulose materials such as ceiling tiles, wallpaper, carpeting, insulation, and internally lined duct work. The most publicized of these biopollutants is Legionella. It causes Legionnaires' Disease, which is fatal in about 20 percent of all cases.
The cleaning professional has a key role in managing the indoor environment so that the many contaminants that cause sickness are removed from contact with humans. When contaminants are removed or minimized through cleaning, human exposures and risks are reduced. Cleaning is always the critical ingredient in maintaining a healthy building.
Editor's Note: This information is an excerpt from Dr. Michael Berry's Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health. Used with permission. His book is available for loan in Q-1's library.
QUEST is a free publication of Q-1 Corporation-providing 20 years of quality janitorial service. Q-1's QUEST is to help your business succeed by providing a clean and healthy work environment for your building tenants. Chuck Kim, CEO • Q-1 Corporation 1414 130th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005-2246 • 206 637-0031 (phone) 206 637-9726 (fax); ckim@q-1.com (email) http://www.q-1.com (internet home page) Corporate Headquarters: 1441 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, AK 99503 • 907 562-4468 (phone) 907 563-6301 (fax). Member: BSCAI Building Service Contractors Association International; BOMA Building Owners and Managers Association (c)copyright 1996. Unless otherwise noted, no part of this publication may be copied without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this publication are for general information only and are not intended to replace counsel from competent financial, legal professionals, or government advisors. July 1996 issue: Managing Editor: Chuck Kim; Designer: Louise Holder, Kirkland WA; distribution: Pamela Rosenow, 206 637-0031.