Good Indoor Air Quality is Good for Business

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(No Transcript)
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Good Indoor Air Quality is Good for Business
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OBJECTIVES

• PART I Indoor Air Quality Primer
• PART II Financial Impact
• PART III Source Control and Material Selection
• PART IV Importance of Third-Party Certification

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But First

• Building and Design Fundamental
• The Right Thing to Do!
• Tangible vs. Intangible
• IAQ? IEQ?

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Key Indoor Air Facts

• People spend over 90 of their time indoors
• Thousands of chemicals and biological pollutants
  at elevated levels
• Air Pollutants 2-5x (sometimes 1,000x) higher
  than found outside

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Health Concerns

• Indoor Pollution is acknowledged as a
  SIGNIFICANT environmental threat to human
  health
• Health symptoms exhibited in 20-30 of US office
  workers
• Studies prove sensitivity to chemical fumes and
  odors to be the most common indicator for health
  complaints among building occupants

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Building Related / Sick Building Syndrome

• Eye Irritation
• Headache
• Upper respiratory
• Irritation
• Nausea, Dizziness
• Fatigue Lethargy
• Sore/Dry Throat
• Nose Bleed
• Odor Complaints
• Memory Impairment

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Illnesses and Indoor Air Pollution

• Asthma and Allergies
• Cancer
• Reproductive / developmental defects
• Cardiovascular disease
• Respiratory disease

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Economic Concerns

• IAQ issues/mold remediation in commercial
  structures increasing
• SBS costs gt20 billion/yr in workers comp
  healthcare
• Illness, absenteeism loss productivity costs
  est. gt 120 billion/yr.
• Strained Relationships
• Litigation
• Remediation rebuilding
• Lease termination
• Health impacts
• Negative publicity

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IEQ vs. Energy

• Can be competitive objectives!
• EPA I-Beam
• Up to 43 Energy Savings
• No IEQ Compromises
• Omitted Measures only 5 savings

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Where are the real cost savings?

• Average Energy cost per year 2 per square foot
• VS.
• Average Salary cost per year over 200 per
  square foot
• Only 2 increase in productivity over 4
  savings per square foot

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What Tenants Want?

• BOMA/ULI survey 1800 tenants in 126 metro areas
• 95 Temperature
• 94 IAQ
• Majority of Complaints IEQ 77
• Chelsey Group Survey
• 75 of office workers rank IEQ 1 priority

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How much can poor IAQ cost?

• Only 20 minutes lost per day for a 30K salary
  position 1,250 per year
• For 70 employees 87,500
• For 1,000 employees 1,250,000

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Decrease Sick-Leave

• OSHA
• 5.7 of office workers develop severe headaches.
• 8.5 of office workers develop severe respiratory
  symptoms.

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Increase Productivity

• National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) and
  West Bend Mutual Study
• 8-10 increase in productivity through improved
  IAQ.

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Source Control vs. Remediation

• Cost
• Flush out or airing out?
• Consultants?
• Liability?
• Strained Relationship, Damaged Reputation
• Source Control
• Little Effort
• Little to No Extra Cost

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Total Building Cost Structure
TIER 3
Image Cost
Productivity Cost
TIER 2
Design, Construction, OM Cost
TIER 1
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Case Study IAQ Investigation (Office Building
Odor Concern)
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Building History

• Nine story government building
• Floor deflections (uneven) floors so uneven,
  cabinets and desks were listing
• Use of an epoxy based floor leveling compound (1
  thick)
• Ongoing IAQ complaints
• Eye, nose, and throat irritation
• Fatigue
• Nausea

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Mitigation Strategy

• Replace leveler with low odor, low emission
  leveler allow to cure fully (3 4 inches thick)
  
• Replace carpet tiles
• Use low VOC adhesive
• Replace ceiling tiles
• Leave office furniture intact

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Mitigation Results

• Mitigation was completed 5 years and 6,200,000
  after original evacuation!
• Structural issues arose
• No building odor
• Looking for tenants

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IAQ Objective
Achieve Air Quality that contributes to
a favorable, productive environment and enables
building occupants to experience a sense of
comfort and well-being.
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We Want To Achieve Good Indoor AirQuality By
Design!

• Fact
• There are no federal regulated standards
• Fact
• Many design, construction and procurement
  specs

• Fact
• Unsubstantiated claims!

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Begin With The End in Mind

• Create and operate healthy, productive
  environments for all
• Children
• Adults
• Elderly
• Sensitive Individuals
• Design for Sustainability
• Select and use low emitting products that carry
  third-party certification

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Less is More

• VOC sources are numerous
• Office furniture
• Wall covering, floor covering
• Paints, adhesives, sealants
• Ceiling tile
• Copiers, printers, computers
• Art supplies, science labs, shop class
• Consumer products, cleaning/ maintenance
  chemicals
• Mold VOCs

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Two Primary Factors Control Indoor Air
Pollution
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What to do?

• Education and Communication
• IAQ Management Plan
• Construction
• Operation and Maintenance
• Source Control

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Education and Communication

• Designers, Architects, Engineers
• Contractors
• Building Owner
• Facility Management
• Occupants

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IAQ Management Plan

• Construction Management
• Processes
• Systems
• Materials
• Flush Out vs. IAQ Commissioning
• OM Management

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Source Control

• Products
• Materials
• Processes

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Third Party Certification / Verification is Key!
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Important Questions about IAQ Programs

• Was the product tested for its IAQ performance?
• Are the programs standards applicable?
• When was the product tested?
• How was the tested product sample selected?
• Is the program easy to use?

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Summary

• Indoor Air Pollution is a significant threat to
  human health!
• IAQ control is rapidly becoming an industry
  standard
• Achieve good IAQ by design
• Source Control is the most effective way to
  minimize indoor air pollution
• Specify certified low emitting products from a
  third party (non-profit) for assured improved
  indoor air quality!

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Look for the GREENGUARD Mark
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Becoming Certified includes

• Review of manufacturing processes
• Identification of materials and processes which
  contribute to chemical emissions
• Once products are tested and certified, the
  representative product must be retested each year
• Must test priority construction materials on a
  quarterly basis
• Must acknowledge product or manufacturing changes
  and confirm minimal impact

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Free Online Resource Guide !
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An Online Newsletter to 9,000 Architects
Specifiers
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Resources Indoor Air Quality

• www.greenguard.org
• www.aerias.org
• www.epa.gov/iaq
• www.lungusa.org/air/air_indoor
• www.usgbc.org
• www.blauer-engel.de