The continuing adventures of NIOSH investigators during an IEQ investigation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Malkin, Robert ; Martinez, Kenneth F.
• Description:
  In 1998, NIOSH conducted an indoor air quality (IEQ) evaluation at a large midwestern high school (3000+ students, 350 teachers) constructed in the 1970s. Staff and students were experiencing problems related to poor IEQ in the school, including sinus cancer, memory problems, inability to concentrate, metallic taste, bleeding lungs, dizziness, depression, respiratory problems, lethargy, chronic fatigue, chest congestion, burning eyes and throat, and nausea. This survey included employee interviews and evaluation of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, and a visual examination for fungal growth in the building. Measurements were made for carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and relative humidity (RH), and bulk samples were collected for subsequent analysis of bacterial and fungal content. The CO2 concentrations increased during the school day (peaking at 1500 ppm) while the temperature and RH ranged from 68 degrees F to 75 degrees F and 17% to 23%, respectively. Localized microbial reservoirs in the school existed at the time of the NIOSH site visit, and ongoing moisture incursion or moist conditions were noted. The presence of Stachybotrys fungal species in some locations was probably indicative of a small residual from past contamination. The presence of Cladosporium fungal species in the interior duct insulation of several HVAC units suggested that the previous duct cleaning performed at the school might have been ineffective. In addition to the environmental sampling results, this poster discusses the employee interviews and examines other events that impacted on the conduct of this evaluation, including involvement by community action groups and the local media (newspapers and television stations). This poster also describes recommendations made for a further evaluation of the ventilation systems, identification and correction of water incursion problems, remediation of identified localized patches of mold, and the hiring of an environmental quality manager at the school. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Conditioning Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Education Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Fungi Hazardous Substances Humidity Microbiology Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Temperature Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Air-conditioning-equipment Air-contamination Air-quality-measurement Air-sampling Bacteria Biological-effects Closed-building-syndrome Dioxides Environmental-contamination Exhaust-ventilation Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Health-hazards Health-surveys Heating-systems Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Insulation-materials Measurement-equipment Microorganisms Molds Relative-humidity Sampling Temperature-measurement Ventilation-systems

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  85
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041653
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2000 May; :85
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:056b5c798042b19304e1398e5f96ef5850f9696f8aa68e9de46a850c69577716a71bfab3d4c4f6f1796c5b9b7572d36cbed0e2490d2e421abcd3b091c0b47879
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194153/cdc_194153_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.04 MB ]