Field experience overview: investigating sources of indoor air quality problems in office buildings.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Carpenter J ; Wallingford, Kenneth M.
• Description:
  The methodology of NIOSH indoor air quality investigations was described, and the results of 356 such investigations completed between 1971 and 1985 were reviewed. These investigations had been requested by employee groups, unions, management, and local, state, and federal agencies. The NIOSH investigators developed a consistent, solution oriented approach to examination of indoor air quality problems defined as one of exclusion, whereby investigators pursued a continually narrowing range of possibilities. The NIOSH investigatory team to usually included an industrial hygienist and a physician/epidemiologist, with occasional participation by other professionals such as engineers. Investigations usually consisted of the following components: background assessment, initial site assessment, and secondary site assessments as necessary. Background assessment was performed by telephone or mailed questionnaire, and initial site assessment usually consisted of a walk through evaluation, personal interviews, and environmental monitoring. Follow up visits were required in cases where no specific problem could be identified after the initial visit. Evaluations were categorized in the 365 cases as follows: contamination from the building fabric, 4 percent; microbiological contamination, 5 percent; contamination from outside the building, 11 percent; contamination from inside the building, 19 percent; inadequate ventilation, 50 percent; and unknown, 11 percent. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Construction Industry Construction Materials Environmental Monitoring Microbiology Occupational Health Safety Vehicle Emissions Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Construction-materials; Microorganisms; Exhaust-gases; Pollutants; Air-contamination; Air-quality-measurement; Ventilation-systems
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  448-453
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00173240
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the ASHRAE Conference IAQ'86, Managing Indoor Air for Health and Energy Conservation, April 20-23, 1986; Atlanta, Georgia, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 1986:448-453
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the ASHRAE Conference IAQ'86, Managing Indoor Air for Health and Energy Conservation, April 20-23, 1986; Atlanta, Georgia, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/242323/cdc_242323_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]