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IAQ Complaints in the Office Often Caused by More than One Issue

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:58:45 EST

Millions of Americans spend 8 or more hours of their day in office buildings across the nation.  As the public has come to recognize the importance of good indoor air quality (IAQ) for their health, comfort and productivity, its importance has grown in recent years.
 
Unfortunately, not all office workers breathe good air while on the job.  Many office buildings have a number of significant sources of indoor air pollution.  Any sources of indoor pollution can be made even worse if the structure's ventilation system is not designed, operated or maintained properly.
 
Indoor air pollution in offices can come from a number of sources, including: occupant activities, housekeeping, pesticides, office furnishing, vapor intrusion, and microbial contamination to name a few.
 
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA), 'In the opinion of some World Health Organization experts, up to 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings worldwide may be the subject of excessive complaints related to indoor air quality.'  The EPA's website goes on to state, 'Indoor air pollutants can be circulated from portions of the building used for specialized purposes, such as restaurants, print shops, and dry-cleaning stores, into offices in the same building. Carbon monoxide and other components of automobile exhaust can be drawn from underground parking garages through stairwells and elevator shafts into office spaces.'
 
IAQ Index, a company that has developed a series of easy to use IAQ test kits, allows people to easily and affordably test their indoor environments at the office.  'They can be utilized to test for a number of common causes of poor indoor air quality,' reported Bruce Jacobs, CIH, President of IAQ Index.  'IAQ Index's bundled kit allows people to quickly take a sample to determine if their office, or other indoor environment, has problems with mold, formaldehyde, radon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).'
 
IAQ Index has sponsored an online video about IAQ issues in the office, it can be seen at:
http://youtu.be/lucDPg8tUYs
 
To learn more about testing for indoor air quality contaminants please visit IAQ Index at http://www.IAQIndex.com, email info@IAQIndex.com or call (888) 259-3883.
 
About IAQ Index
IAQ Index was developed by a Certified Industrial Hygienist with decades of experience dealing with indoor air quality issues.  IAQ Index was developed as a health-based, easy-to-understand, air quality index that is calculated from data generated for various parameters commonly measured during IAQ surveys.  The approach is similar to the EPA's Air Quality Index that has been used historically to communicate the risks posed by common pollutants in the ambient air.