Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings • Buildings can make people sick • Sick people are not productive • Sick people do not renew their lease • Sick people sue everybody

Commercial IAQ Facts • A failure to provide a healthy indoor environment may result in the owner falling below the (OSHA) standard of care, i.e., being found negligent. • In order to be protected from a successful negligence claim, the owner/builder must make sure that indoor air quality issues are taken into consideration in both the design and construction of the building. • During the life of the building the owner, as well as the facilities manager, is responsible for the proper maintenance of the building. • A manager’s failure to take precautions to provide good air quality to tenants may expose the manager to serious claims of negligence.

HVAC Equipment Rooms We’ve Seen(Not Yours!) Room B06 – Equipment and debris on the floor

Negligence OSHA ASHRAE Standards Strict Product Liability Fear of Cancer Punitive Damages Breach of Contract Warranty Fraud and Misrepresentation Americans With Disabilities Act Prohibits Discrimination Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Landlord / Tenant Breach of Lease Constructive Eviction SBS Suits

Office Areas We’ve Seen Room 309 - Microbe growth on chilled water pipe Closet 101A - Damage to wallboard from previous water damage

Bacteria Viruses Plant Spores Tobacco Smoke Cooking Smoke / Grease Dander Hair Dust Fertilizer Insecticide Dust Coal Dust Sizes of Specific Indoor Contaminants

Source: University of Minnesota Size Distribution of Atmospheric Dust Sample 30 micron Percent by Particle Count 10 micron 0.005% 5.0 micron 0.175% 3.0 micron 0.25% 1.0 micron 1.07% <1.0 micron 98.5%

Typical Particle Exposure • Dust • Tobacco smoke • Dust Mite Feces • Droplet Nuclei • Bacteria • Fungal Spores / Pollen • Animal Dander

Deposition of Inhaled ParticlesIn Human Respiratory System Ultrafine particles may be removed by diffusion mechanism Soure: Research Triangle Institute

Indoor Air • Two Major Factors: • Cleaner Air = Good Health • Good Health = Higher Productivity

Health Benefit of Clean Air Numbers of Particles Cleanroom 1 per liter Arctic 10,000 per liter Ocean 100,000 per liter Rural 1 Million per liter City 100 Million per liter Highway 1 Billion per liter Tobacco Smoke 100 Billion per liter

Droplet Nuclei Produced by Infected Persons MERV 11 90% MERV 7 60%

Asthma Mortality Source: American Lung Association First reported cases of Indoor Air Quality problems Oil embargo

Tuberculosis (TB)

Productivity Productivity and Clean Air

Estimated Median Changes in Productivity by Cause95% Confidence Interval for Median Percentage Change

Costs

European Standard of Care MERV 13 Provides optimum performance on particles most associated with maladies effecting humans in standard HVAC controlled environments

The Best Way • Increase building air filtration efficiencies to the maximum the system will allow =>MERV 11(Contact a NAFA Certified Air Filter Specialist) • If a building occupant believes that management is acting expeditiously and intelligently to resolve serious air quality problems, then the likelihood of litigation will be greatly reduced.

What the Experts Say All HVAC Systems Are Concerned With Quantity, NOT Quality. Ole Fanger, Denmark

Summary • Understand the implications of poor building IAQ: • Increased Health Costs • Increased Absenteeism • Productivity Loss • Realize All the Costs • Provide Best Possible Air Filtration: • MERV 11 or greater for contaminant removal

Commercial Buildings