Indoor air quality. The Letest Sampling and Analytical Methods.

Abstract

With the new millennium comes change. Indoor air quality methodologies have expanded, evolved, andmorphed. The focus is shifting froma knee-jerk to amore proactive response. Although indoor air quality in older buildings will continue to present old challenges, new construction is going forward with newchallenges. The intent of this book is to provide environmental professionals, indus- trial hygienists, and indoor air quality specialists with the latest and great- est methods in response to the knee-jerk indoor air quality challenges and for assessing new construction prior to occupancy. The focus is to provide a “practical guide” for developing a theory and following it through to the identification and interpretation of unknown air contaminants. Section I, “The Starting Line,” provides a historic overviewwith regulatory limits and guidelines; preliminary investigation methods including means for assessing complaints; and a means for speculation, narrowing the hunt for offenders.With a well-defined hypothesis, the investigator must test the hypothesis by sampling. Direction is provided for determining what, when, where, and how to sample for the various airborne components that may be found in indoor air quality situations. The components are broken into bioaerosols, chemicals, and dust. Section II, “Omnipresent Bioaerosols,” is inclusive of microbials only. This sectiondiscusses samplingmethodologies formicrobial allergens such as fungi and pollen; invasive pathogenicmicrobes; and toxigenicmolds/bacteria.Other biological components such as animal allergens are contained within another section. SectionIII,“ChemicalUnknownsandGases,”contains samplingmethodol- ogies for volatile organic compounds;microbial volatile organic compounds; carbon dioxide; carbon monoxide; formaldehyde; and product emissions. Themicrobial volatile organic compounds are discussed within this section because some researchers speculate that microbial (e.g., mold) by-products may contribute to the total volatile organic compounds in an enclosed build- ing. Yet some use the techniques to locatemold inwall spaces. Section IV, “Identification of Dusts,” contains samplingmethodologies for animal allergens such as dust mites and forensic methods for identifying dust components. Dust components can be checked for chemicals adsorbed onto or settled on the surface of dust particles, toxic metals, and various types of fibers (e.g., resin-coated fiberglass). Section V, “Building Systems andMaterials,” is a new section. Often over- looked and underutilized, sewage gases and HVAC systems are discussed and assessment guidelines provided. The topic of tainted Chinese drywall has become a bucket of worms—legally, financially, and analytically. In the chapter “Tainted Chinese Drywall,” the background information and more prominent samplingmethodologies are discussed. The last chapter is “Green Buildings.” The concept of green buildings has shifted from resource con- servation only to resource conservation and healthy indoor air quality. The Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) Rating Systemand American Society ofHeating, Refrigerating andAir Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 189.1 are discussed, and air samplingmethodologies and sample limits are detailed. As a passion for detectivework is a delightfulmotivator for performing an indoor air quality assessment, the person performing such a survey is herein referred to as the “investigator.” The investigator’s greatest asset is his or her ability to weave through a convoluted web of complex problems. This book provides strategies and tools to herald Sherlock Holmes!