Potential costs of indoor air problems are too high to ignore. Poor indoor air quality can harm productivity, disrupt business processes, impair human health and lead to costly litigation. As such, IAQ has become a big issue for building operators, HVAC engineers and technicians, industrial hygienists and, of course, the workers inside.

The issues facing managers of manufacturing facilities and related decision makers extend beyond overheating and energy conservation. Today’s indoor building management challenge includes dealing with stale, under-ventilated and -circulated air, moisture and mold growth, out-gassing of equipment and building components and the impact of such conditions on the productivity, health and well-being of shop floor employees (not to mention those in back offices).

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has arisen as a significant issue for building owners and operators, HVAC engineers and technicians, certified industrial hygienists and, of course, building occupants. After all, researchers estimate that the average person spends 90 percent of his or her life indoors.

The potential costs of indoor problems are too high to ignore. And on the shop or factory floor, contaminated air can cause process disruption and bring production to a stop.

Of course, there is out-gassing, or the propensity of various chemicals in manufacturing equipment, as well as the materials from which facilities are made, to release fumes. Most such fumes are not healthy for building occupants to breathe. As the temperature of a facility increases, no matter what the source of that heat, those physical entities that are out-gassing will out-gas even more.

Air inside public and commercial office buildings contains a wide variety of pollutants that can build up and possibly affect the health of people working there. As Modern Building Services recently pointed out:

The three major contaminants to be found in every building are particulates (dust, pollen), gaseous matter (volatile organic chemicals, odors), and microbiological substances (molds, fungi). Some enter the building from outside, while others are generated indoors via furnishings and work-related processes. The element that encourages their growth is moisture.

In fact, though neither could be considered a pollutant, humidity and temperature are important comfort factors, and failure to manage them can lead to other IAQ problems. Excessive humidity, for instance, can encourage the growth of mold.

Yet humidity control “no longer warrants the same level of importance as temperature control,” according to Modern Building Services’ Jim Kilcoyne. Take the issue of heat. According to the California Energy Commission, 30 percent of a building’s cooling requirements are from heat entering through existing windows. Working machines only compound the presence of heat. Reducing heat in a building is usually considered to be a legitimate and exclusive HVAC function.

According to WorkSafe magazine, “a properly functioning heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system removes odors and contaminants, provides adequate amounts of fresh, outdoor air, and, yes, even establishes a comfortable temperature — all necessary conditions for good indoor air quality.”

Proper design, use and maintenance of the HVAC system are essential to removing pollutants and controlling temperature, humidity and odors. Outdoor air intakes must be located to draw in air that’s no more polluted than the normal air in that locality, notes WorkSafe magazine.

Once inside, outdoor air must be effectively distributed through the workplace. The ventilation system needs to be balanced to ensure each area in the building receives enough outdoor air, and ventilation openings should be placed where they’re least likely to be obstructed by equipment or materials later.

In some instances, the quality problem may not be the air at all. NIOSH prefers to use the term “Indoor Environmental Quality” (IEQ). This can be a somewhat broader concept than IAQ and can include factors other than air quality. As OSHA stated in a 1994 rulemaking proposal, “other physical factors such as lack of windows, noise and inadequate lighting, and ergonomic factors involving uncomfortable furniture and intensive use of video display units, etc., will cause discomfort in occupants that may be inaccurately attributed to air quality.”

Moreover, in a move to become more energy efficient, buildings are becoming more airtight, thereby reducing energy leakage. Ironically, many of the measures taken to increase energy efficiency — such as “tightening” buildings to reduce both air infiltration and outflow — have contributed to negative impacts on a facility’s environment and air quality, writes Marty Watts, president and CEO of solar heat control window film provider V-Kool Inc., at Manufacturing.Net.

In the United Kingdom, the air tightness of buildings is one of the key issues in Part L of the Building Regulations, Modern Building Services notes.

As for standards in the United States, consider what Eric Hudson, IAQ manager at electronic test tools manufacturer Fluke Corp., recently wrote at ISHN:

While official government IAQ standards in the United States are limited, one exception to the lack of standards can be found in the industrial workplace. OSHA has set limits on human exposure to a long list of air contaminants (Standard 1910-1000) and established standards for ventilation and respiratory protection in certain high-hazard occupations, such as abrasive blasting, grinding, polishing and spray finishing operations. OSHA Standard 1910.94 for general industry governs ventilation and respiratory protection in abrasive blasting, grinding, polishing and spray finishing operations.

The unformed state of IAQ regulations does not diminish the need to obtain accurate air quality diagnostic information, Hudson continued. By assessing IAQ on a planned basis, carefully operating and maintaining HVAC systems, controlling contaminant sources and acting swiftly to resolve any IAQ issues, employers and managers can maintain productivity and head off personnel problems and questions of legal liability that might arise from deficient indoor air quality.

This in mind, good indoor air quality is more than just ventilation. Consideration should be made to measurement, control and filtration — along with considering initial costs, running costs and energy management.

Resources

The battle for indoor air quality
by Jim Kilcoyne
Modern Building Services

Clear the air
by Heather Prime
WorkSafeBC, September/October 2006

Enhancing Your Facility’s Indoor Air Quality
by Marty Watts, V-Kool Inc.
Manufacturing.Net, Jan. 2, 2007

Clearing the air
by Eric Hudson, Fluke Corp.
ISHN, Jan. 1, 2007