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HealthHealth

Indoor Air Quality

Poor indoor air quality refers to the build-up of certain air contaminants in indoor areas from the outdoors, the occupants or a bioaerosal reservoir inside the building. Respiration products, body odors, bacteria, fungi, moisture, off-gases from the interior furnishings and other chemical contaminants can build up in an indoor space or at the point of air intake, contaminate the ventilation system and degrade the general air quality. Generally, poor indoor air quality results from one or more of four basic causes: (1) failure to conduct periodic preventative cleaning and maintenance of the ventilation system, (2) misadjustment of the fresh air/recycled air ratio, (3) inadequate ventilation capacity, and (4) an interior source (reservoir) of contaminants. The common complaints associated with problem buildings are grouped under the title "sick building syndrome", and include such symptoms as upper respiratory irritation, headaches and fatigue.

Our approach to assessing indoor air quality complaints associated with respiratory distress is to use airborne bacteria and fungi counts, identification of bacteria and fungi species and trace airborne chemical analysis, combined with carbon dioxide and relative humidity measurements, as indicators of the overall air quality. Where the office furnishings or the building are new, chemical off-gases from the interior finishes can be the causative agents. In some cases an industrial operation at or near the site can introduce chemical irritants into the office. Where the furnishings and building are older, biological contaminants are normally more suspect as the causative agents, especially when water damage and moisture are involved. There is a broad spectrum of possible airborne biological allergens that can also be sampled. Normal protocol is to sample indoors and outdoors simultaneously.

Grauvogel and Associates has developed expertise in sampling for airborne chemical agents of all sorts, an extension of our Industrial Hygiene experience with manufacturing, and in evaluating the results against both regulatory and national consensus standards. The testing can be focused on specific chemicals if evidence is present of a likely association with the reported symptoms, for example formaldehyde, or on a broader spectrum of analytes. Depending on the agent, we have methods capable of measuring in the parts-per-trillion range. The outdoor results provide a baseline for evaluating the indoor results, but can also be used to identify external sources. Carbon dioxide concentration and relative humidity are used to assess the sufficiency of the existing amount of fresh make-up air introduced by the HVAC system in comparison to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) criteria.

Indoor Air Quality Client List

  • Memorial Hospital South Bend, IN
  • Warsaw Community School Corporation Warsaw, IN
  • Niles Community Library Niles, MI
  • K-Mart Inc. Troy, MI
  • Crown International, Inc. Elkhart, IN
  • South Bend Community School Corporation South Bend, IN
  • New Prairie School Corporation New Carlisle, IN
  • Holladay Corporation South Bend, IN
  • South Bend Public Housing Authority South Bend, IN
  • Lakeland School Corporation LaGrange, IN
  • PHM School Corporation Osceola, IN
  • School City of Mishawaka Mishawaka, IN
  • MFB Financial Mishawaka, IN
  • Triton School Corporation Bourbon, IN
  • Landmark Century 21 Elkhart, IN
  • Animal Care Clinic Elkhart, IN
  • Michiana Regional Airport South Bend, IN
  • Bethlehem Credit Union Chesterton, IN
  • American Family Insurance Indianapolis, IN
  • Motorist Mutual Insurance Plymouth, IN
  • Baugo Community Schools Elkhart, IN
  • Monaco Coach Corporation Wakarusa, IN
  • Fairfield Community Schools Goshen, IN
  • Forest River, Incorporated Goshen, IN
  • Steamatic of Northern Indiana, Inc. Mishawaka, IN
  • Woodcox Building Contractors South Bend, IN
  • Brandywine Claims South Bend, IN
  • Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Indianapolis, IN
  • Elkhart Community School Corporation Elkhart, IN
  • Meridian Insurance Company Indianapolis, IN
  • EMC/Hamilton Mutual Insurance Company Mishawaka, IN
  • Michigan City Area Schools Michigan City, IN