Indoor air: what you can't see can hurt you?

Real Estate Weekly, August 19, 1992 by Clive Mutschler

One of the many beauties of nature is the ability to correct the contamination we place in the environment. The wind blows and dilutes the concentrated contaminates that we discharge through smokestacks. Rains fall and remove gases and aerosols from the air. Plants exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen, and lightning neutralizes many other gases that result in odors. The contaminates that we create, if not naturally removed from the air, must rely on our respiratory system to remove them. Modern airtight buildings that have insufficient ventilation have almost totally isolated interior air space from natures healing environment.

Most of the problems are coming from buildings constructed or renovated in the 70's and 80's, according to a study published in the journal of the AMA. Energy factors were considered into plans for the first time creating sealed off environments. Combine poor air circulation with interior building products that are giving off gases and solvents and you've got a "sick" building.

Any movements or actions that take place affect the air we depend on to support life. Unfortunately, the result in many cases is contamination. Most of us spend the majority of our time indoors (75 to 90 percent) where many of these actions take place. Even the simple act of walking across a carpet creates lint. It originates from the carpet and from the clothes we wear.

When air becomes contaminated gravity pulls the heavier of the pollutants to the ground, while the lighter gases and particles simply drift until they can settle somewhere else. Research proves that 99 percent of airborne particles are invisible. The smallest particle that can be seen with the naked eye is 40 microns. That's rather small when you consider the fact that a human hair is 100 microns in diameter. Tobacco smoke is comprised of particles averaging .25 microns. Ninety-nine percent of all atmospheric dust has a particle size under .5 microns. A wide variety of other indoor air contaminates are less than 1 micron in size, such as common smog oil smoke, carbon black and paint pigments. Harmful bacteria, viruses (TB virus is 0.1 microns) and gases are so small that we can't see them, but they exist in the air we breath. Therefore, what you can't see can hurt you!

The growing awareness of the connection between poor indoor air quality and Sick Building Syndrome makes indoor air quality a vital environmental issue for the 90's and beyond.

Studies show that poor indoor air quality cuts into worker productivity and morale. Common building materials release chemicals and solvents such as formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, toluene and a host of others. They have been proven responsible for respiratory and allergy problems, liver damage and suppression of the immune system.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency indoor air can be 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. The first solution most people think about to solve this problem is to increase the amount of make-up air but it's really not as simple as it seems at first glance. Your air intake might be close to a bus stop, a restaurant exhaust or any number of pollution sources. Also, the more make-up air you use increases energy costs associated with heating or cooling. Even with the best of conditions this cannot be relied upon as a cure all because in the not- so-distant past. the water industry thought that "the solution to pollution was dilution and that train of thought was found to be not a very wise one.

So the question remains as to what the best approach is to combat indoor air pollution and it's result, Sick Building Syndrome. The Audubon Society has taken unique approach in the renovation of their new headquarters. Their state of the art circulation system delivers filtered air at a rate capable of changing interior air six times per hour, double the recommended standard. The system draws in a higher ratio of outside air and moves it all at a high rate of speed to prevent moisture build-up, eliminating a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. They also selected building materials that do not give off significant amounts of toxic chemicals and solvents. Paints are lead free, water-based latex carpets are formaldehyde free and surfaces of manufactured wood products are sealed with plastic laminate to minimize harmful chemical releases. The icing on the cake was the installation of windows that actually open. Nice touch, but not always a good option in every situation.

This is a good approach for new construction but it would be far beyond the pocketbook of your average building owner or manager to tear out existing interiors and replace everything with environmentally friendly products. The most sensible thing to do first would be to find out if a problem does exist. If you're flooded with complaints from tenants, have the air tested and see if an air quality problem truly does exist. You may have misguided tenants or employees jumping on the bandwagon and there's no reason to spend money that could be used elsewhere.