BOMA urges caution on indoor air quality

Real Estate Weekly, May 4, 1994

The association representing commercial real estate recently cautioned OSHA against undertaking an overly burdensome regulatory approach to improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). According to Thomas B. McChesney, president of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, "OSHA's Indoor Air Quality proposal, announced (March 25) by Robert B. Reich, Secretary of Labor, does little to attack the sources of contamination - opting instead for a program which seeks to simply 'manage' the problem."

"We have consistently supported a complete ban on smoking in office buildings as a way to attack a major source of indoor air quality contaminants," said McChesney. "OSHA's regulatory proposal misses the mark by not going far enough to eliminate the origin of IAQ problems, but rather goes to excessive lengths in proposing record keeping requirements."

OSHA's proposal estimates the annual cost of indoor air quality compliance to be $8.1 billion, $8 billion of which would be directly attributed to building systems operations and maintenance, and the cost for indoor air maintenance to reach $0.2 1 per square foot per year.

"OSHA looks to place complete responsibility on the shoulders of building management which, unfortunately, only dilutes the problem," said McChesney. "Professional management is, of course, an important part of providing for a safe, healthy, and comfortable indoor environment. But increased attention must be given to what is creating indoor air problems - rather than how to simply "manage" them."