Every Breath You Take

[Guest guest]

Every Breath You Take

Workplace air-quality issues can be a nightmare to diagnose, must

less fix. But there's help for Connecticut companies

http://www.businessnewhaven.com/

Business New Haven

12/12/2005

Singer

Employees often grouse about offices being too hot or too cold. But

complaints about headaches or irritated eyes may be more symptomatic

of indoor air-quality problems than temperature alone.

" Probably the most common thing is just a lack of ventilation, " says

Toal, an epidemiologist with the state's Department of Public

Health (DPH). " People need to have a minimal amount of fresh air,

which they may not be getting if the ventilation system is

inadequately designed or not adequately maintained or operated

properly. "

Chemical or biological contaminants also can be the cause of

employee complaints.

" Furniture and carpeting emit formaldehyde, which we've even seen

from glue used for dividers in offices, " says Palo, director

of the Connecticut Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(Conn./OSHA). Bleach, floor wax or other cleaning products also can

be irritants.

Gil Cormier, an industrial hygienist and principal consultant for

Occupational Risk Control Services Inc. in New Britain, describes

three general categories of office employee complaints. One involves

temperature or humidity fluctuations affecting " comfort conditions, "

he says. " The second group is headaches or eye irritations, which

are the more generic symptoms often affecting at least 20 percent of

the occupants. "

The most serious complaints, which include asthma (people using

inhalers more frequently at work), bronchitis, laryngitis and

allergic conjunctivitis, usually stem from moisture problems,

according to Cormier, whose company receives several calls a week

from southern New England companies about occupational health

issues.

" Any time you have water, it can become a breeding ground for mold

and bacteria, which are vying for the same nutrients, " he

says. " Water incursion can come from roof leaks, plumbing leaks and

improperly installed flashing around windows, which helps direct

rain water away from the building. "

Moreover, employee symptoms may not materialize for weeks or even

months following a " water event. "

A recent report from the Institute of Medicine of the National

Academies links damp buildings to " coughing, wheezing and upper

respiratory tract symptoms in otherwise healthy people. "

Employers trying to track down the source(s) of office employee

health complaints may want to contact the state DPH.

" We're an information source, but we don't get a lot of calls from

employers, " Toal says. " Most handle it themselves or in tandem

between management and landlords.

" We encourage employers to hire an industrial hygienist, " he adds.

To circumvent problems caused by emissions of formaldehyde and other

volatile organic compounds, Toal recommends employers purchase

products labeled " low emitting. " He adds that Green Seal, an

independent non-profit organization, certifies a variety of such

goods, including carpeting and office furniture.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency offers a Web-based

program called " Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment

Guidance (I-BEAM) " for building management professionals and others

interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings. I-BEAM has

information on diagnosing indoor air quality-related health problems.

Employers might also consider contacting Conn./OSHA, which offers

consulting services at no charge to public and private Connecticut

employers (860-263-6900).

" We'll go into private business not only for air-quality surveys but

also other issues such as noise or chemical exposures, " explains

Conn./OSHA director Palo. " We also offer a free consultation for

safety. It's very comprehensive and would cover OSHA regulations. "

But OSHA standards for contaminants such as dust, carbon monoxide,

carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and formaldehyde are designed for

industrial workplaces, which typically have much higher

concentrations than office buildings.

Conn.OSHA conducts around 500 consultations a year for private

companies, Palo says, adding, " probably not more than ten percent

have to do with air quality. We do more of those in the public

sector, in state buildings and state and municipal facilities.

" Our service is free, " Palo adds. The only requirement is it be

induced by an owner or somebody in a supervisory position, and

negotiated with the management of the facility. "

Each request is assigned to an occupational safety consultant or

occupational hygienist, who will call to arrange an on-site visit,

which begins with a conference. The consultant will walk around the

office or building, identifying hazards, evaluating work practices

and perhaps taking samples, then meet again with management to

discuss findings. Afterward, the consultant will submit a written

report.

Participants must agree in advance to correct any serious hazards

discovered, which generally pertain more to manufacturing facilities

than offices.

" There are plenty of situations where we go into a building and find

there's not enough makeup (fresh) air, and people are complaining

about stale air and drowsiness, " Palo explains.

" We've also seen many places where there are incursions of water, "

he adds. " A lot of times it's because of leaky pipes or a poor roof

or poor maintenance, and we find wet carpet, mold growing and wet

walls. Sometimes we find insects, mice, rats and other vermin in the

office. "

Crans, a Conn./OSHA industrial hygienist who works with the

private sector, says the busiest times of the year are changes of

seasons, when heating and cooling systems are activated.

" When we go in, we may monitor for carbon dioxide levels, which

indicate the amount of fresh air, and check the condition of the

ventilation system and the potential for contamination, " Crans says.

" We find out what the maintenance schedule is, whether it is

preventive or whether they wait until something happens, " he

adds. " If the system permits we open it and inspect the filters and

dampers. When there's water it's pretty obvious you've got leaking.

And, sometimes there's an odor. "

Palo says the only downside of the free Conn./OSHA service is " the

amount of time we can spend on each consultation, compared to a

privately hired industrial hygienist. It could be a few days or a

few weeks at most, depending on the situation. "

Of course, some situations may take months to unravel.

" Everybody is looking for a smoking gun, but it's usually two,

three, four or five things that are occurring, " says Occupational

Risk Control Services' Cormier. " When we investigate, we develop

hypotheses. We gather as much information as we can, and we look for

temporal relationships: When did the symptoms occur? When are people

in the building? Is it only on Fridays? Is it all over the building?

" We may follow up with samples of carbon dioxide, which we gather

with handheld monitors with sensors, or look for respirable

particulates " such as soot, dust or smoke, Cormier adds.

If there's evidence of water incursion, he may check for " moisture-

indicated " species such as stachybotrys, a deadly black mold, or

endotoxins, a part of the outer cell wall of gram-negative bacteria,

which are common in outdoor environment and can be a problem when

found indoors at high levels.

The air handling system, which Cormier calls the " heart and lungs "

of a building, often is a major contributing factor to air-quality

problems. If improperly maintained, it can generate elevated levels

of gram-negative bacteria.

Cooling coils, for example, can't hold much moisture, so the air

condenses, collects in a downstream tray, isn't being filtered (the

filters are upstream of the coils) and may become a breeding ground

for bacteria distributed throughout the air-handling system.

The source of employee complaints may be harder to pin down in

large, multi-tenant office building with elevator shafts, stairwells

and pipe chases providing air pathways to every level.

Employers who are tenants rather than building owners may have a

tougher time, too.

" This presents a problem when we get called in, " Cormier says. " We

try to make sure [building owners or property managers] are aware

we're coming in. We don't want an adversarial relationship.

" It's also very important for employers to communicate to employees

what's being done " to try to alleviate their concerns, Cormier adds.

When working in large corporate offices, Cormier may deal with a

human resources person or medical department.

" Typically we're just working with the business owner, and hoping

we'll get some information from the employees, " he says. " We looking

for patterns and trends so we can differentiate between those

experiencing symptoms and those who are not.

" We do have to be careful about privacy issues, so we usually ask

for permission and don't divulge anything, " Cormier adds. " There

have been cases where we actually get medical records, with

patients' permissions, for a workers compensation issue - sometimes

to refute a claim, sometimes to substantiate one. "

The price of an office air quality investigation hinges on its

degree of difficulty.

Experienced industrial hygienists charge between $60 and $150 an

hour, depending on the size of the office and complexity of its air

handling system, explains Cormier.

" If employers really do have a problem, they also should consider

the other costs, " he says. And those include " absenteeism, medical

expenses, loss of productively and loss of motivation of employees

involved - especially if it spreads or if it's not addressed

properly. "

The solution could be as simple as bringing in more fresh outside

air, or as complex as a roof, faÁade or other building envelope

replacement.

" Typically you're never going to please 100 percent of the occupants

of the building, " Cormier says. " There are always going to be

comfort issues, and there are always going to be one or two

individuals with hypersensitivity, and you may not be able to

resolve their symptoms. "