Building Indoor Air Quality

Do tenants really understand the importance of good air quality in a building?

Every day, many things happen in a building that impact your health. For example, have you ever walked down a hallway and smelled paint or a strong cleaning agent? And what about the chemicals you can’t smell, like toxic pesticides, or building products from the construction in the suite next door or down the hall? What about just walking past the smokers hanging out by the back door?

A big question tenants should be asking their property managers is: Who is monitoring this?

If your property manager isn’t managing the chemicals and occupant habits in and near the building space, and if he or she is not notifying tenants of what is happening, your health could be in jeopardy.

There are many different pollutants and sources of indoor air pollution, including but not limited to: asbestos, biological pollutants, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, lead, nitrogen dioxide, pesticides, radon, respirable particles, secondhand smoke, and VOCs or volatile organic compounds. It’s enough to make anyone nervous!

Your building should have building policies in place that outline how they are managing your environment.

The EPA shares a lot of good information on this topic, which can be found at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html.