Air Quality

2/25/2020 (Permalink)

The EPA provides helpful information and informative material on a variety of indoor air quality topics for office and homes. A helpful booklet is: "An Office Building Occupant's Guide to Indoor Air Quality."

The booklet provides valuable tips to protect health of office workers. Here is a list of helpful tips (and topics) contained in the publication. 

• Comply with the office and building smoking policy
• Do not block air vents or grilles.
• Water and maintain office plants properly.
• Dispose of garbage promptly and properly.
• Store food properly.
• Avoid bringing products into the building that could release harmful or bothersome odors or contaminants.
• Notify your building or facility manager immediately if you suspect an indoor air quality problem.

If You Manage an Office:

• Maintain a good working relationship with building management on indoor environmental issues.
• Place office furniture and equipment with air circulation, temperature control, and pollutant removal functions of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system in mind.
• Coordinate with building management in instances when responsibility for design, operation and maintenance of the ventilation system is shared.
• Establish an effective smoking policy that protects nonsmokers from involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Avoid procedures and products that can cause indoor air quality problems.
• Integrate indoor air quality concerns into your purchasing decisions.
• Work with the building manager to ensure use of only necessary and appropriate pest control practices, and nonchemical methods where possible.
• Work with building management and the contractor before you remodel or renovate to identify ways of keeping building occupant exposure to pollutants to a minimum and to ensure that the air distribution system is not disrupted.
• Encourage building management to develop a preventive indoor air quality management program following guidance issued by EPA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The booklet it available free from the EPA website. SERVPRO is pleased to have shared this information with you. We can also help you keep commercial spaces clean and healthy with HVAC cleaning and other specialty services.