Indoor Air Quality

Kynoch Environmental Management takes a comprehensive approach to indoor air quality assessments.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) costs employers $3 billion annually in lost productivity, absenteeism, increased operational expenses, and litigation/liability exposure.

In addition, today’s energy efficient buildings are “tightly built,” which can result in high concentrations of recirculated air and reduced flow of outside air. This tends to throw off humidity balance and can skew the chemical content in the air being breathed in by occupants.

Coupled with the fact that the typical person spends nearly 90% of their time indoors, KEM clients have a high-value need to assess their buildings’ indoor air quality & to provide a safe indoor environment for occupants, tenants, & guests.

KEM Comprehensive IAQ Assessments are progressive and can include:

Initial survey: Before any analytical IAQ testing begins, KEM conducts surveys of building occupants to identify specific IAQ concerns. A comprehensive questionnaire is completed by the occupants and analyzed by KEM for relevant data.
Complete building assessment: KEM conducts a complete investigation of the building’s condition, material constitution, and occupancy use. This includes a thorough visual assessment of the building.
HVAC system & occupancy use: KEM evaluates the HVAC during its cycle of operation for proper function, airflow, and potential contamination in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 62.

If the initial building survey indicates a need, KEM conducts sampling & analysis with economy and expediency.

Carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity tests and analysis are down-loaded into a graph format for concise documentation.
A handheld particle counter is used to determine the level of airborne particulate in the environment.
An Anderson Impactor is used for microbial and fungal testing.
Additional testing procedures are used to investigate any suspected chemical contaminants.

If these assessments and analysis indicate an indoor air problem, KEM engineers provide a concise report with a recommended remediation strategy that could include the following:

Design of a comprehensive education program, including indoor air maintenance & recordkeeping procedures.
Provision of easy-to-use monitoring forms for building maintenance personnel
Design of an Operations & Maintenance Program that anticipates future problems and provides proactive, scheduled maintenance as well as re-inspections.
Quarterly air monitoring, air filtration investigation, and maintenance record review.