Drew University
OP-3: Indoor Air Quality

All occupied spaces at Drew University are covered by the following process: Concerns are communicated to Facilities as part of a work order for other things like odd odors or suspected mold growth from water leaks, etc. Typically the investigation begins with a walk through of the area and a questionnaire is provided to the occupant(s) to try to narrow down health concerns, symptoms, and spatial relationships (i.e. when is the problem occurring). Once the potential for an air contaminant is identified as a potential source of a problem, then air sampling can be considered. However, unlike air contaminants found in an industrial setting generated from a specific process, there are few regulatory limits associated with most of the items of concern related to general indoor air quality. For example, the OSHA permissible exposure limit for carbon dioxide is 5000 ppm (parts per million) based on an 8 hour average. In a normal academic setting you would probably never see a measurement that high as typically the only source of carbon dioxide inside a building is from the products of normal human respiration (i.e. exhaled air). Taking a measurement in the morning and the evening in a particular location can show if there is a buildup of carbon dioxide throughout the day, therefore indicating if more outside air is needed in a particular space. This way the measurement of the air contaminant is more of a performance based assessment (i.e. performance of the ventilation system).