Air-quality analysts test so workers can breathe

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February 9, 1998

Air-quality analysts test so workers can breathe

Vance Contributing Writer

Three out of 10 commercial buildings are " sick. " And a recent report by the

General Accounting Office says 15,000 public schools are, too, affecting

more than 8 million students.

How do you know if your building or school is among the afflicted? Most

likely the people inside will tell you -- complaining of eye irritation,

chronic headaches, skin rash, severe fatigue or even flu-like symptoms --

but by that time it could cost you or your organization thousands of dollars

in workers' compensation claims, furnishings, refitting and litigation.

Several Atlanta-based firms are in the relatively new business of avoiding

those costs and hassles by diagnosing " sick-building syndrome " early and

suggesting remedies. Marilyn Black launched her unique company, Air Quality

Science Inc., in 1989 after doing similar research since 1981 at Georgia

Tech.

AQS serves Georgia's carpet industry, but also works for aircraft builder

Boeing of Seattle; office furniture companies in Grand Rapids, Mich.; and

computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard in California.

" We study all kinds of office equipment for potential emissions, " said

Black. Privately held AQS employs 26, most of them techies -- consultants,

public health professionals and engineers.

AQS is often hired to do lab analysis by other consultants like

Environmental Design International's Joe Milam and Barney Burroughs, a

former international president of the American Society of Heating,

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Engineers.

" We respond to problems and do proactive contracts, going in yearly or

semi-annually to assess the health of a building, and we do due diligence,

checking buildings when owners are buying or selling, " said Milam. " People

don't want to buy a sick building and most don't want to sell a sick

building. "

PathCon Laboratories in Norcross is another nationally recognized

air-quality firm. Owner retired from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. He played a large role in the discovery of

Legionnaire's Disease, this country's best-known indoor air quality crisis

occurring at a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Along with partner Shelton, said his firm specializes " in the

microbiology of buildings, especially where there have been health

complaints. " PathCon analyzes air samples for bacteria and fungi.

AQS is more concerned with chemicals and recently introduced a user-friendly

$375 test kit for sampling a building's air quality. Any building manager,

owner or human resources staffer can do the testing by placing the kit, a

small box, in " the breathing level zone " where workers have made complaints.

" We were looking for a product that a building manager or owner could use to

get some preliminary information. It's been simplified so that it monitors

the three primary pollutants that can cause problems in buildings, " said

Black.

Each kit contains three passive devices -- there are no motors or

electricity -- one each to measure 1) volatile organic gases like benzene,

found in cleaning agents and construction materials, 2) formaldehyde, often

emitted from pressed wood and textiles, and 3) mold, which manifests

anywhere water and dirt combine. The kits hang for five to seven days and

are then returned to AQS for analysis.

The kits currently represent only 10 percent of Black's business. AQS's

primary job is product testing. " Manufacturers want to make sure their

products are safe to be used. We test any type of product that goes into the

indoor environment -- carpet, paint, ceiling tiles, office furniture. "

Products are placed in environmentally pure chambers to monitor chemicals,

particles and any sort of pollutants that come off of them. " We evaluate

whether or not the levels could be a hazard to people who are going to be

exposed, " said Black.

AQS has about three dozen stainless steel environmental chambers at its

labs. " They range from breadbox to room size, " said Black. " They are

supplied with very, very pure air. The temperature and humidity are

controlled so it is like being in a room, but you have nothing in the air

until you put a product in there. You know anything you measure in the air

is coming from the product.

The emission data is then fed into computer model along with data on

building size, how many products and air flow.

The rest of AQS's business is investigating indoor environments.

" We have a staff of consultants who go to buildings and investigate health

problems, " she said. " Everything you look at gives off something, " said

Black.

" Our goal is to know what it is and make sure it's nonhazardous and at

low-enough levels where it won't cause a consumer complaint. "

Week of February 9, 1998