Indoor Air Quality Resource

This article gives valuable insight into many Covid-19 oddities that make it so incredible difficult to minimize. Well worth the read!

As winter weather is drawing near, most of us are making sure our buildings are minimizing energy usage. Our Module 9 will go a long way to help you stay comfy and cosy while saving money! Module nine of the CCIAQ’s Guide for Indoor Air Quality offers recommendations for maintaining indoor air quality (IAQ) in buildings that use methods and systems to reduce energy use. Starting with an overview of the inter-dependence of IAQ and energy efficiency. The module then lists rel...evant North American standards and codes. We considered the effects of the needs for cost efficiency and occupant comfort.iaq and energy efficiency We have given strategies for improving a building’s energy efficiency and IAQ. You can download Module 9 for free here: Module 9 Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency

If you are a landlord or building manager, our Module 7 Communication With Tenants, will be very helpful. Building operators need good communication with tenants organizations and building occupants about indoor air quality (IAQ) . The seventh module of the CCIAQ’s Guide for Indoor Air Quality provides guidelines for managers of facilities such as offices, retail operations, shopping centers, educational and child-care centers, theaters and hotels. You can download Module 7... for free here: Module 7 Communicating With Tenant Organizations and Individual Occupants

There is potential for many health risks right inside your home. The good news is that they are. for the most part, easy to prevent if you know what to look for. You can find solutions to all indoor air related problems in our free, downloadable guides: https://iaqresource.ca/en/iaq-guides/

Excellent information as we turn on our heat and get out our humidifiers! "When filled with tap water, the number of particles present in the room was nearly 13 times higher than before the humidifier was turned on. Further, 95% of the particles were less than 1 micrometer in size, meaning they fall well within the range of particles categorized as potentially unhealthy PM2.5. Many of these small particles also contained greater amounts of minerals than their larger counterpa...rts, and the majority of particles were essentially dried tap water, meaning all water had evaporated leaving behind only extremely small mineral particles that could easily infiltrate the human respiratory system. In contrast, when using distilled water to fill the humidifier, particle concentrations in the room only increased marginally and thus posed much less risk compared to tap water." See more

October is Indoor Air Quality month. A perfect time to look at how well you are doing in your building to raise awareness about indoor air quality issues that could very well be affecting the people within. This article is a great place to start. For more in-depth details on the sources and effects of scents, as well as advice for building managers on how to move towards a scent-free building, please refer to the CCIAQ Guide for Indoor Air Quality specifically Module 6 on Scent-Free Buildings as well as Module 13 on Addressing Chemical Sensitivities.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, healthy Thanksgiving day!

The pandemic has really amped up interest in how we manage indoor air - and rightly so. Besides this article, you can read all about it in our latest module, 'Addressing Civid-19 in Buildings' here: https://iaqresource.ca//up/2020/09/CCIAQB-Module15-Eng.pdf

This should be cause for concern for anyone who is still going to the gym. Interesting to read the comments on this story too.

Have you done your annual maintenance yet? You can prevent many indoor air quality problems through good maintenance and housekeeping. This includes maintaining good sanitation, providing adequate ventilation and using suitable cleaning agents. The third module of the CCIAQ’s Guide for Indoor Air Quality can help managers maintain buildings with IAQ in mind. You can download Module 3 for free here: Module 3 Custodial Activities, Maintenance, Repair and Renovation

If you are a landlord or building manager, our Module 7 Communication With Tenants, will be very helpful. Building operators need good communication with tenants organizations and building occupants about indoor air quality (IAQ) . The seventh module of the CCIAQ’s Guide for Indoor Air Quality provides guidelines for managers of facilities such as offices, retail operations, shopping centers, educational and child-care centers, theaters and hotels. You can download Module 7... for free here: Module 7 Communicating With Tenant Organizations and Individual Occupants

You can download our latest module on Addressing COVID-19 in Buildings by visiting our website: https://iaqresource.ca/en/home/ "It also means that "ventilation really is just so important," said Kimberly Prather, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the Science letter. She recommends opening doors and windows, moving gatherings outdoors whenever possible, and the use of standalone air filters in rooms. (Prather, Marr and other scientists offer more tips in this FAQ on improving ventilation.)" https://www.npr.org//cdc-acknowledges-coronavirus-can-spre

This is a long and incredibly disturbing read, but perhaps also a wake up call for employees and employers of just how important it is to maintain healthy indoor air quality.

You can never be too careful! Radon is a colourless, odourless gas that is found naturally in the environment as the result of the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water. While not uncommon, breathing in radioactive particles over an extended period can result in damaging health effects. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. In 2018, the NLESD began a project with Health Canada involving radon testing in randomly chosen schools across the province. Eight schools require remediation within a year, while 25 schools require mitigation within two years."

Concerned about air quality in your local classrooms? Find out all you need to know by reading Module 14 of our IAQ manual - Indoor Air Quality and Productivity in Workplace/Achievemnt in Classrooms here: https://iaqresource.ca//up/2020/09/CCIAQB-Module14-Eng.pdf

Do you know your VOCs? It is safe to say that most building occupants don't give them a second thought, but if you are a building manager, you should be informed. The second module of the CCIAQ’s Guide for Indoor Air Quality gives building operators and managers information about volatile organic compounds. VOCs are chemicals that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and are gases at room temperature. You can read and download Module 2, VOC Sampling Strategies and Methods her...e: https://iaqresource.ca//up/2019/06/CCIAQB-Module-2-Eng.pdf See more

ADDRESSING COVID19 IN BUILDINGS While the purpose of this guide is to assist building owners, managers and operators with measures in preparation for building re-occupancy and to minimize disease transmission as Canadians return to workplaces and educational facilities, the information will be of broader interest. As knowledge about evidence-based intervention and mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of virus transmission are evolving rapidly, the CCIAQ plans updates to this document.

A fascinating read! Here is just a small excerpt. "The details of human breath and skin emissions have recently been probed in detail, showing for example that our ammonia emissions increase at higher room temperatures and with more exposed skin (2). These insights, say researchers, will support modeling of indoor chemistry and may pave the way for policy changessuch as increased ventilation and more informative cleaning product labelsto clean up the air in our homes."

This is a perfect time of year to inspect air -handling systems and do routine maintenance. Module 5 Hygienic Operation of Air-Handling Systems, will give you guidelines so that your inspection is thorough. You can even download the module for free here: Module 5 Hygienic Operation of Air-Handling Systems The bulk of this module consists of sections describing the operation, inspection. And maintenance of the 11 general components of an HVAC system. These include outdoor a...ir intakes, mixing plenums and mechanical rooms, filters, cooling and heating coils, condensate pans, humidifiers, fans, supply ducts, compartmental or terminal air-handling units, return air plenums and return air risers, and controls and building automation systems. Also each section includes a checklist. Additionally, these offer practical points and questions to consider during inspection and maintenance of the particular component. The module concludes with a description of parameters used to test and monitor an HVAC system. Moreover, these include temperature, relative humidity, ventilation rate, concentrations and contaminants.