Bureau of General Services: Safety & Environment - Indoor Air Quality Assessment Protocol

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Assessment Protocol

for State Leased Space

The Bureau of General Services (BGS) is the lead agency to perform assessment, interpretation and mitigation services pertaining to indoor air quality concerns in State facilities.

Any request for assistance shall be a written request from the State Leased Space Director or other designated person to the Manager, Environmental Program, Division of Safety and Environmental Services at 77 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Although the Bureau may be present at the request of State Leased Space Director, it does not necessarily "represent" the State Leased Space Director or any State Agency leasing space. It is essential that Bureau staff be recognized as a neutral party and that they are present to determine facts.

The Bureau utilizes a protocol of building diagnostics assessment, plus other selected activities, as opposed to a general comprehensive testing of environmental conditions, to determine if a problem may or may not exist.

The Protocol, presented below, consists of two phases. Both phases may not be required. The Environmental Program Manager and the State Leased Space Director shall determine the type and extent of any assessment. There shall be no charge for any services provided by Bureau staff.

Phase One of the protocol is a site visit and IAQ assessment by Bureau staff. Bureau staff will meet with the Building Manager, walk through the facility to evaluate the building conditions, conduct interviews with impacted personnel, and perform selective air tests. The Bureau staff then writes a report and sends it to the State Leased Space Director within two to three weeks. Many times this preliminary IAQ assessment provides sufficient information to identify the cause or causes of a problem, potentially eliminating the need and cost of a more comprehensive assessment.

When necessary, the Phase Two Comprehensive Assessment is conducted by a consultant that is pre-qualified by the Bureau, with the cost of this assessment being paid by the State Agency occupying the facility. The list of pre-qualified consultants to do this type of work is available from the Environmental Program Manager. When a pre-qualified consultant is used, Building Manager shall follow the established protocol..

A. Phase One – Site Visit and IAQ Assessment by Bureau staff.

1. Bureau staff is provided at no charge.

2. The IAQ assessment will evaluate the building conditions and solicit concerns. The resulting report will comment on whether the cause for the noted concerns can or cannot be substantiated, suggest potential next steps, and recommend whether or not a comprehensive assessment may be necessary.

3. This IAQ assessment will start and end with an interview with the State Leased Space Director plus other selected staff. The initial interview is necessary for us to explain the extent and limitations of the assessment. The exit interview has proven beneficial for us to explain the findings of the assessment and provides an opportunity to indicate the source or sources of concern.

4. No specialized comprehensive air testing shall be performed at this time (i.e., air and bulk sampling for mold).

5. The IAQ assessment generally will include:

A building walk through and evaluation

Selective air testing for CO, CO2, temperature, relative humidity, dust particulate

Thermographic evaluation for moisture intrusion

A review of any related written reports or activities

6. The Phase One Report provides guidance for appropriate next steps.

B. Phase Two - Comprehensive Assessment.

The Phase Two comprehensive assessment may be significantly more intensive and time consuming than previous assessments and shall be performed by pre-qualified consulting personnel.

1. Any consultant shall be reimbursed by the landlord of the leased space.

2. During the Phase Two assessment, Bureau staff is available to assist the State Leased Space Director with review of the consultant’s proposal for scope of work and to review the consultant’s final report.

3. The consultant’s final report shall be prepared in an Executive Summary format and must be very detailed to include:

Specific assessments performed

Rationale for such tests

Photo documentation

An interpretation of results

Recommendations for corrective actions

The consultant shall provide three copies of the report to the State Director of Leased Space.

4. Comprehensive air testing is not advised except for specific circumstances to confirm a hypothesis. Should comprehensive air testing be utilized, the client should be advised in advance of the rationale, effectiveness and potential utilization of any results.

5. Any questions about the final report shall be directed through the State Director of Leased Space and addressed by the consultant.

D. Mitigation:

Any mitigation or corrective activity is the financial responsibility of the landlord of the leased space. However, the Bureau offers to review any mitigation plans, prior to initiation of activity, to assist the landlord in obtaining maximum effectiveness.

Conflict of Interest

No party, entity, corporation, and / or partnership performing assessments for the Bureau or landlord of leased space on any given project shall be eligible to perform remediation or abatement on that project.

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