A STANDARDIZED EPA PROTOCOL FOR …

1 A STANDARDIZED EPA PROTOCOL FOR characterizing indoor AIR QUALITY IN LARGE OFFICE BUILDINGS indoor Environments Division Office of Radiation and indoor Air Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460 and Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems, and Quality Assurance Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 EFFECTIVE DATE: FEBRUARY 2003 Supercedes PROTOCOL Effective September 2001, August 1, 1999, and June 1, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 1 OVERVIEW .. 4 SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO MARCH 1993 DRAFT PROTOCOL .. 6 Changes to Section , Selection of Study Area(s) and Monitoring 7 Changes to Section , Building Characterization and 9 STUDY TEAM ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

2 14 INITIAL BUILDING VISIT .. 19 SELECTION OF STUDY AREA(S) AND MONITORING LOCATIONS .. 22 STUDY AREA(S).. 22 MONITORING LOCATIONS .. 23 Selecting Monitoring 23 General Guidelines for Siting indoor Monitoring Locations Within a Tile .. 27 General Guidelines for Siting Outdoor Monitoring Locations .. 28 Deviation From Siting Guidelines .. 29 BUILDING CHARACTERIZATION AND 30 COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ON THE BUILDING AND STUDY AREA(S)31 ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENTS .. 33 MEASUREMENT METHODS AND MONITORING REGIME .. 36 Real-Time Measurements Mobile Cart .. 37 Real-Time Measurements indoor and Outdoor Fixed 38 Integrated Samplers .. 41 Radon Sampling .. 42 Sound Level 42 Illuminance 42 Monitoring Period Observations 42 Number of Measurements to Be 43 HVAC MEASUREMENTS.

3 46 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR EACH 49 ADMINISTRATION OF OCCUPANT 54 PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT .. 54 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) SURVEY ADMINISTRATION .. 55 DATA 57 DATA 57 SAMPLE AND DATA 58 SAMPLE MANAGEMENT .. 58 Integrated Sample Management .. 58 Management of Real-Time Monitoring 63 HVAC Measurement Data .. 64 Building, Study Area(s), and HVAC Description Checklists .. 64 Occupant 65 DATA REDUCTION .. 65 DATA VALIDATION .. 67 Validation Required Before Leaving a Building .. 67 Validation Required By the Supporting 72 Validation Required by the Research Organization Quality Assurance Officer and Study Team Leader .. 73 Submitting Data to the EPA Project Officer .. 74 Validation by the EPA Project Officer .. 74 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Checklists for Characterization of the Whole Building, the Study Area(s), and the Study Area(s) HVAC System Appendix B Augmentation Parameters Appendix C Protocols for Core Environmental Parameters Appendix D Checklist for Subjective Observations Appendix E Protocols and Forms for the Study Area(s) HVAC System Measurements Appendix F indoor Environmental Quality Questionnaire Appendix G Steering Committee Members Appendix H The indoor Air Data Collection System (IADCS) (Software/Documentation provided separately) TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Overview of Field Data Collection Activities Table 2-1 Responsibilities and Qualifications for Study Team Members Table 4-1 Criteria for Designating a Building Space as a Study Area(s)

4 Table 4-2 Monitoring Performed at Specific indoor Monitoring Locations Table 5-1 Core Parameters and Sample Collection Methods Table 5-2 Checklists for Collecting Information on the Building and Study Area(s) Table 5-3 Core Environmental Measurement Parameters Table 5-4 Number of Measurements to be Performed for Comfort and Environmental Characterization Table 5-5 Number of Integrated Samples to be Analyzed from Each Building Table 5-6 Samples Required for Initial Demonstration of Laboratory Capability Table 5-7 HVAC Measurement Parameters Table 5-8 General Schedule for Data Collection Activities Table 5-9 Schedule of Day-By-Day Activities Table 7-1 Data Reduction Procedures Table 7-2 Reasonableness Checks and Criteria for Validating Data Table 7-3 Format for Submission of Particle Samples Table 7-4 Format for Submission of Radon Samples Table 7-5 Format for Submission of Aldehyde Samples Table 7-6 Format for Submission of Volatile Organic Compound Samples Table 7-7 Format for Submission of Airborne Fungi

5 Samples Table 7-8 Format for Submission of Airborne Bacteria Samples Table 7-9 Format for Submission of Bulk Fungi Samples Table 7-10 Format for Submission of Bulk Bacteria Samples Table 7-11 Format for Submission of Antigen Samples Table 7-12 Format for Submission of Airborne Spore Samples LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Basic Activities for Implementing EPA Building Investigations Figure 2-1 Study Team Organization Figure 3-1 Activities for Initial Building Visit Figure 4-1 Basic Activities for Selection of a Study Area(s) in a Building Figure 4-2 Procedure for Siting Monitoring Equipment Figure 5-1 Diagram of the Measurements to be Made at the Mobile Cart and Fixed Site Location Indoors and the Outdoor Fixed Site Location Figure 6-1 Questionnaire Administration Activities Figure 7-1 Management of Data for Integrated Samples Figure 7-2 Management Of Building, Study Area(s) And HVAC Descriptions and HVAC Measurements Figure 7-3 Sample Management for Real-Time Monitoring Figure 7-4 Management of Occupant Questionnaire Data TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AHU air handling unit BASE Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation CO carbon monoxide CO2 carbon dioxide DNPH dinitrophenyl hydrazine EH&E Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. EPA Environmental Protection Agency FL field team leader HCHO formaldehyde HVAC heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning IADCS indoor Air Data Collection System IAQ indoor air quality m meters ORD Office of Research and Development ORIA Office of Radiation and indoor Air inhalable particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to micronsPM10 inhalable particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 microns ppm parts of vapor or gas per million parts of air by volume QA quality assurance QA/QC quality assurance and quality control QC quality control SA survey administrator TIME Temporal indoor Monitoring Evaluation Study A STANDARDIZED EPA PROTOCOL for characterizing IAQ in Large Office Buildings February 2003 Environmental

7 Health & Engineering, Inc., 12796 Page 1 of 86 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND A significant data gap exists regarding baseline indoor air quality (IAQ) in public and commercial buildings. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has attempted to fill in this gap by conducting a major study of IAQ in those buildings. The Office of Radiation and indoor Air (ORIA) and the Office of Research and Development (ORD) funded complementary large building studies to collect this information. The primary goal of the studies is to define the status of existing building stock with respect to determinants of IAQ and occupant perceptions. The studies will also provide basic support for indoor air researchers and the data will form the basis for future building studies, as well as provide guidance on design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings.

8 A steering committee of federal and non-federal experts met to provide opinions on the design, planning, and implementation of this major program. Program activities and research needs were evaluated in the following areas: study design; building and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) characteristics; human response and questionnaires; environmental measurements; diagnostics and mitigation; and program integration. The experts were asked to identify key parameters that should be measured at a minimum in each building. This integrated PROTOCOL was developed based upon these discussions and incorporates three major areas of investigation: comfort and environmental measurements; building and HVAC characterization; and an occupant questionnaire.

9 Certain aspects of the entire building and its HVAC system(s) will be characterized. Due to cost and time limitations, one or more representative sampling spaces in each building will be more intensively characterized (including sampling space HVAC characterization, environmental monitoring, and occupant response) rather than the entire building. The sampling space(s) will be selected based upon a targeted minimum occupancy of 50 full-time employees in a space served by no more than two air handling units (AHUs). The PROTOCOL specifies the schedule of measurements, the specifications of the measurement equipment, how to select the representative space(s), and how to select the sampling A STANDARDIZED EPA PROTOCOL for characterizing IAQ in Large Office Buildings February 2003 Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc.

10 , 12796 Page 2 of 86 sites in that space. The PROTOCOL is very specific so that data collected among all of the buildings in the ORIA and ORD studies will be comparable. Automated data collection programs have been developed to allow entry of the majority of the data into a portable computer and entry of the findings in a readily accessible database. The details specified in the PROTOCOL provide researchers the opportunity to collect and compare the results of non-EPA sponsored large building studies. After being quality assured, the data will reside in a publicly accessible database. It is expected that the data will be used by any interested party for a number of applications. EPA will initially monitor access to the database and ensure that users are aware of the limitations and appropriate use of the data.