"Green building practices promise better indoor air quality for office workers."

By Vince Mudd, President and Owner, San Diego Office Interiors

The upcoming "Evening in the Sky" event held by the American Lung Association will celebrate improvements in air quality in our region and recognize three additional significant contributors to clean air on April 18. As one of those slated to be so honored, I'm heartened that the "green building" focus of recent years carries good news for any office worker who has ever had to put up with burning eyes, allergic reactions, or concentration difficulty as a result of conditions at work.

The good news is that green building practices promise better indoor air quality for office workers and are setting new standards for what we can all expect in terms of healthy air in the workplace.

The "old fashioned" remedy for workplace health and safety concerns is the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but it doesn't get involved in workplace air quality unless there's a fairly clear danger to health. (http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality/standards.html). Unfortunately, after a generation of sealing up buildings to conserve heat and energy, fewer workers than ever have access to any kind of operable window and must rely on ventilation systems that too often go without proper maintenance.

Air quality at the workplace is important to anyone with asthma or allergies, as the American Lung Association will assure you. Indoor air quality is important to practically everyone, since estimates by the EPA indicate that most Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors!

A 1984 World Health Organization Committee report suggested that up to 30 percent of new and remodeled buildings worldwide may be the subject of excessive complaints related to indoor air quality (IAQ). Often this condition is temporary, but some buildings have long-term problems. In office buildings, heating, cooling, and ventilation systems are frequent sources of biological substances that are inhaled, leading to breathing problems.

Poor indoor air quality can cause or contribute to the development of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In addition, it can cause headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea and fatigue. People who already have respiratory diseases are at greater risk.

The American Lung Association supports measures to improve indoor air quality through the use of regulations, standards, guidelines and management practices to protect the public health in indoor public spaces and workplaces. Practical guidelines for avoiding sick buildings include eliminating tobacco smoke, providing adequate ventilation, maintaining the ventilation system, and removing sources of pollution such as harsh cleaning chemicals or furnishings that emit odors and gases.

These are the approaches now outlined by the US Green Building Council under its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. Many more decision-makers today want to build green because of improved operating costs, greater long-term value, and better return on investment. Green buildings can reduce energy usage from 24 to 50% and CO-2 emissions from 33 to 39%. (Studies by the federal government show that buildings use 72% of US electricity and create 39% of the US carbon emissions.)

At the same time as green buildings reduce the burden of air pollution, they provide a healthier indoor air environment, yielding an important public health benefit. Because of better indoor air quality, there fewer triggers for asthma and allergies, and better overall health. Case studies of LEED-certified projects show gains from 2 to 16% in the productivity of students and workers in LEED-certified buildings.

This is good news for California workers, because in 2008 our state led the nation with 1,879 certified and registered commercial LEED projects. (New York was the runner-up with 816.)

In its LEED certification program, the US Green Building Council addresses five major elements: Site Planning, Energy Usage, Water Management, Material use, and Indoor Environmental Quality. LEED standards go from Certification upward to Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

The Indoor Environmental Quality elements of LEED are of special interest to the American Lung Association and anyone who has ever worked in a "sick building." When applying the LEED Certification rules for existing buildings, more than half the points are in Energy & Atmosphere (32%) plus Indoor Air quality (21%). The US Green Building Council considers these elements to be of high importance.

Prerequisites for LEED Certification are systems to introduce outdoor air and exhaust air from the building, together with controls over secondhand smoke and a green cleaning policy that avoids harsh cleaners.

Additional credit can be earned for "best management" of indoor air quality, including monitoring of outdoor air delivery, increasing ventilation, and filtering out particulates.

As economic recovery takes root in California, the demand for LEED standards should increase not only for strong return on investment for to promote public health. Those who believe that there must be a tradeoff between protecting the environment and improving economic efficiency need look no further than the nearest LEED certified office building to learn that the rising economic tide will lift both these boats.