By Mercedes Quintanilla

The WELL Building Standard is a metric for buildings and organiza􀆟ons to provide environments that enhance the health and well-being of the occupants. The standard includes 10 concepts, this 􀆟me I am going to review the Air concept.

Goal

Improve the quality of the air that is breathed inside the building through various strategies that include the elimina􀆟on or reduc􀆟on of sources of contamina􀆟on or filtering.

Background.

– People spend approximately 90% of their 􀆟me in closed spaces such as: offices, schools or other environments. During this 􀆟me, inhala􀆟on exposure to indoor air pollutants can lead to a variety of short- and long-term nega􀆟ve health and well-being outcomes.

– Indoor air pollu􀆟on can cause headache, dry throat, irritated eyes, runny nose while more serious health outcomes can include asthma atacks, Legionella infec􀆟on or in worst case cancer deaths .

– The most common indoor air pollutants are combus􀆟on sources, such as candles, tobacco products, stoves, ovens, and fireplaces, which release pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and small par􀆟cles into the air. Building materials, furniture, fabrics, cleaning products, personal care, and air fresheners emit vola􀆟le or semi-vola􀆟le organic compounds.

– Achieving this goal requires both professionals and building users to be involved in the communica􀆟on and implementa􀆟on of the approaches.

– In a recent study on the global burden of disease, household air pollu􀆟on was ranked as the 10th leading cause of ill-health for the world’s popula􀆟on.

Requirements.

1. Air quality: Projects must provide acceptable levels of air quality determined by local authori􀆟es.

2. Smoke-Free Environments: Indoor smoking should be prohibited and outdoor ac􀆟on restricted.

3. Ven􀆟la􀆟on Design: Projects are required to acquire fresh air from the outdoors through mechanical or natural means to dilute human- and product-generated air contaminants.

4. Construc􀆟on Pollu􀆟on Management: Protec􀆟ng indoor air quality during building construc􀆟on and renova􀆟on is required through a combina􀆟on of strategies, such as duct protec􀆟on, moisture and dust management, replacement of filters and the proper selec􀆟on of equipment.

5. Improved Air Quality: Projects must go beyond current guidelines to provide improved levels of air quality that have been linked to beter human health and performance.

6. Improved ven􀆟la􀆟on design: Advanced ven􀆟la􀆟on strategies must be implemented that achieve higher levels of air quality and therefore benefit human health and produc􀆟vity.

7. Operable Windows: Operable windows increase the supply of high-quality outdoor air and promote a connec􀆟on to the outdoor environment by encouraging building users to open windows when outdoor air quality is acceptable.

8. Air Quality Monitoring and Awareness: Requires con􀆟nuous measurement of pollutant data to educate and train occupants about their environmental quality.

9. Pollu􀆟on Infiltra􀆟on Management: Projects must reduce the transmission of air and pollutants from the outside to the inside.

10. Combus􀆟on Minimiza􀆟on: Combus􀆟on products with low emissions or completely elimina􀆟ng combus􀆟on-based products must be used.

11. Source separa􀆟on: Strategies should isolate key sources of odors, germs, contamina􀆟on, or moisture through dedicated doors or exhausts.

12. Air Filtra􀆟on: Adequate air filtra􀆟on must be implemented and a documented maintenance protocol for installed filters must be implemented.

13. Control of Microbes and Mold: UBGI (Ultraviolet germicidal irradia􀆟on) systems should be used and periodic inspectons of cooling system components should be performed to reduce or eliminate the growth of microbes and mold.