Sustainable Building Technical Manual - Etn-presco.net

While renovation often provides an opportunity to improve indoor-air-quality problemsand upgrade HVAC, electrical, solid waste, and water equipment and systems, the processcan also have extensive environmental impacts on building occupants. Primary impactsinclude indoor-air-quality contamination, waste, noise, and hazardous conditions. Thesecan be addressed by scheduling work when occupants are away from a building, placingbarriers between the renovation and occupied areas, and providing adequate ventilation.Of special concern during the renovation process is the increased risk of occupant exposureto hazardous waste. The most common types of hazardous waste include asbestos,lead paint, PCB in the lighting ballasts, PCB transformer fluid, and mercury-containingfluorescent lamps. Proper handling, disposal, or recycling of these materials is critical toensure compliance with federal environmental regulations. Hazardous materials that aremoved off-site can bring long-term environmental liabilities to the building owner oroperator when not disposed of properly. A thorough discussion of hazardous-waste topicsis beyond the scope of this manual. Refer to EPA and ASTM regulations, standards, andguidelines for additional information.(See also Part IV, “Building Design,” and Chapter 19, “Environmental ConstructionGuidelines.”). ☛ SUGGESTED PRACTICES AND CHECKLISTIWork Scheduling❑ Isolate occupants from environmental contaminants generated by constructionrelatedactivity in partially occupied areas; and if necessary, relocate hypersensitiveoccupants from the work site.❑ Schedule work around occupancy times to minimize contamination.Contaminants include dust and emissions from paints and chemicals used in wall andfloor coverings and their adhesives. It is best that the application of paints and adhesives,carpet installation, and generation of construction dust and other debris n o t o c c u rwhile areas are occupied. If this is not feasible, then alternative measures need to beinstituted that minimize adverse impacts on the health and productivity of occupants.Barriers❑ When renovation takes place during periods of building occupancy, use the followingmethods to isolate construction activities:– Isolate the occupants and the HVAC system serving them from the renovation zone;– Isolate the renovation zone from occupied areas with physical barriers, such as plasticsheeting, that limit air movement to those areas;– Take special precautions to keep allergic or sensitive occupants away from the renovationarea; and– Attempt to minimize disruptive noise and other factors that interfere with normalwork patterns and hinder comfort.Ventilation❑ Mitigate air contamination with temporary ventilation measures.Even with physical barriers in place, renovation-related air contaminants such as dust,paint, and adhesive fumes can circulate through a building via its ventilation system(see Chapter 13, “Indoor Air Quality”).– Exhaust air from the renovation zone directly outdoors. Change ventilation andthermal capacity to match the reconfiguration of space. Keep the area negativelypressurized with respect to other areas.– Remove window panels or other apertures, if necessary, to manage and dispose ofconstruction-related debris and direct temporary exhaust outdoors.– If an air-handling system serves both the renovation zone and occupied areas, seal