Full Proposal in pdf - M E Rinker Sr School of Building Construction ...

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Association (BOMA) boasting to members about its success in beating back twoprovisions in ASHRAE Standard 62. Titled "ASHRAE 62: The Check's in the Mail," thearticle appeared in BOMA's member newsletter SkyLines. The two provisions inquestion would have required major construction areas to be isolated from the rest of thebuilding by negative pressure and mandated a 48-hour period for purging contaminantsfrom those areas following construction. BOMA claims that these provisions wereonerous and would have cost building owners about $0.10 per square foot (ft 2) for thefirst provision and $0.01 per sqft for the second. According to the BOMA analysis,defeating those provisions would save a building owner about $11,096 for a 100,000 sqftbuilding. However, BOMA's analysis didn't factor in a possible loss of productivity thatwould result if contaminants from the construction activity migrated into the occupiedspace of the building. This has been a factor in numerous IEQ cases and was the principalcause of the problems 10 years ago at the headquarters of the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). That situation resulted in numerous people being injured andmultiple lawsuits. But lawsuits aside, just a small negative effect on productivity in thatsame 100,000 sqft building could save more than $11,000 (Bas, 1993). Consider theexample of such a building with occupant density at that recommended by ASHRAEwhich is 7 persons per 1,000 sqft for a total of 700 people in the building. Then, assumean average annual salary of $25,000 for each person. This would be a total weekly salaryof $336,538. If construction activities cause IEQ degradation and merely a 1% drop inproductivity, this would be a loss of $3,365 for each week that the situation existed.Wargocki conducted a study in 2000 in order to evaluate the correlation between IAQand productivity in an office space (Wargocki et. al, 2000). The findings of this studyclearly display the importance of IAQ in office buildings. Figure 1 shows the results ofthis study.Figure 1 Overall performance of simulated office work as a function of sensory pollutionload and ventilation rate (outdoor air) (Wargocki et. al, 2000).
One of the other soft costs associated with IAQ is the economic loss created by healthproblems. In OSHA's effort to establish ventilation rules for non-industrial workers, theyused the following justifications, in part:"….the Agency estimates that the excess risk of developing the type of non-migraineheadache which may need medical attention or restrict activity which has beenassociated with poor indoor air quality is 57 per 1,000 exposed employees. In additionthe excess risk of developing upper respiratory symptoms which are severe enough torequire medical attention or restrict activity is estimated to be 85 per 1,000 exposedemployees. These numbers are extrapolated from actual field studies and therefore showthe magnitude of the problem at present.” (OSHA, 1994)This amounts to an estimated average excess risk of lost work-time or diminishedproductivity for an additional 6% of workforce, on any given day, in any facility thatexhibits poor indoor air quality. Another 9% are estimated to be at excess risk and wouldprobably incur lost time due to upper respiratory sickness. In the same LawrenceBerkley/DOE study mentioned earlier, they estimated that the direct cost to the U.S.economy due to increased allergies, asthma and SBS symptoms were $7 and $23 Billionper year. A large portion of these costs are estimated in the form of Workmen'sCompensation claims, Health Care insurance premiums and direct Health Care costs -mostly borne by the claimants' employers.IAQ related litigation cases are still few but are increasing along with the awareness ofaffects of IAQ in buildings. One of the buildings that exhibited the classic symptoms ofSBS was the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton, IL. One day in 1992, 25employees were rushed to the hospital, suffering from shortness of breath, headaches, andnausea. The four-story, $50 million building was closed temporarily, affecting some 700employees. The main problem with the courthouse was inadequate ventilation. Thecounty in this case sought $3 million in damages for the design, engineering, andconstruction of the building (Bas, 1993). Another sick building was the Polk CountyCourthouse in Central Florida. The building was opened in the summer of 1987 at a costof $37 million. Due to IAQ problems, the building was shut down, and the remediation ofthe building realized at a cost of $26 million (Bas, 1993).Public focus and litigation on IAQ issues are growing along with increasing belief byemployees that they are "owed" a safe and comfortable working environment. Manyemployees feel that civil litigation involving third parties is their only recourse, whenshown the limitations of claims against their employers within Workmen's Compensationlaws. This makes HVAC engineers, contractors, construction subcontractors, propertymanagers, and building owners the biggest targets.
Page 1: 02 INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVE
Page 4 and 5: List of Suggested Reviewers or Revi
Page 6 and 7: CERTIFICATION PAGECertification for
Page 8 and 9: TABLE OF CONTENTSFor font size and
Page 10 and 11: four elements are involved in the d
Page 12 and 13: Another method to clean the air is
Page 16 and 17: Statement of the ProblemThe buildin
Page 18 and 19: 1) Identify the indoor air pollutan
Page 20 and 21: Figure 3 Example graphic for the pr
Page 22 and 23: Decision Model to Optimize Indoor A
Page 24 and 25: Name Charles J. Kibert(i) Professio
Page 26 and 27: Name Kevin R. Grosskopf(i) Professi
Page 28 and 29: Name Svetlana Olbina(i) Professiona
Page 30 and 31: SUMMARY YEARPROPOSAL BUDGETFOR NSF
Page 32 and 33: SUMMARY CumulativePROPOSAL BUDGETFO
Page 34 and 35: Current and Pending Support(See GPG
Page 36 and 37: Current and Pending Support(See GPG
Page 38: Decision Model to Optimize Indoor A

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