Indoor Air Quality
Poor indoor air quality can cause a wide variety of complaints ranging from headaches, eye and respiratory irritation, coughing, and sneezing to severe allergic reactions from exposure to mold or mold spores.
Mold
Due to the high humidity and rainfall prevalent in Florida, indoor air complaints associated with mold growth are common. Following are links to some excellent EPA publications concerning evaluation of potential mold problems and steps you can take to solve these problems.
http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib101003.html
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/images/moldguide.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/images/moldremediation.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/images/moldresources.pdf
http://www.cal-iaq.org/iaqsheet.htm#Mold
Indoor Air
Some other potential causes of indoor air complaints are lack of adequate fresh air being brought into the building, infiltration of odors from neighboring businesses, and release of toxic gases from building materials, cleaning agents, or pesticide applications. Following are some links to general information concerning indoor air quality that can help you diagnose and eliminate indoor air problems.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/index.html
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/iaq.html
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/indoor-air/index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/
Priority for Assistance
Because of the fact that there are no OSHA regulatory standards on indoor air quality, our program must place a relatively low priority on requests for indoor air consultations. Depending on our backlog of requests, we may not be able to provide on-site assistance. Following is a link to a list of consultants published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association that may be able to provide assistance to you.
http://www.aiha.org/Content/AccessInfo/consult/consultantsearch.htm
Following is a link offering guidance on the hiring of a consultant to investigate indoor air quality.
http://www.cal-iaq.org/guide_baq_9901.htm
You may also find a list of consultants in the yellow pages of your telephone directory under “Industrial Hygiene Consultants.”
Annual TB Respirator Fit Testing
During Fiscal Year 2005, employers may not be inspected or cited for the requirement to do annual fit testing of respirators for occupational exposure to tuberculosis. For a full explanation, READ MORE: http://www.usfsafetyflorida.com/files/tuberculosisandrespiratoryprotection.pdf