Call The Expert To Improve Your Building Indoor Air Quality In Singapore

Feb. 24, 2009 - PRLog -- What is IAQ?

Indoor air Quality (IAQ) is the extent to which human requirements are met. But what requirements do we have? It is obvious that we want to breathe indoor air that does not have a negative effect on our health; we also appreciate that the air is perceived as acceptable or even better: fresh and pleasant; we want indoor air to have a positive impact on our work performance or on our productivity; and we want IAQ in the classroom to improve the performance of our children at school.


Effects of poor IAQ

A variety of expressions have been associated with illnesses caused by poor indoor air quality, such as sick building syndrome (SBS), building related illness (BRI) and environmental sensitivity.

Sick building syndrome (SBS): Symptoms includes- eye, nose and throat irritation;  sensation of dry mucous membranes and skin; erythema (Redness of the skin caused by dilatation and congestion of the capillaries, often a sign of inflammation or infection); mental fatigue; headaches; high frequency of airway infection and cough; hoarseness, wheezing, itching and unspecified hypersensitivity; and nausea and dizziness.

Building related illnesses: The nature of the illness is dependent on the contaminant present within the building. For example, exposure to bio-aerosols can cause illnesses such as humidifier fever and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, whereas exposure to the legionella bacteria precipitates Legionnaires’ disease. These symptoms are not alleviated by exit from the building. The most effective mitigation strategy for building related illness is to trace the illness to a specific contaminant and remove the source from the building.

Environmental sensitivity: describes a condition where the human body exhibits symptoms which indicate adversity to environmental pollution. People who have environmental sensitivities (a disorder otherwise known as environmental illness, or multiple chemical sensitivity, MCS) exhibit a heightened sensitivity when exposed to common environmental agents. Relatively low concentrations of indoor air contaminants which do not illicit serious health problems in the majority of the population have significant detrimental effects on people who are hypersensitive to them.


The Importance of Indoor Air Quality Audit

The need and importance of creating and maintaining a clean, conducive, productive, and healthy indoor environment should be evident, given the human warning signals. Presently, indoor air quality is only a problem when building occupants report symptoms. However, waiting for occupant intolerance is not satisfactory. All buildings (new and old) should maintain a practical degree of healthy indoor air for its occupants. With this, your building can meet the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green mark IAQ criteria.


Benefits of improving IAQ

Reduce absenteeism in schools and working places; Improve indoor occupants’ concentration; improve indoor occupants’ productivity and performance; Decrease IAQ-related health risks from exposure to indoor pollutants; Reduce environmental triggers of asthma; Reduce respiratory illness. These benefits are translatable to substantial economic gain, commensurate with the scale of a country’s knowledge-based economic activity performed in the indoor environment.


Need Professional Assistance?

Please feel free to contact us @ Tel: 62419443 or email info@iaqsg.com if you are interested in having your indoor air tested or audited to monitor the Indoor Air Quality in your environment. Http://www.iaqsg.com

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IAQ provides assessment and consultancy services in the fields of science and environmental through testing, inspection, remediation and application of technology with the aim of achieving a better indoor environmental quality for your environment.