indoor air quality
Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health but may not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant effects. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally, more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels. These levels of indoor air pollutants are of particular concern because it is estimated that most people spend as much as 90% of their time indoors.
Over the past several decades, our exposure to indoor air pollutants is believed to have increased due to a variety of factors, including the construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation rates to save energy, the use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, and the use of chemically formulated personal care products, pesticides, and household cleaners.
Micro Air, Inc.'s knowledge of the indoor environment plays a significant role in deciding remediation strategies and correlating illnesses and symptoms with building conditions. Our Indoor Air Quality team performs the following services in non-industrial settings:
Mold Testing & Evaluation Services
Complete Epidemiological Investigations
Identification and Quantification of Airborne and Surface Microbiological Contamination
Cost-Effective Remedial Solutions Provided to Improve Employee Health and Efficiency
Radon Testing in Residential, Commercial, School and Multifamily Buildings
industrial hygiene
Industrial hygiene is the science of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling workplace conditions that may cause worker’s injury or illness. Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and analytical methods to detect the extent of worker exposure and employ engineering controls, work practice controls, and administrative controls to reduce potential health hazards. Various hazards present in a workplace can include air contaminants, chemical hazards, biological hazards, physical hazards, and ergonomic hazards.
Employers that invest in workplace safety and health can expect to reduce fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. This investment typically results in cost savings in a variety of areas, such as lowering worker’s compensation costs and medical expenses, avoiding OSHA penalties, reducing the cost to train replacement employees and conduct accident investigations, and reduced employee sick days. In addition, employers often discover that changes made to improve workplace safety and health can result in significant improvements to their organization’s productivity and financial performance, and can also result in increased employee morale.
Micro Air, Inc.’s highly qualified industrial hygiene team of a Certified Industrial Hygienist and staff Industrial Hygienists have completed hundreds of industrial hygiene and indoor air quality surveys for various industrial, commercial, medical, legal, insurance, and educational clients throughout the nation. Our industrial hygienists possess a minimum of a baccalaureate degree.
Micro Air, Inc.’s Industrial Hygiene services include:
Complete Testing Capability to Ensure Regulatory Compliance
Noise Assessments and Monitoring
Respiratory Protection Programs
Hazard Communication Programs
Workplace Hazard Assessments
Indoor Air Quality Assessments
Expert Witness
Exposure Assessments
Contamination Evaluations
Airborne Particle Evaluations
Microbiological Evaluations
disaster services
Micro Air's team of experts assist restoration teams in identifying environmental problems related to losses from fires and flooding. By providing early environmental intervention, Micro Air's team can save building owners and insurance carriers money from lost revenues and future claims.
Micro Air's Disaster Recovery Services include:
Immediate Response
Environmental Investigations
Microbiological Investigations
Identifying Existing and Potential Problems
Identifying Remedial Cost Impact
Catastrophe and Crisis Management
Microbiological and Chemical Testing
Project Management and Monitoring
Scope of Work Development for Mold Remediation
Loss Documentation – Video and Photographic
Solutions After Flooding and Fire
Moisture Mapping
Forensic Analysis
Remediation Monitoring and Documentation
Clearance Testing
Expert Witness Testimony
Awareness of Historical Building
asbestos management
Asbestos is the name given to a variety of naturally occurring minerals that are resistant to heat and corrosive chemicals. Asbestos is most commonly used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and fireproofing.
Asbestos is a problem because, as a toxic substance and a known carcinogen, it can cause several serious diseases in humans. Symptoms of these diseases typically develop over a period of years following asbestos exposure.
Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in buildings do not always pose a problem to occupants and workers in those buildings. Intact, undisturbed ACM generally do not pose a health risk. They may become hazardous and pose increased risk when they are damaged, are disturbed in some manner, or deteriorate over time causing asbestos fibers to be released into the air and inhaled into the lungs.
It is estimated that over a million employees are exposed to asbestos on the job. Heaviest exposures occur in the construction industry, particularly during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition.
To avoid significant liability risks, property owners should have an inspection performed to determine the presence or absence of ACM prior to renovation or demolition. Our staff includes licensed asbestos inspectors, planners, and designers that have extensive experience in providing asbestos management services for schools, health care facilities, and property management companies.
Micro Air, Inc.'s asbestos management services include:
AHERA Compliance
Project Design and Management Planning
Building Inspections and Abatement Project Supervision
IDEM and EPA Accredited
Specification and Bid Preparation
On-Site Monitoring and Analysis
Bulk Sampling
Clearance Testing
lead management
Lead occurs naturally in the environment and has many industrial uses. However, even small amounts of lead can be hazardous to human health. Everyone is exposed to trace amounts of lead through air, soil, household dust, food, drinking water, and various consumer products.
Although the levels of lead in the environment have decreased significantly since the late 1970’s, exposure to even small amounts of lead can be harmful, especially to infants, young children, and pregnant women. Symptoms of short term exposure to low levels of lead include anemia, appetite loss, abdominal pain, fatigue, sleeplessness, and irritability. Continued excessive exposure, as in an industrial setting, can lead to kidney damage.
Lead dust is especially dangerous to infants and young children, because they tend to put things in their mouths and their breathing zone is closer to the floor level. Lead dust can be generated within homes, especially older homes that use lead-based paint. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has estimated that heavily leaded paint was used in approximately two-thirds of the homes constructed in the United States prior to 1940 and one-half of the homes built from 1940 to 1960. In 1978, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lowered the use of lead in paint manufactured in this country to 0.06% by weight (a trace amount). In spite of the ban on the use of lead in paint manufactured in this country, the use of lead in products manufactured outside of this country (e.g. furniture, ceramics, and toys) has still not been prohibited by the USEPA.
It is very important to remember that only professionals trained in hazardous material removal should remove lead-based paint. Consumers should not attempt to remove lead-based paint. The first step in the elimination of lead-based paint hazards in homes is proper identification of where lead contaminated paint or dust exists.
Micro Air, Inc. offers a complete range of services in the proper identification and elimination of lead-based paint hazards including:
HUD Compliant Lead Paint Inspections
HUD Compliant Lead Risk Assessments
Surveys using the Innov-X System X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
Specifications and Bid Preparation
Air Monitoring and Project Supervision