The Importance of Indoor Air Quality in Puerto Rico’s Commercial Properties

While the thought of polluted air in the work environment may bring to mind faded images of coal miners covered in dust or factory workers surrounded by smoke and fumes from decades ago, the reality is many people who work in modern office environments are also being exposed to air quality pollutants.
 
The quality of the air that employees breathe is a critical component of their health and productivity.  Unfortunately, numerous office buildings have significant indoor air pollution sources. These sources may include off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from furnishings, building materials, housekeeping chemicals, pesticide applications or due to pollutants from occupant activities and even microbial contamination. A factor greatly influencing the effect of these sources and the overall indoor air quality is the ventilation system’s design, operation and maintenance.
 
A number of well-identified illnesses, such as Legionnaires’ disease, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and humidifier fever, have been directly traced to specific problems in commercial buildings. Employees may also complain of symptoms that they associate with the indoor air quality of their work environment.  These may include: dry or burning mucous membranes in the nose, eyes and throat; sneezing; stuffy or runny nose; fatigue or lethargy; headache; dizziness; nausea; irritability and forgetfulness.
 
“Sometimes the cause of an indoor air quality issue is readily evident, however, frequently symptoms do not fit a pattern of any particular illness and are difficult to trace to a specific source,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental.  “Employee complaints may be localized to a particular room or zone, or may be widespread.  In most of these cases, it takes an experienced building science professional with access to the latest monitoring instrumentation and air sampling techniques to be able to identify a problem, locate its source and develop a solution.”
 
Businesses in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean can turn to the indoor air quality and building science professionals at Zimmetry Environmental to resolve air quality issues and concerns for their employees.  Years of experience and training have provided the professionals at Zimmetry with the expertise to quickly recognize, resolve and prevent indoor air quality issues in all types of commercial and industrial environments.  
 
To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental and their indoor air quality and compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals, and Fortune 500 companies.  The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America.  The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs, and general environmental consulting services.
 

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail