In recent years, awareness of indoor air quality issues has continued to increase. It has come to apply to a wide spectrum of potential human health problems. This includes technical issues with things like air flow, HVAC systems, and air exchangers, as well as issues related to airborne, contaminants such as:

  • Vapors from volatile organic compounds

  • Molds spores and mold colony mycotoxins

  • Radon

  • Asbestos

  • Bacterial presence

  • Heightened carbon dioxide levels

  • Carbon monoxide

  • High humidity

Residential & Commercial Properties Air Quality Issues

Indoor air pollution is becoming an ever-increasing threat to the occupants of residential homes, retail spaces, offices, and commercial properties. It’s estimated that in a building with insufficient air handling capabilities that may have air pollution issues that can be as much as 25 to 100 times worse than outdoor conditions.

In general, these symptoms are more likely to affect young people and the elderly. However, individuals with chronic respiratory health conditions, respiratory allergies, and chronic inflammation issues can also be vulnerable. In a severe case, even a perfectly healthy adult could be affected by the type of poor air quality associated with Sick Building Syndrome.

There are other substances and materials that can cause indoor air quality issues. Some of them can potentially lead to increasingly severe medical complications.

How Safe Is Your Air?

It’s estimated that up to 80% of indoor air quality issues are related to things like the presence or vapors produces by high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as air quality complications caused by mold spores.

Volatile Organic Compounds and other toxic fumes can be emitted by things like:

  • Paint

  • Consumer and industrial-grade solvents

  • Household cleansers

  • Newly installed carpeting

  • Certain types of disinfectants

  • Air fresheners

  • Pesticides

  • Herbicides

  • Glue and other adhesives

  • Building materials

What Are The Symptoms Of Sick Building Syndrome?

Sick Building Syndrome is a broad term that has started to gain increased awareness and traction as a way to describe chronic as well as acute reactions to a building where there is an indoor air pollution issue. While it can vary from person to person, there are a wide variety of symptoms that can affect occupants of home, office, retail space, apartment complex or commercial property.

This includes symptoms such as:

  • Newly developed asthma or increased asthma attacks

  • A persistent “dry” cough

  • Persistent problems with fatigue

  • Eye irritation

  • Nasal irritation and sneezing

  • Throat irritation

  • Recurring Headaches

  • Loss of coordination

  • Recurring nausea

  • Medical conditions related to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system

The Dangers Of Radon

Radon is a byproduct caused by the radioactive decay of materials like radium and uranium, deep inside the Earth’s crust. As time goes on this carcinogenic, and radioactive gas rises through the soil layers to invade basements and other underground spaces like crawlspaces, or cracks in a foundation slab.

Radon cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. When occupants breathe in the radioactive particles of radon gas, they can become trapped in the lungs. Prolonged exposure these radioactive particles can increase an individual’s chances of developing lung cancer. Statistically, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.

The Dangers Of Mold Spores And Mycotoxins

Mold spores exist everywhere in nature. Which means they also have the very real potential of invading your home. When they find wet, humid, and warm conditions, it increases their chances of developing a colony.

As the mold colony continues to expand, it releases more-and-more spores into the air people breathe. Some strains of mold such as the so-called “Toxic Black Mold” can also release mycotoxins which can lead to even more severe reactions.

Respiratory distress increased problems with asthma, and chronic inflammation problems are just a few of the potential long-term health threats posed by a non-remediated indoor mold problem.

What We Do

required can vary from space to space depending upon the substance of concern.

Hydroscience Group has the trained professionals and equipment necessary to test for a wide range of indoor air quality issues.

Testing For The Presence Of Mold

Hydroscience Group’s technicians use state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to collect air samples for mold testing. This test often involves a series of small cassettes that are attached to portable battery-operated Indoor Air Quality sampling pumps. As a specific volume of air will then be drawn through the cassette.

The Indoor Air Quality Assessor will collect enough samples from within the environment to accurately assess the area. This might also include background samples which will need to be collected from the nearby outdoor environment for comparison.

Testing For Radon

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends action levels that are higher than four picocuries per liter.
Digital radon detectors tend to be the easiest way to measure the presence of radon. Hydroscience Group uses commercial quality detectors which provide data-logging features for things like periods of higher ventilation rates of the indoor structures. This might also include periods of changing weather conditions, as well as changes in barometric pressure is rising or falling.

Testing For Volatile Organic Compounds

Indoor air sampling tends to be one of the most effective methods for identifying potential sources of Volatile Organic Compounds. This might include a bevy of tests such as:

  • Indoor air sampling
  • Soil gas sampling
  • Outside air sampling
  • Air sampling sub-slab or foundation
  • Vapor intrusion

Vapor intrusion testing has become increasingly popular for testing indoor air quality. This diagnostic essentially implies that VOC vapors are making their way into the structure in question from the nearby outside environment. Additionally, subsurface vapor testing might be needed to detect VOC vapors that could come from a nearby underground storage tank, a pipe leak, the surrounding soil or potentially contaminated groundwater.

Keeping You Safe & Healthy

Once we have determined the cause and severity of the indoor air quality problem, our highly trained specialists can help you understand your options. This might include reporting issues to the proper governing bodies, developing a remediation strategy, upgrading or repairing a compromised feature.