The Building Air Quality (BAQ) Intervention Study is designed to quantify the costs and benefits of implementing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) indoor air quality (IAQ) management practices guidance (the Guidance) in large office buildings. Based on the findings from a twobuilding pilot study, the Guidance was implemented at a cost of less than 2% of facility operation and maintenance budget and within existing employee workload, and it produced significant future annual savings. Building management personnel believed that the Guidance was effective at preventing future problems and increasing knowledge and awareness of IAQ, as well as maintaining or enhancing other important aspects of building management such as ease of leasing and energy use. However, the authors’ experience suggests that an outside advisor, or “catalyst,” may be necessary to motivate comprehensive implementation of the good IAQ management practices described in the Guidance, especially for managers of leased-space buildings.

Paper from IAQ 1997 -- Design, Construction, and Operation of Healthy Buildings: Solutions to Global and Regional Concerns