Epstien Environmental Resources, LLC



INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (IEQ) REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT EXPERIENCE Proactive, Green Building Initiatives New construction / renovation Numerous pre-occupancy IAQ testing projects for design teams and construction contractors to obtain credit EQ 3.2 certification through U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Building types have included federal courthouse facilities, state park visitors’ center, high-rise commercial office building, food processing plant, fire station, and others. Pre-occupancy clearance testing for commissioning of a county government complex Advised on procedures to manage moisture problems and mold growth during construction of a high-rise luxury condominium on the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast Existing Buildings Established IEQ operations and maintenance (O&M) programs for a variety of facility types including university campus, high-rise hotel, commercial office buildings, and others, including procedures for recognizing potential concerns, employee training, periodic surveillance, response protocols, and communication channels. Developed a checklist and accompanying guidance document for a public housing authority for their facilities engineering staff and provided training on incorporating the checklist into periodic site inspections and audits. As a result they were cost-effectively able to better identify and prioritize potential and existing IEQ concerns, institute appropriate preventive measures and incident responses, and efficiently document and track findings, outcomes, and follow-up information. Industrial hygiene / IEQ guidance and oversight during removal of a high school gymnasium floor that was determined to contain mercury, including health, safety & coordination plan review, worker protection, area monitoring of mercury vapor, cleaning protocols, regulatory review, and communications with school management and contractor representatives. Project was successfully completed with minimal to no disruption of school activities. Pilot study using dustborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to characterize indoor dust in residential environments. Investigation Strategies in Response to IEQ Concerns High profile IEQ chemical evaluation of a mid-rise office building where occupants complained of upper respiratory, eye, and skin irritation as well as alleged increase in cancer rates. The project required an understanding of the client’s business culture, and ongoing sensitive risk communications with both building management and occupants, along with coordination and communication with outside medical experts. Vapor intrusion study to determine IAQ impact at a multi-family residential complex in response to findings of elevated chlorinated VOCs in ground water samples collected at upgradient property boundaries. IEQ investigation of a multi-use commercial/retail complex involving an office space located adjacent to cigar shop that housed a smoking lounge. Study approach included visual and olfactory observations; direct reading measurements of airborne particulate; qualitative evaluation of relative pressurization between subject spaces; air and dust sample collection for analysis of VOCs in complaint and control locations. Data were reviewed for indicator compounds for tobacco smoke (nicotine in dust; 3-ethenylpyridine in air). Vapor intrusion study in a restaurant facility located adjacent to a gasoline service station that was undergoing remediation of a leaking underground storage tank in response to restaurant employee concerns about potential IAQ impact. Qualitative and quantitative assessment identified various IEQ inadequacies in the subject property; however, no correlation between subsurface conditions and the types or concentrations of indoor air pollutants was found. Complex IEQ risk assessment at select residential sites in various parts of the eastern U.S. to identify and measure extremely low-level concentrations of chemicals causing noxious odors; these compounds were formed through the environmental breakdown of a proprietary raw material used in certain interior latex paint products. Sampling and analysis of settled dust in residences on the Gulf Coast to determine the presence of residual pesticides due to flooding following Hurricane Katrina. Epstien Environmental Resources, LLC © 2008-2012 All rights reserved. Site designed by Pink Plaid Design