Acceptance Testing; General - Honeywell AUTOMATIC CONTROL Engineering Manual

Agency
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Occupational Safety & Health Agency (OSHA)
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Public Health Department (PHD)
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)
Building Owners and Code Administrators (BOCA)
Southern Building Code SBC
Uniform Building Code (UBC)
Litigation can result from failure to comply with Federal,
State, or Local laws and regulations, from negligence or failure
to comply with commonly accepted standards under common
law, or from failure to comply with the terms of design,
construction or maintenance contracts, or under the workman's
compensations laws. Building insurance policies generally
exclude pollution related damages.
Each regulatory agency has its own priorities. The EPA which
is responsible for outdoor air quality sets the highest priority
on source control of these contaminants. Ventilation control is
their second priority and air cleaning the last priority. A
traditional approach to IAQ is to exhaust the contaminated air
to the outdoors. This exhaust is considered a source by EPA,
but a solution by others. The Clean Air Act limits the exhaust
of contaminated air to the outdoors. This is particularly true in
the manufacturing sector but also impacts office buildings and
health care facilitates. This requires recirculation of the air with
the use of better particulate filters, gas phase filters, and possibly
ozone generators.
OSHA priorities are directed to industrial facilities and
construction sites. OSHA sets the standards for the toxicity of
over 490 compounds in the work place by establishing:
— The Acceptable Maximum Peak for a short exposure.
— The Acceptable Ceiling Concentration, not to be
exceeded during an 8 hour shift. Others call this Short
Term Exposure Limit STEL.
— The Time Weighted Average, not to exceed in any 8
hour shift of a 40 hour week. Also called the Threshold
Limit Value TLV.
These are maximum safe levels of exposure and are too high to
be of use for IAQ purposes. OSHA is currently promulgating
standards for IAQ.
The CDC and Public Health Departments are primarily
concerned with infectious diseases in health care facilities. Their
regulations have a significant impact on HVAC systems for
intensive care units, isolation rooms, and operating rooms in
these facilities.
Table 5. Air Quality Regulatory Agencies.
The American Society of Heating Refrigeration & Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) created design Standard
62-1989, Ventilation for Acceptable IAQ. This was adopted by
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and has been
incorporated into several state building codes. Even where 62-
1989 has not been adopted into code it exerts a powerful
influence because it establishes a standard which can be used
in litigation. One of the key elements of this standard is
documentation of design criteria for operations people.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) has published a list which includes additional
substances, and a value for IDLH or Immediately Dangerous
to Life and Health
National model building code agencies such as Building
Owners and Code Administrators (BOCA), the Southern
Building Code Officials (SBC), and the Uniform Building Code
(UBC) publish code standards which become law when adopted
by states. These codes have provisions which govern HVAC
systems. The three agencies have agreed to unify their codes
into a single National Model Code. They have adopted the
National Plumbing Code in 1995, the National Mechanical
Code in 1996, and are currently working on the National
Building Code.

ACCEPTANCE TESTING

GENERAL

Commissioning is the process designed to ensure that the
HVAC system performs as designed before it is turned over to
the owner and during the life of the building. Commissioning
is a necessary step to acceptable IAQ. Adequate maintenance
by trained personnel with an adequate budget is an essential
ingredient in the solution of IAQ problems. The documentation
required by ASHRAE 62-1989 is a necessary component of an
informed maintenance program.
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INDOOR AIR QUALITY FUNDAMENTALS
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