Building contamination

Contaminated buildings, whether small or large scale, are the onus of the building owner to remedy and /or mitigate the potential risk posed to the occupants of the building. Investigation into building related illnesses or sick buildings often uncover contamination, which is not readily identifiable to the greater public. Professional help is needed to identify and uncover contaminating substances such as bacteria, fungi, asbestos and other contaminants. More harmful are the by-products of bacteria and fungi, mycotoxins, endotoxins and other toxins, which can be entrained in the respiratory tract, when airborne.

Health risks associated with such contaminants have been known to cause adverse effects on the central nervous system, eyes, skin, lower and upper respiratory tract and chronic fatigue and often lead to high absenteeism and lost productivity.

Once identification of a known contaminant has been made steps must then be put into place to isolate the infected area and neutralise it. Most experts would agree that medium to large scale abatement should only be performed by qualified experts. The general principles in larger abatements involve totally isolating the contaminated site from the remainder of the building, placing the area under negative pressurisation, minimising the production and spread of the contaminant and appropriate containment and disposal of contaminated materials. The abatement personnel must use high levels of protective equipment; failure to do so could lead to the spread of contamination throughout the building and health effects among abatement employees and building occupants.

Clean Air Management is a member of the National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NADCA) and specialise in the abatement of contaminated building sites, the success of the company has been reflected in the completion of major decontamination projects in hospitals, commercial buildings and industrial workplaces.