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Early and frequent communication with occupants is important both to prevent IAQ problems from occurring and to secure their cooperation when solving existing problems. It is important for building occupants to understand that their activities can create indoor air quality problems and that their cooperation is critical for maintaining good IAQ in their building. To help educate building occupants/tenants about the effect of their actions on IAQ, the EPA has published a publication entitled, "An Office Building Occupants Guide to Indoor Air Quality." It explains the roles and responsibilities of both building occupants and owners/managers and can be freely copied. We recommend that you make this publication available to all tenants/occupants. Contact the EPAs IAQ Information Clearinghouse (1-800-438-4318) to obtain a paper copy.
Building management is responsible for notifying building tenants, and, where applicable, building occupants, about building conditions, policies, or activities, such as unscheduled maintenance events, that may have a significant adverse IAQ impact. Building occupants and/or tenants are responsible for notifying the IAQ Coordinator when activities are planned that could affect the buildings IAQ (e.g., construction or other pollutant releasing activities) and promptly bringing unusual conditions to the attention of the IAQ Coordinator. An example of this communication comes when tenants are planning construction, remodeling or renovation activities; the IAQ Coordinator should be made aware of these plans in order to review them with the whole buildings IAQ in mind. Both parties should use chemicals and materials in accordance with their label instructions and MSD sheets. |