Following a complaint about air quality in room B 256, tests have shown particulate matter to be “well within permissible exposure limits,” according to results.
The complaint was received on Aug. 26 by Peralta Community College Director of Risk Management Gregory Valentine. The complainant, Meryl Siegal, faculty member in the English Department, reported excessive dust in the air of classroom B256.
As a result, an independent third party company, Environmental Technical Services, Inc. (ETS), was contacted the same day to schedule air monitoring for dust. The following week on Sept. 2, four air samples were collected by Jacqueline Kryszak, a certified member of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and Industrial Hygiene Program Manager at ETS, along with Mark Torres, an industrial hygiene technician at ETS. Two samples were taken from B256, one from B257, and one outside between the doors to B256 and B257.
“When air quality standards are formulated by the government, it is understood that a sensitivity curve exists,” Valentine said.
“Some people may experience sneezing and irritation from air within permissible exposure levels. Outdoor air is always used as a standard to be exceeded by the quality of air indoors. Multiple samples were taken to be full and complete in the analysis.”
When asked if PCCD waits for a complaint before investigating environmental health, Valentine said, “Proactive is built into the system, always inspecting to find unsafe conditions before someone gets hurt.”
The last environmental testing had been conducted on campus was 2013. At the time, the Tower building had been newly renovated. According to Valentine, no complaint had been reported. However, outgassing (the release of chemicals from various materials) prompted testing for volatile organic compounds.
All test results from September 2013 and September 2014 showed levels in question to be well below the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) regulations. Results were also below National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards, which are more stringent and used as further suggestion. The federal government maintains the website airnow.gov to provide current information on air quality and further health suggestions.