Air Quality

General Safety

Reports of visible smoke, natural gas leaks or chemical spills or other similar emergency events should be reported to the University Police dispatcher immediately. Such reports are not part of this procedure. 

University Personnel and Students with concerns about indoor quality:

  • Are encouraged to notify their supervisors.
  • May wish to share concerns with their faculty members or appropriate department offices.
  • Contact the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) office at x3064 or email ehs@wwu.edu. 
  • See the EHS Air Purifier Guidance document. 
  • If you feel you need an air cleaner in your space, please see Air Purifier Recommendations  prior to purchasing one. 

 

EHS will:

  • Respond to the concern and create an incident/potential hazard report.
  • Investigate issues as a potential hazard.
  • Based on the initial determination take the following or other actions ONLY as appropriate:
    • Recommend enhanced cleaning as resources are available.
    • Recommend use of  portable air cleaner(s).  Air cleaners are purchased and maintained by Departments.  EHS has portable air cleaners available for temporary loan.
    • Schedule a joint inspection with Facilities Management staff.
    • Provide air quality logs and/or survey affected personnel.
  • Determines whether an indoor air quality concern has escalated by evaluating whether some of the following occur:
    • The number of people involved increases. 
    • The duration of the concerns becomes lengthy or initial mitigation efforts are unsuccessful.
    • The severity of symptoms becomes increasingly acute.
    • Difficulties arise with either source identification or solution identification.

 

NOTE: Following the initial response, many indoor air quality concerns are managed with facility cleaning or air cleaner placement. Other concerns require work by Facilities Management staff, such as with water leaks. Some concerns require a minor capital or major capital facility renovation project. The timeframe for larger-scale action is months to years. 

Link to Indoor Air Quality Image shown below.

IAQ