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Progress Report Evaluation of Ventilation Systems February 15, 1993 APPENDIX A Minutes of the January 29, 1993 Science Advisory Committee Meeting Physical Systevns Tasks

INDOOR ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM MEETING WITH THE SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE January 29, 1993 MINUTES AND ACTION ITEMS Agenda 1. Introductions 2. Approval of minutes from July 1992 meeting 3. Overview of IEP and the Affiliates Program 4. Cooperative Research with the Center for Innovative Technology 5. Construction of Research and Demonstration Facility Phase li 6. Research project: "Evaluation of displacement ventilation and conventional variable air volume systems for indoor air quality control". 7. Project: "Achieving, maintaining and assuring healthy schools". 8. Papers for Indoor Air '93 and IAQ '93 9. Future research direction and other research projects 10. SAC critique of IEP activities 11. Schedule for next meeting Present Advisory Committee P. Ole Fanger, Technical University of Denmark Brian P. Leaderer, Yale University J. Richard Wright, ASHRAE lnvited Participants Harold Bumley, Director Process Development, Philip Morris USA Francis J. Foster, Assistant Director, School Plant, Virginia Beach City Public Schools Charles R. Hayward, Principal Engineer, Philip Morris USA Jack M. Heinemann, Director, Envirotechnology, Center for Innovative Technology Virginia Tech James E. Woods William E. Jamerson Professor of Building Construction and N ~ , Director Indoor Environment Program (IEP) ~ , ~ Bjame W. Olesen, Senior Research Scientist, IEP Sanjay Arora, Program Manager, IEP Makoto Koganei, Visiting Research Scientist, IEP G. Thomas Holbrook, Research Associate, IEP CA m ~ Julie Seelen, Research Associate, IEP ~

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting Page 2 January 29. 1993 / Minutes and Action Items Patricia K. Edwards, Professor and Assistant Dean for Research, CAUS Janet Johnson, Acting Vice Provost, Research Division, Virginia Tech John Kuykendall, Department Head, Facilities Planning and Construction, Virginia Tech A. Jack Davis, Associate Professor, Architecture Tom Inzana, Associate Professor, Veterinary Sciences Douglas Nelson, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Robert P. Schubert, Associate Professor, Architecture Patrice F. Hart, Graduate Student, Urban Affairs and Planning Susanne Metzger, Graduate Student, Architecture Nisha P. Sensharma, Graduate Student, Environmental Design and Planning Daisy Clark-Smith, Graduate Student, Building Construction 1. Introductions All present introduced themselves and briefly spoke of their association with the Indoor Environment Program. 2. Approval of Minutes from July 1992 Meeting No comments on the minutes of the previous meeting were received. The minutes were approved. 3. Overview of IEP and the Affiliates Program Woods presented the mission statement, objectives, conceptual model and the organization chart of the Indoor Environment Program (IEP). The conceptual model illustrated the nexus of human response to the exposure, building systems, loads and contaminant sources, and how each of these rested on the platform of economics to be viable. It was pointed out that IEP does not study the health effects on occupants, but may work with some health scientists in the future. IEP may be able to provide the sensory response data to the health scientists who would analyze it from the health perspective and provide feedback that may be used for controls. IEP also does not currently do any evaluations of source strengths of materials and finishes in buildings.

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting January 29, 1993 / Mnutes and Action Items Page 3 Leaderer suggested that IEP may want to establish links with the "International Exposure Assessment Society" which is a newly formed organization. Woods also presented the status on the affiliates program. A base-line funding of about 150K per year would be required to initiate the program. A couple of new commitments from companies had been received at the Chicago ASHRAE meeting. The program could possibly be in place by March '93. Discussion followed on whether or not to have trade organizations as affiliate members. While organizations would be an ideai'source for quick dissemination of research results in the professional community, but a mix of organizations and individual companies may not work smoothly since the latter would be participating in the program to gain a competitive edge. A separate category of membership for organizations, with a higher fee, was also suggested. It was also pointed out that if a particular organization joined, none of its member companies would join as independent members of the program. VPEC, the largest affiliates program on campus has no organizations on its rolls. Wright suggested that the Refrigeration Research Center in Illinois may be contacted to find out how they have dealt with such situations. Consensus: Hold off on organization memberships for now. 4. Cooperative Research with the Center for Innovative Technology Heinemann made a presentation on the roles and activities of CIT. CIT is a private, not- for-profit agency established with the objectives of promoting technology as an economic engine for growth and employment in the Commonwealth of Virginia; help establish the links between universities and industry; and help universities in critical stages of research through co-sponsoring, technology transfer programs, and business development centers. Heinemann informed that indoor environment was in the candidate list of 5-year technology development centers which the CIT plans to fund, but it missed the final short-list of eight areas by a single vote. Nevertheless, CIT could co-sponsor research, on a project basis, at IEP. One such project under negotiation is with the Product Development Associates (PDA), a Richmond based small-scale company.

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting Page 4 January 29, 19g3/ Mnutes and Action Items 5. Construction of Research and Demonstration Facility, Phase II An update on the construction of RDF-II was presented by Seelen. The project is on schedule and within budget. The critical path diagram indicated dry-in by February 11 and substantial completion by March 9. Data will be collected for occupant exposure before, at, and after substantial completion. These data will be analyzed to develop the best possible approach and definition of substantial completion. A rigorous commissioning process has also been instituted for which the design engineer has been retained as the commissioning authority. The cost implications of commissioning will also be studied to determine the nett advantage gained from the process. Discussion centered around the specifications of ductwork. The ductwork will have solid metal liners near critical areas of the system. The supply ductwork near occupied spaces (in the vertical displacement system) will be internally lined. Some ductwork in the equipment room will have low-density fiber glass insulation, supported on the inside with perforated sheeting. This system is designed to replicate a conventional' system used in this part of the country. The conventional system has been defined by the design engineers. Fanger suggested that since we were going to deal with ETS, as a result of which there will be tar deposition on the inside of the ducts, the system should allow for cleaning the ducts between experiments. Leaderer suggested that in addition the ductwork should be flexible so that different kinds of ducts and linings may be replaced for different experiments. Fanger suggested that since the experiment calls for different kinds of air distribution, why not try and minimize all other differences. Burnley expressed his feeling that lined ductwork, particularly on the return, would absorb and re-emit high levels of contamination. (Note: After the meeting, we have decided to proceed with the solid metal' lining in return ductwork in occupied spaces, perforated metal lining in equipment room except next to wet processes, and conventional duct lining in the air supply under the floor of the vertical displacement system). The construction and materials used in the supply plenum of the vertical distribution system were also discussed. Leaderer pointed out that the block wall could be a good (permanent?) reservoir for vapor-phased contaminants, and since there was not much information regarding this available, it would be good data to obtain and analyze. Methods of preventing air leaking through the dry wall construction were also discussed. Consensus: Seal the bottom of the dry wall construction with compressible strip seal held in position with a Z-bracket. The concrete floor will also be sealed. Davis to finalize the details and have the modifications incorporated. N ~ N Ni 4 Go ~ N C

IEP Science Advisory Committee AAeeting Page 5 January 29, 1993 / Mnutes and Action Items 6. Research project: "Evaluation of displacement ventilation and conventional variable air volume systems for Indoor air quaiity control". Olesen presented the progress on this research project. The last progress report dated November 18, 1992 was included in the package of materials sent to the advisory committee. Experimentation with air flow rates and contaminant removal rates, under simulated conditions, is ongoing at the Richmond Test Facility of Philip Morris USA. Preliminary results from these tests were presented. Under stable conditions, contaminant removal effectiveness at a height of 1.1 m, of up to 300 percent could be attained. However, this was true of conditions with no lateral movement of occupants. Wright suggested that in a typical office building you could keep the effectiveness high by using partitions, but that reduces the ability to respond to thermal variations. Both these factors need to be addressed. Koganei discussed his work with the two-zone modelling. Leaderer suggested that we start developing 3-D profile of contaminants to more completely understand the performance of the systems. 7. Project: "Achieving, maintaining and assuring healthy schools". Foster presented the nature and magnitude of the air quality problems that the school board has encountered in several of their newer school buildings. He emphasized the need for better training of designers and operators of building systems, and for adequate funds for maintenance and replacement of components so that the children could be provided safe and healthy learning environments. Woods presented the objectives of the project, the procedures used thus far, and the preliminary findings. Since high levels of moisture was recognized as a problem, Wright and Fanger suggested, as an interim remedial measure, to use large dehumidifiers. Dehumidifiers had previously been used in some schools but did not alleviate the situation because the outdoor air humidity was in the vicinity of 90 percent. Leaderer recommended that to get a handle on the nature and magnitude of the problem, for wider application, an experimental design must be set up to include a control site. Data on the type of problem, symptoms with respect to location and frequency of occurrence should be logged and analyzed. Woods stated that nurses' records and absentee records were being obtained, but solution of the problem cannot wait for all the analyses. We were presently doing load analyses of select' areas to see if the loads match the system capacity, and as a preliminary finding it appeared that the systems were oversized for sensible heat removal capacity but undersized for latent heat removal' capacity. However, a critical decision to be taken soon with respect to at least two school buildings is if and when should they be evacuated. Woods N ~ C1i ~ ~ m N ~

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting Page 6 January 29, 1993 / Mnutes and Action Items informed that Mike Hodgson had developed a protocol to determine this and was being contacted. Fanger suggested that obtaining human response data before and after system modifications might help in satisfying the occupants. Woods asked if there were any suggestions to leverage funding for the research component of this project. 8. Papers for Indoor Air '93 and IAa '93 All eight abstracts submitted for Indoor Air '93 had been approved for presentation. The papers are presently being written. Three abstracts have also been submitted for IAQ '93 for approval. 9. Future research direction and other research projects Woods spoke on other activities of IEP and the tasks to be undertaken in the near future: The results of modelling on vertical displacement will be validated as soon as RDF-II is commissioned. Other parameters impacting vertical air distribution will also be studied. Johnson Controls has donated the METASYS expert system for the RDF-II. Upon commissioning, it will be followed by a sponsored research project on using the system for operations and maintenance in addition to environmental control. Proposal to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) requires further honing on specific issues, and we are working with TSARC. However, there is a political problem in that EPRI desires the local utility companies to be involved in sponsored research but both Virginia Power and Appalachian Power Company are not members of EPRI. Virginia Power has also expressed interest in working with us. UOP has bought the UCAIR technology from Union Carbide and will be developing the catalyst only. They are looking for partners to develop the systems. Woods recently met with the UOP officials and it is possible that the air cleaning project will commence again soon. The Medical Center of the University of Texas is building a 3000 square feet facility for treating chemically sensitive people. They need research and consultation on system designs N ~ N N CA ~ cm GID N N

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting Page 7 January 29, 1993 / Minutes and Action Items for this specific population. This will be undertaken with possible support from the National Institute of Health. A series of Continuing Education courses are planned for 1993 (outline distributed at the meeting). Some of these are with the cooperation of.Charles Dorgan, University of Wisconsin. The courses are in various formats - workshops, training sessions, symposiums. Arora is coordinating these courses. ~ 10. SAC critique of IEP activities Fanger said that he was impressed with the progress and that IEP was moving in the right direction. His specific comments were: O Conduct field work in addition to lab studies. The Virginia Beach Schools project is a good opportunity to do so. O There is considerable work on identification of source strengths in buildings presently being conducted in Europe (several buildings across eight countries) but nothing of that kind is being done in North America. An opportunity exists for IEP to undertake such studies, even if in conjunction with some of the other studies. Leaderer observed a fair amount of progress since the last meeting. His specific comments were: O Develop a long-term plan to create a balance between contractual funding (private sponsorship) and government research (EPA, NIEHS, ...). This will allow you to determine and accomplish your own research agenda and not be wholly dependent upon the private sector and their specific needs. Besides this will induce further confidence in your private sponsors who will have a forum and scientific platform to interact with the policy makers. O Include, in a gradual and planned manner, the study of health effects in some of your projects. This will help link the void that exists between health sciences, engineering and architecture. O Develop a resource plan of equipment and personnel for air quality characterization. O A more detailed protocol on each project should be iterated with the Science Advisory Committee. Besides providing peer review, the sponsors will get more for their money and improve IEP's position with potentiai' funders. O On the vertical displacement project: Get a few mini-RAMs for ETS particle counts. You may not require a piezo balance N ~ N C11 ~ CD ~ N W

IEP Science Advisory Committee Meeting Page 8 January 29, 1993 / NGnutes and Action Items because you need a sense of the relative numbers and not very fine measurements. In consultation with Moschandreas, target some ten or so VOCs for GC/MS analysis and do not look for the whole range of compounds. Also collect data on CFC emissions. 0 On the Schools project: CDC may be interested in providing leverage funding for human response and health studies. Wright also expressed his pleasure at the progress made by IEP. He specifically suggested' that: O On the vertical displacement project: Measure uniformity of air distribution in the facility and find the cause when disparity occurs. Measure flow through the floor using slots rather than the perforated carpeting. O Include study of other environmental factors (illumination for instance) to assess the total environmental quality of buildings. Comments from Invited ParHcfpants Burnley suggested that we maintain focus. He would like to spend some more time with Olesen and Makoto to better understand the models. He also emphasized that we should deliver results that practitioners can use. These may be in the form of computerized expert systems that guide the practitioner through steps on how best to design and operate buildings. Hayward suggested that at this time we do not drift off into corollary subjects where we need additional expertise. Also, continue the research at the Richmond facility so that you are up to speed and ready when RDF-II becomes available. Foster emphasized that we develop/write information for practitioners in a language that the operators can understand. There should be diagnostic procedures by which the in-house staff can respond to discomfort complaints and unsatisfactory performance of systems. It is also important to take into confidence the population that occupies a problem building, as he does in the case of Virginia Beach Schools by sending out a fortnightly report to the teachers. 11. Schedule for next meeting Next meeting will start November 11, 1993 (Thursday) at 2:00 pm and adjourn at noon on November 12.