Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.91
Liaison Nathan King
Submission Date Aug. 2, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.1

Virginia Tech
OP-3: Indoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.21 / 2.00 Harley Ashe
Trades Supervisor
Facilities Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Occupied building space covered by an indoor air quality plan, policy, and/or practices that include regular auditing or monitoring and a mechanism for occupants to register complaints :
886,589 Square feet

Total occupied building space :
8,539,232 Square feet

A brief description of the institution's indoor air quality plan, policy, and/or practices:

The 886,589 square feet listed above it not fully representative of Virginia Tech's efforts to ensure healthy Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The full campus is covered by an IAQ program which provides a mechanism for occupants to register complaints and performs IAQ inspections upon request.

The following buildings are routinely inspected with follow-up audits as necessary on a minimum annual basis. The collective square footage of these buildings is the 886,589 square foot figure referenced above.
• Cowgill Hall – 68,417 GSF
• Derring Hall – 207,929 GSF
• Litton-Reaves Hall – 146,267 GSF
• Newman Library – 226,630 GSF
• Student Services – 36,385 GSF
• War Memorial Gym – 200,961 GSF

Virginia Tech Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) performs IAQ inspections upon request by university personnel who are experiencing adverse health effects during the course of the workday which may be related to indoor air quality. IAQ inspections include, but are not limited to the following:

• Visual inspection of occupied spaces and air-handling systems serving the space;
• Evaluation of building ventilation rates to ensure that occupants are receiving an adequate quantity of outside air and dilution ventilation;
• Evaluation of building temperature and relative humidity to ensure occupant comfort and to prevent microbial growth and amplification;
• Quantification of chemical contaminants that have been identified during the visual inspection;
• Upon completion of the IAQ inspection, EHSS will work with facilities and all other parties involved to resolve those IAQ issues identified during the course of the inspection.

Additional IAQ services that EHSS may provide include:
• Responding to occupant reports of chemical odors to assess employee exposure and recommend remedial activities.
• Providing consultation for the selection and installation of new building materials and furnishings that will have a minimal impact on IAQ.
• Working with departments to minimize the impact on IAQ during renovations and demolitions of occupied buildings.
• Providing recommendations for air-cleaning equipment when deemed necessary.


The website URL where information about the institution's indoor air quality initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.