feature IAQ

maintaining IAQ
a serious business
Cleaning and decontaminating commercial and industrial HVAC systems is a serious
business, with many associated risks and hazards. As Sean McGowan discovered,
it’s an area largely unregulated in Australia and one which requires high levels of training.

Jeremy Stamkos

12 EcoLibrium™ December 2004

 I
f the idea of abseiling down a 150 metre cliff isn’t
frightening enough, imagine abseiling down a
commercial building’s HVAC duct with a breathing

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apparatus while cleaning the hazardous contamination
that has accumulated over the years.
That’s the task facing the staff of companies like Enviro
Air Pty Ltd, which provide specialist air system cleaning
solutions for commercial and industrial environments.
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According to Enviro Air’s managing director, Jeremy
Stamkos, the lack of Australian regulations has led to the
company acquiring NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners
Association U.S.A.) accreditation, and seeking a host of
other training options for its staff to ensure it satisfies the
NADCA requirements.
“Along with NADCA accreditation, our international
training covers areas such as property mould
remediation, biohazardous recovery, certified air systems
cleaning, ventilation systems mould remediation,
certified ventilation inspection and attendance at regional
workshops,” explains Stamkos. �������������������������
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“It can be quite a complicated and time ��������������������
consuming activity to send technicians

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into ductwork”

“Due to the difficulties encountered when accessing ���������������������������������

HVAC systems, our teams must also be qualified in
general and mechanical plumbing, as well as asbestos
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awareness and friable and non-friable asbestos removal.” �������������������������������������������
Along with training specific to mould and other potentially ���������������������������
hazardous contaminants, remediation technicians must
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also have undertaken training in twin-rope industrial
access, safe working at heights and within confined ������������������������
spaces, as well as the use of specialised personal
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protection equipment (PPE) such as breathing apparatus.
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“If necessary, it can be quite a complicated and time
consuming activity to send technicians into ductwork,” ��������������������������������������������������
says Stamkos. ����������������������������
“Along with all their cleaning equipment when cleaning ����������������������������������������������
vertical riser shafts, they must wear respiratory
protection; as well as carry ascension devices because
they not only have to go down 26 storeys, but they have
to climb all the way back up. There’s a lot of specialised
equipment involved to be able to go down safely and
come back up again.”

“The remote robots work effectively up to

about 50 metres at a time”

Due to the obviously high OH&S risks associated with

sending cleaning technicians into HVAC ducts, the
company utilises cleaning robots wherever possible.
These robots (as pictured) are sent into ducts with a
range of tools to dislodge microbial growth and other
contaminants. As contaminants are dislodged, they
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are extracted out of the system using HEPA equipped ����������������������������
negative air units.
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Inset and next page – some of the equipement used in HVAC system cleaning
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 feature IAQ
“The remote robots generally only
work effectively up to about 50 metres
at a time. You then need to find or
create another access point to resume
cleaning,” says Stamkos.
“Unfortunately access points
are not installed for cleaning
unless specified, so in many
instances, we have to install
them ourselves or use
existing access provisions
such as inspection
openings. We keep them to
a minimum to maintain the
integrity of the system, so
the further you can go with
your cleaning equipment,
the more efficient you are
going to be.”
Robots are able to clean
the ductwork effectively by
using a series of brushes
and whips powered by
compressed air and other
gases, while a small camera mounted on
top of the robot allows the controller to
guide it through the ducts and verify the
effectiveness of
the cleaning process.
“We try and do the majority of our work
with remote cleaning due to the OH&S
issues, but where we are required to
clean a shaft in a multi-storey building,
robots become obsolete and sending a
technician down is required to get the
job done.”
Not only are there risks in what teams
find within ducts, but there are also
risks in the processes of cleaning,
especially when considering the use of
antimicrobials and other chemicals.
14 EcoLibrium™ December 2004 /January 2005
Such is the experience of Enviro Air
and their use of personal protection
equipment and engineering controls
(to contain airborne contaminants,
dust and fumes), that the company is
now providing other areas of hazardous
material removal, such as microbial and
asbestos removal.
Stamkos says that until the industry
is regulated in Australia, however,
some service providers will continue to
only clean what building owners and
operators can see, leaving the more
difficult to access areas to continue
to build up with mould and other
contaminants.
“The only regulations and standards
existing refer to the installation or
servicing of mechanical ventilation
systems, hence the need for our
technicians to be trained in mechanical
plumbing. As far as how clean a HVAC
system should be, how you clean it and
how you control it – there is nothing
existing in Australia,” says Stamkos.
“In the US, you must validate your
cleaning process by three different
methods – by visual assessment; surface
comparison testing; or by
having a swab analysed
independently.”
“Their standard also
regulates the use of anti-
microbial products. Here,
there is no regulation as
to what can be used to
disinfect HVAC systems.
As such, we only use
products that have been
authorized by the US EPA
(Environment Protection
Agency) or by the
Therapeutic Goods Authority
here in Australia and
designed for use in HVAC
systems.”
Stamkos believes the
Australian industry should adopt the
American model and the American
Standard ACR-2005, which is called
up as regulation by ASHRAE and other
US state authorities. He says it is an
extremely comprehensive guideline that
only needs minor alterations for the local
industry.
“Aside from cutting holes in ductwork,
working at heights and so on, it’s the
associated endemic health and safety
risks to building occupants, and also the
involved contractors, that should be the
biggest catalyst for Australian regulations
to get up and running relatively quickly.”