Safety Office, Commissary Building
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Phone 519 888 4567 Ext. 33587
Fax 519 886 8082
Email: safety@uwaterloo.ca
What to do:
Plant Operations ensure appropriate air quality is provided to all buildings by designing and maintaining building ventilation systems according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the associated applicable standards to Ontario.
The following criteria are used to determine air quality:
Criteria | UW Guidelines | OHSA Regulations |
---|---|---|
Carbon dioxide |
Up to 700 ppm above outdoor levels (up to about 1,000 ppm) |
Maximum 5,000 ppm
|
Humidity |
25 to 60%
|
No regulation
|
Temperature |
19.5 to 25.5 deg C
|
Minimum 18 degree C
|
Air flow/movement |
Winter: <0.15 m/s
Summer: <0.25 m/s
|
No regulation
|
Other specific agents are not included in determining building air quality. Potential exposures to specific agents are addressed in other programs (Occupational Hazards and/or Hazardous Material Spills).
Ongoing air quality concerns include those that are:
What to do:
Review concerns with your supervisor/administrator who then reviews concerns with the department head to determine whether a department assessment should be conducted.
If the findings of the department assessment support the concerns, the department head should address the concerns as follows:
Safety Office, Commissary Building
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Phone 519 888 4567 Ext. 33587
Fax 519 886 8082
Email: safety@uwaterloo.ca
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.