Many facilities maintenance managers or office supervisors request testing when an employee makes a complaint or files a formal grievance with a regulatory agency.  Unfortunately, this is often too late as employee morale and general productivity has already suffered.  Routine testing and documentation can not only help identify problems, but also help you document your company’s commitment to health and safety.  

What we test for?

While there are a wide variety of toxins, irritants, pollutants, and allergens that Hawk Environmental Services can measure, very few of these are likely in an office environment.  To create a cost-effective yet comprehensive testing plan for commercial spaces, we will measure mold spores, general environmental conditions, and general toxic gases and VOC’s.  The table below details what is included in our general office indoor air quality testing service:

  • Mold Spores
    • One air sample per testing location processed via spore trap analysis methodology to determine the type and quantity of mold spores present in the ambient air as compared to the exterior. Each sample will be gathered over a period of 5 minutes with a total sample volume of 75 liters and compared to an outdoor baseline sample gathered at the time of inspection.

  • General Environmental Conditions
    • Measurements of the following conditions in each testing locations data-logged over a period of no less than 24 hours:
      • Temperature (°F)
      • Relative humidity (%)
      • Carbon dioxide (ppm)

  • General Toxic Gases
    • Measurements of the following conditions in each testing locations data-logged over a period of no less than 24 hours may include:
      • Carbon monoxide (ppm)
      • Hydrogen sulfide (ppm)
      • LEL – lower explosive limit of natural gas (% LEL)
      • Oxygen (% by vol.)
      • Total VOC’s (ppm as per 10.6 eV lamp in PID calibrated to 100 ppm isobutylene)

Our Testing Procedure

We understand that your office is a workplace and that distractions can cost the company money.  We have a standardized procedure that allows us to quickly and effectively set up our monitoring equipment and collect lab samples while causing a minimal amount of interruption to the workplace.  Additionally, we can schedule equipment setup and collection on off-hours so that your employees will only see a small enclosure arrive and disappear.  All of the data down-loading and reporting will be done behind the scenes at our office.

Our Final Report

Our final report will be available to you 10 business days after we complete the inspection, and will include:

  1. All data gathered by data-logging equipment over the 24-hour testing period
  2. A digital floor-plan with sampling locations
  3. Color digital photos of sampling sites
  4. Final interpretation of data based on OSHA or NIOSH permissible exposure limits

Our Costs for Commercial Testing

Our general office indoor air quality inspections are billed by sampling location (minimum of 2 locations).  You may choose as many locations within the building as you like, but we usually recommend one test set per functional work space (i.e. one per large cubicle room, one per conference room, one per mail room, shop or maintenance area).  The rates below cover the Portland, Oregon, metro area, Seattle, Tacoma, Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmond, Washington, as well as the surrounding cities.  We would be happy to service any customers in Washington or Oregon, but additional travel and ferry fees may apply.

  • 24 Hours of Data
    • $250 per location for laser particle counts
    • 1 location = $725.00
    • 2-5 testing locations = $525.00 per location
    • 5-10 testing locations = $495.00 per location
    • 10+ testing locations = $470.00 per location

  • 48 Hours of Data
    • $350 per location for laser particle counts
    • 1 location = $925.00
    • 2-5 testing locations = $725.00 per location
    • 5-10 testing locations = $695.00 per location
    • 10+ testing locations = $670.00 per location

  • 7 Days of Data
    • $500 per location for laser particle counts
    • 1 location = $1200.00
    • 2-5 testing locations = $875.00 per location
    • 5-10 testing locations = $845.00 per location
    • 10+ testing locations = $820.00 per location