Abstract
<jats:p>Indoor air quality (IAQ) directly impacts occupant health, comfort, and accessibility, particularly for individuals with asthma, migraines, or multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). While technical IAQ testing protocols in office buildings, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health Canada, and ASHRAE Standards, provide guidance for sampling, they do not address technician-related sources of contamination. Personal products, laundering practices, smoking, dry-cleaning residues, and fragrances are known sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can persist on clothing and skin, potentially contributing to confounding sampling results. Studies have shown that fragranced personal care and laundry products emit numerous VOCs, generate secondary byproducts, and remain a source of exposure through clothing off gassing. While switching to fragrance-free alternatives has been demonstrated to reduce emissions, these efforts are not always documented in testing. Rather, the lack of formalized decontamination protocols for technicians may undermine the accuracy of IAQ testing. This paper examines IAQ testing protocols used in Canadian office buildings, synthesizing evidence on human pollutant sources, susceptibility of vulnerable populations, and the role of greenwashing in product labeling, while proposing a formalized decontamination protocol for technicians. The protocol may improve accuracy of IAQ sampling, thereby supporting more reliable assessments for public health decision-making.</jats:p>