Lab Methods

As I have said various times over the years those who wrote the IAQ testing requirements for LEED apparently didn't do it as a part of their profession and didn't ask anyone who did.  The EPA IP methods are very old and hardly any, if any, IAQ professionals use them.  The entire LEED approach to evaluating IAQ is very flawed.  The AIHA and other IAQ professional organizations as well as myself have discussed proper approaches for more than a decade with no one at USGBC or the WELL people listening. 

Done with tirade.  Regarding testing for VOCs I use the Radiello passive sampler (easier than Summa canister) which is analyzed by a modified TO-17 method.  TO-15 (Summa canister) is still allowed for LEED v4 but not sufficient for all tests required (neither is Radiello).  I use UMEX100 or Assay Technologies passive formaldehyde samplers which are analyzed by a modified TO-11 or a NIOSH method.  Again, application of the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) principle.  For particulates (PM10) I use the simple NIOSH 0500 total particulate method (no settling in Summa can).  It is cheap ($15-$20 each) and easy to collect using a personal sampling pump. For PM 2.5 I use NIOSH 0600 which is for respirable particulates but requires a cyclone particle size selector (available from labs and used a lot for silica nowadays).  The adoption of outdoor air quality standards (i.e., PM10 and PM2.5) for indoor air quality is another sign of the ignorance on the part of the LEED creators.  Occupational (i.e., humans in indoor environments) exposures are broken into three categories (inhalable [aka total], thoracic [middle of chest but not used much] and respirable [gets into deep lungs]).  PM10 approximates inhalable and PM2.5 approximates respirable.

Using a direct reading instrument such as a nephelometer or laser/optical particle counter does not give accurate particulate mass data unless it is calibrated to the dust you are measuring (unless you are measuring Arizona road dust to which many are calibrated).  These instruments typically are not calibrated as such but may be used for screening.

I hope this helps; however, the LEED v4 VOC requirements beyond total VOCs are very hard to accomplish and require various sampling methods.  They are also indicative of the ignorance of the LEED IAQ creators.  The compounds in the list are from California (enough said there) and are for product emissions in test chambers - not indoor air quality.  GOOD LUCK.  

Yes.  VOCs and formaldehyde can be sampled with passive samplers (no pump).  You just have to record the number of minutes the samplers were exposed on the analysis request.  However, LEED v4 is much harder than previous versions for the individual VOC sampling (for no good reason).  You'll have to contact a lab for all the appropriate samplers for those.  The lab I use (ALS Environmental) says the LEED v4 individual VOC assessment is cost prohibitive and very difficult to accurately and defensibly achieve so they don't do it.  However, I have heard that Galson labs (a good IH lab) say they can do it.  Personally, I tell clients that doing the air testing for the two points under LEED v4 is probably not worth the effort because of cost, difficulty, and higher chance of failure.  Though the flush out is worthless in my opinion and per published peer reviewed papers (referenced in this forum in the past), it might be a better way to get at least one point.