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EPA Public and Commercial Building Building Occupant Survey Questionnaire

This is the telephone interview version that can be transformed to a Web version with the

appropriate modifications to text and format. Note that the yellow highlighted words indicate 

those words where respondents will see definitions if they hover over the word with their 

mouse. The current thinking is that the survey will be mixed-mode with phone and web. We are 

expecting that cooperation is going to be a challenge with our target population. Based on our 

experience with establishment surveys, we believe that making calls will be necessary to 

improve our response rate. However, some respondents will prefer to respond over the web. 

Furthermore, the web versions will be easier to administer to larger firms where more than one 

person may be needed to respond to all the questions.

Hello, my name is _____________. I am calling from Abt SRBI, a research company based in New York City. We 

are conducting a study for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about renovation, repair, and painting work 

done in nonresidential buildings. 

Your organization was selected at random to be included in this study, which involves participating in an interview. 

Participation is voluntary, and everything is completely anonymous. Your organization’s name and your name are 

confidential and will never be revealed to the EPA. EPA is doing this study to learn about nonresidential buildings 

and how they are renovated. You may have seen a letter EPA sent out earlier that explains this. It only takes 5 or 

10 minutes to answer the full survey but first I just want to ask two or three preliminary questions to see if you 

qualify for the study.

OK [CONTINUE]

Refuse [TERMINATE – Possible return for refusal conversion attempt? ]

 

S1

Are you the person that could tell me about the types and the approximate number of renovation, repair or 

painting projects that were done in any of the nonresidential buildings occupied by your organization at this 

location in the past 12 months?

[INTERVIEWER: “location” means a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or 

operations are performed.]

1. Yes [GO TO Q1]

2. No [CONTINUE]

3. Did not do any such work in the past 12 months [SKIP TO Q4]

999. Refuse/can’t tell [SKIP TO Q4]

S2

Who would be the best person in your organization/firm to answer these types of questions? 

Full Name: ______________

Role/Title in organization: ___________________

Best Contact Number(s): _________________

Best Time to Reach: _____________________ 

S3

Hello, is this [INSERT NAME FROM S2] ? 

IF YES CONTINUE, IF NOT LOCATE CORRECT PERSON
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S4

My name is _____________. I am calling from Abt SRBI, a research company based in New York City. We are 

conducting a study for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about renovation, repair, and painting work done 

in nonresidential buildings.

Your organization was selected at random to be included in this study, which involves participating in an interview. 

Participation is voluntary, and everything is completely anonymous. Your organization’s name and your name are 

confidential and will never be revealed to the EPA. EPA is doing this study to learn about nonresidential buildings 

and how they are renovated. You may have seen a letter EPA sent out earlier that explains this. It only takes 5 or 

10 minutes to answer the full survey but first I just want to ask two or three preliminary questions to see if you 

qualify for the study. I understand that you can tell me about the types and the approximate number of 

renovation, repair or painting projects that were done in the buildings occupied by your organization at this 

location in the past 12 months? Is that correct?

1. Yes [CONTINUE]

2. No [REPEAT SEARCH LOOP WITH S2]

3. Did not do any such work in the past 12months [SKIP TO Q4]

999. Refuse/can’t tell [SKIP TO Q4]

S5

As I said, everything is completely anonymous and participation is voluntary. But before we get to that, I have just 

a few quick questions to ask to see if your organization qualifies for this study.

[CONTINUE]

Q1

In the past 12 months were any renovation, repair, or painting projects that may have disturbed painted surfaces 

performed in the nonresidential buildings occupied by your organization at this location? By disturbing painted 

surfaces, I mean any activity that can create paint dust or paint chips. For example, disturbing paint includes 

sanding or scraping a painted surface or using a power washer or other means to remove loose paint; cutting open 

a painted wall to make repairs or install new equipment; or removing a painted component such as trim or a 

window frame. 

1. Yes [CONTINUE]

2. No [SKIP TO Q4]

888. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q4]

999. Refuse [SKIP TO Q4]
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Q2

Were these projects performed by you or your organization’s staff, an outside firm such as a contractor, the 

building owner or a property management company, both of these or none of these?

1. You or your organization’s own staff [CONTINUE]

2. An outside firm (contractor, building management company, building owner) [SKIP TO Q4]

3. Both [CONTINUE]

4. None of the above[CONTINUE]

888. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q4]

999. Refuse [SKIP TO Q4]

Q3

For these jobs where you or your organization’s employees disturbed painted surfaces, did you or your 

organization’s staff ever need to disturb more than 6 square feet of interior painted surfaces or 20 square feet of 

exterior painted surfaces?

1. Yes

2. No 

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refuse 

Q4

How much space in terms of square footage does your organization occupy at this location? An approximate 

answer is OK. 

ENTER NUMBER ________

Q4a

Approximately what percentage of this space is carpeted? Again, an approximate answer is OK. 

ENTER NUMBER ________

Q5a

In how many different buildings does your organization occupy space at this location?

ENTER NUMBER ________

Q5b

Of those Q5a# buildings, how many are buildings where your organization is the sole occupant?

ENTER NUMBER [NONE=0] ________

Q5c

Of the Q5a# buildings where your organization occupies space, how many are buildings owned by your 

organization?

ENTER NUMBER [NONE=0] ________
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Q6

During most of the year, about how many people are employed by your organization at this location? An 

approximate answer is OK. 

[INTERVIEWER: DO NOT ALLOW RANGES]

ENTER NUMBER: __ __ __ ___

888 Don’t know/not sure

999 Refused

[IF Q2=2, Q2=3, or Q3=1 CONTINUE; ELSE SKIP TO CLOSE}

It appears that you are eligible for this study. The remaining questions will take about 5 minutes to answer but I’ll 

go as quickly as I can to see if we can finish sooner. I appreciate your helping us with this today.

Q7

For each of the types of work I am going to mention, I want to know how many projects were performed by you or 

your organization’s own staff as well as how many projects were performed by an outside firm such as a contractor 

or property management company. For projects that involved multiple buildings, each building counts as a 

separate project. Again, this is just for the past 12 months.

[CONTINUE]

DO FOR i=a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j, and k

Where Job Types are as follows:

a - surface preparation for exterior painting

b – removal or replacement of painted exterior siding

c – removal, replacement, or addition of windows

d - removal, replacement, or addition of exterior doors

e - removal or replacement of other painted exterior building components

f - demolishing part of a painted exterior wall

g - surface preparation for interior painting

h - removal or replacement of built-in cabinets, shelves, or fixture components

i - removal or replacement of other painted interior building components; for example, trim

j - cutting or making holes in painted interior walls or ceilings

k - demolishing part of a painted interior wall

Q7i

[IF Q2=1 or Q2=3 CONTINUE; ELSE SKIP TO Q7i3}

Q7i1

So, let’s try this. During the past 12 months, not including jobs where the work was done by another firm, 

approximately how many projects involving {job type i} were performed on your organization’s buildings at this 

location by you or your organization’s employees?

ENTER NUMBER [NONE=0] ________ [IF 0 SKIP TO Q7i3]

[IF Q7i1>0 then CONTINUE; ELSE SKIP TO Q7i3]

Q7i2

{If i = a, b, d, e: [IF Q7i1=1: Did this one project involve ....] [IF Q7i1>1: Approximately how many of these Q7i1#

projects involved ....] the scraping, sanding, cutting, or otherwise disturbing 20 square feet of a painted exterior 

surface by you or your organization’s employees?}
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{If i = g, h, i, j: [IF Q7i1=1: Did this one project involve ....] [IF Q7i1>1: Approximately how many of these Q7i1#

projects involved ....] the scraping, sanding, cutting, or otherwise disturbing 6 square feet of a painted interior 

surface by you or your organization’s employees?}

{If i = c, f, k: CATI INSERT NUMBER FROM Q7i1}

ENTER NUMBER [NONE=0] ________

[if Q2=2 or Q2=3 CONTINUE; IF Q2=1, 8 0R 9 LOOP TO NEXT i]

Q7i3 During the past 12 months, approximately how many projects involving {job type i} were done in your 

organization’s buildings at this location by an outside firm such as a contractor, staff of the building owner, or a 

property management company?

ENTER NUMBER [NONE=0] ________ 

[LOOP TO NEXT i]

CATI RANDOMLY SELECTS ONE JOB TYPES FROM Q7a2-Q7k2 SERIES WHERE NUMBER OF PROJECTS >0

{Note that we might weight the probability of selection by the number of jobs, or apply some other weight to the 

probability of selection}

Q8.1

[IF Q7i2=1: For the one project involving {selected job type}...] [IF Q7i2>1: For these next questions, please think 

about only the most recent project out of the {Q7*1#} projects involving {selected job type}...] that you said you or 

your employees did, was that ONE project

in a building that was likely constructed before or after 1978?

1. Yes-Before 1978

2. No-1978 or later 

888. Not Sure 

Q8.2

To the best of your knowledge, what is the building where this recent project was performed mainly used for?

[INTERVIEWER: CODE BELOW AS APPROPRIATE – DO NOT READ]

1. Lodging, such as a hotel, motel, dorms, or other lodging

2. Hospital or inpatient health care facility

3. Office building

4. Education, School

5. Non-mall retail, food sales, food service

6. Strip mall or enclosed mall

7. Services (excluding food)

8. Outpatient health care

9. Public assembly, library

10. Public safety
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11. Religious worship

12. Warehouse, storage

13. Industrial

14. Agricultural

15. Other 

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q8.3

Approximately how many days did the entire job take to complete? 

ENTER Number _______

Q8.4

Was the work performed during business hours, at other times of the day, or both? 

1. During business hours 

2. Other times of the day 

3. Both

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q8.5

Other than the renovation workers, did any other individuals use the space where the work was being performed 

during the period when the renovation was being done, such as during the daytime for renovations conducted on

nights or weekends?

1. Yes

2. No

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused
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CATI RANDOMLY SELECTS ONE OF THE JOB TYPES Q7a3-Q7k3 SERIES WHERE NUMBER OF PROJECTS >0

{Note that we might weight the probability of selection by the number of jobs, or apply some other weight to the 

probability of selection}

Q9.1

[IF Q7i3=1: For the one project involving {selected job type}...] [IF Q7i3>1: For these next questions, please think 

about only the most recent project out of the {Q7*1#} projects involving {selected job type}...] that you said was 

done by contractors, was that ONE project

in a building that was likely constructed before or after 1978?

1. Yes-Before 1978

2. No-1978 or later 

888. Not Sure 

Q9.2

To the best of your knowledge, what is the building where this recent project was performed mainly used for?

[INTERVIEWER: CODE BELOW AS APPROPRIATE – DO NOT READ]

1. Lodging, such as a hotel, motel, dorms, or other lodging

2. Hospital or inpatient health care facility

3. Office building

4. Education, School

5. Non-mall Retail, food sales, food service

6. Strip mall or enclosed mall

7. Services (excluding food)

8. Outpatient health care

9. Public assembly, library

10. Public safety

11. Religious worship

12. Warehouse, storage

13. Industrial

14. Agricultural

15. Other 

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q9.3

Approximately how many days did the entire job take to complete? 

ENTER Number _______

Q9.4

Was the work performed during business hours, at other times of the day, or both? 

1. During business hours 

2. Other times of the day 

3. Both

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused
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Q9.5

Other than the renovation workers, did any other individuals spend time in the work area during the period when 

the renovation was being done, such as during the daytime when the renovation was conducted on nights or 

weekends?

1. Yes

2. No

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q10

How often do most areas of the building receive routine janitorial cleaning? Please respond based on the areas 

where people spend the most time, not just for high-traffic areas that may be cleaned more frequently than the 

rest of the building, such as bathrooms. Is the building typically cleaned: 

1. More than once a day

2. Once a day

3. Once a week

4. Less often than once a week

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q11

To your knowledge, has the building we’ve been discussing ever been tested for the presence of lead-based paint?

1. Yes

2. No

888. Don’t know/not sure

999. Refused

Q12

Is there anything else you’d like EPA to know related to lead paint or renovation, repair and painting in 

nonresidential buildings? _____________________________________

CLOSE:

That’s all the questions I have. Thanks for your participation in this study.