ATTACHMENT 6 

EPA Public and Commercial Building 

Occupant Survey Questionnaire 

Page 1 of 10 

EPA Public and Commercial 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.  

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.  We will not reveal your name or your organization’s name to EPA, so your responses will

be anonymous. 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.  

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, a federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  The OMB control

number for this survey is 2070‐####. For more information about the agency’s compliance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act, go to http://www.regulations.gov and use Docket ID No. EPA‐HQ‐OPPT‐2013‐0715 to view the

agency’s request, justification and estimated burden and costs for conducting this survey.

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:  _____________________   
Page 2 of 10 

S3

Hello, is this [INSERT NAME FROM S2] ?    

IF YES CONTINUE, IF NOT LOCATE CORRECT PERSON

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.  We will not reveal your name or your organization’s name to EPA, so your responses will

be anonymous.  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.  

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, a federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  The OMB control

number for this survey is 2070‐####. For more information about the agency’s compliance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act, go to http://www.regulations.gov and use Docket ID No. EPA‐HQ‐OPPT‐2013‐0715 to view the

agency’s request, justification and estimated burden and costs for conducting this survey.

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 12 months [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]
Page 3 of 10 

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[SKIP TO Q4]

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] ________
Page 4 of 10 

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?}

  
Page 5 of 10 

{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

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. During this most recent project were the painted surfaces you or your employees disturbed

tested for lead‐based paint prior to performing the work?

1. Yes [CONTINUE]

2. No [SKIP TO Q8.1b]

998. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q8.1b]

999. Refused [SKIP TO Q8.1b]

Q8.1a

Did the test indicate that there was lead‐based paint?

1. Yes [SKIP TO Q8.2]

2. No [SKIP TO Q8.1c]

998. Don’t know/not sure [CONTINUE]

999. Refused  [CONTINUE]

Q8.1b

Is it possible that any of the painted surfaces that you or your employees disturbed during this recent project were

coated with paint that was applied before 1978?

1. Yes [SKIP TO Q8.2]

2. No [CONTINUE]

998. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q8.2]

999. Refused [SKIP TO Q8.2]

[If Q7*2# > 1 THEN CONTINUE; ELSE SKIP TO Q8.2]

Q8.1c

Were any of the {Q7*2#} projects involving {selected job type} that you or your employees did in the last 12

months projects where there might have been lead‐based paint, either because the paint was tested and lead was
Page 6 of 10 

found OR the paint was not tested but you or your employees were disturbing painted surfaces where the paint

was applied before 1978?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No Such Projects OR Not sure [SKIP TO Q8.2]

Q8.1.1

For the rest of the survey, I would like you to think only about the most recent project that involved {selected job

type} where there might have been lead‐based paint, either because the paint was tested and lead was found OR

the paint was not tested but you or your employees were disturbing painted surfaces where the paint was applied

before 1978? Can you recall the most recent such project?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. ELSE – [PROBE AND ASSIST IN GETTING R TO RECALL THE PROJECT THEN CONTINUE]

Q8.1.1a

For this project, were the painted surfaces you or your employees planned to disturb tested for lead‐based paint

prior to performing the work?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No  – [SKIP TO Q8.2]

998. Don’t know/not sure  – [SKIP TO Q8.2]

999. Refused  – [SKIP TO Q8.2]

Q8.1.1b

Did those painted surfaces test positive for lead‐based paint?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No  – [CONTINUE]

998. Don’t know/not sure  – [CONTINUE]

999. Refused  – [CONTINUE]

Q8.2

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

ENTER TEXT _______
Page 7 of 10 

[INTERVIEWER:  READ CATEGORIES BELOW IF NEEDED]

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. Retail, food sales, food service, other services

6. Outpatient health care

7. Public assembly, public safety, library

8. Religious worship

9. Warehouse, storage

10. Industrial

11. Agricultural

12. 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

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*3#} projects involving {selected job type}...] that you said was
Page 8 of 10 

done by contractors. During this most recent project were the painted surfaces tested for lead‐based paint prior to

performing the work?

1. Yes [CONTINUE]

2. No [SKIP TO Q9.1b]

998. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q9.1b]

999. Refused [SKIP TO Q9.1b]

Q9.1a

Did the test indicate that there was lead‐based paint?

1. Yes [SKIP TO Q9.2]

2. No [SKIP TO Q9.1c]

998. Don’t know/not sure [CONTINUE]

999. Refused [CONTINUE]

Q9.1b

Is it possible that any of the painted surfaces that the contractors disturbed during this recent project were coated

with paint that was applied before 1978?

1. Yes [SKIP TO Q9.2]

2. No [CONTINUE]

998. Don’t know/not sure [SKIP TO Q9.2]

999. Refused [SKIP TO Q9.2]

[If Q7*3# > 1 THEN CONTINUE; ELSE SKIP TO Q9.2]

Q9.1c

Were any of the {Q7*3#} projects involving {selected job type} that were performed by contractors in the last 12

months projects where there might have been lead‐based paint, either because the paint was tested and lead was

found OR the paint was not tested but you or the contractors were disturbing painted surfaces where the paint

was applied before 1978?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No Such Projects OR Not sure [SKIP TO Q9.2]

Q9.1.1

For the rest of the survey, I would like you to think only about the most recent project that involved {selected job

type} where there might have been lead‐based paint, either because the paint was tested and lead was found OR

the paint was not tested but the contractors were disturbing painted surfaces where the paint was applied before

1978? Can you recall the most recent such project?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. ELSE – [PROBE AND ASSIST IN GETTING R TO RECALL THE PROJECT THEN CONTINUE]

Q9.1.1a

For this project, were the painted surfaces the contractors disturbed tested for lead‐based paint prior to

performing the work?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No  – [SKIP TO Q9.2]

998. Don’t know/not sure  – [SKIP TO Q9.2]

999. Refused  – [SKIP TO Q9.2]
Page 9 of 10 

Q9.1.1b

Did those painted surfaces test positive for lead‐based paint?

1. Yes – [CONTINUE]

2. No  – [CONTINUE]

998. Don’t know/not sure  – [CONTINUE]

999. Refused  – [CONTINUE]

Q9.2

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

ENTER TEXT _______

[INTERVIEWER:  READ CATEGORIES BELOW IF NEEDED]

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. Retail, food sales, food service, other services

6. Outpatient health care

7. Public assembly, public safety, library

8. Religious worship

9. Warehouse, storage

10. Industrial

11. Agricultural

12. 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

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
Page 10 of 10 

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.