Indoor Air QualityWhy is it Important?

What is Indoor Air Quality?

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines indoor air pollution as chemical, physical or biological contaminants in the breathable air inside a habitable structure or conveyance, such as in homes, schools, offices, and vehicles.

What are the Experts Saying?

• "It is hard to come up with another problem that affects more people than indoor pollution."— Yale School of Medicine

• "Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. Now the leading chronic illness among children, asthma affects one in ten children."—The American Lung Association

• "Indoor air pollution is one of our biggest environmental health threats... bigger than toxic wastes sites and the destruction of the ozone layer."—Environmental Protection Agency

Does this Effect Me?• The EPA and its Science Advisory Board have

consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health.

• The average American breathes 3,400 gallons of air each day, making ambient air pollution a major environmental problem.

• Over 90% of the total operating cost of commercial office buildings is attributed to the cost of employee salaries.

Can Better IAQ Make a Difference?

• For initial ventilation rates between 14 and 30 cfm per person, the average performance increases by approximately 0.8% per 10 cfm per person increase in ventilation rate

• Increases of 5% to 10% in aspects of student performance may be associated with doubling the ventilation rate when rates are at or below minimum ventilation standards (15 cfm per student).

Can Better IAQ Make a Difference?

• In offices, a 35% decrease in short term absence was associated with a doubling of ventilation rate from 25 to 50 cfm per person.

• In an elementary grade classroom study, on average, for each 100 ppm decrease in the difference between indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations there was a 1% to 2% relative decrease in the absence rate.

What Effects Indoor Air Quality?

• Moisture and Mold• Pollutant Sources• Amount of Ventilation• Source Control• Ineffective HVAC Systems

What Can be Done?

• Avoid Smoking Indoors• Avoid Idling Vehicles• Use Low-emission Alternatives• Increase Ventilation Rate• Maintenance is the Key

How can an HVAC System Effect IAQ?

• Closed outdoor vents or dampers that do not allow for adequate fresh air intake

• Obstructed outdoor screens on the fresh air intakes

• Filters that have not been changed on a regular basis

• Moisture in drip pans and ductwork• Poor outside air quality

Is there Money in IAQ?

Findings are showing that improvement in IAQ can: • Reduce Sick Building Syndrome symptoms by 20 to 50 percent, with estimated savings of $10 to $100 billion • Reduce asthma by 8 to 25 percent, with estimated

savings of $1 to $4 billion • Reduce other respiratory illnesses by 23 to 76

percent, with estimated savings of $6 to $14 billion • Improve office worker productivity by 0.5 to 5

percent, with estimated savings of $20 to $200 billion

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