The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top FOUR environmental risks in America.
People in industrialized nations spend more than ninety percent (90%) of their time
indoors. The restricted environment of an indoor facility concentrates many of the
indoor pollutants creating the health concerns for the exposed population. This
problem is of particular concern when pollutants concentrate in facilities where people
receive prolonged exposure (e.g., Homes, Hospitals, Schools and Workplaces).
Indoor air quality complaints associated with a problem building may have a specific
identifiable cause Building-Related Disease – BRD or a diffuse spectrum of symptoms
in which no specific factor or factors can be identified Sick Building Syndrome –
SBS. In cases where the indoor environment has allowed the proliferation of
microorganisms, the following building-related illnesses can occur:
- Legionnaires’ Disease
- Hypersensitivity diseases (e.g.,
Asthma, Allergenic Rhinitis, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis)
- Nosocomial Infections
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