Brief Overview
People in modern societies spend more than 90% of their time indoors. Hence, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has a significant impact on public health. In this article are described health risks associated with indoor environments, illuminate barriers to overcoming these risks, and provide policy recommendations to achieve healthier indoor environments.
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of a
building’s environment in relation to the health and well-being of those
who occupy space within it. IEQ is determined by many factors,
including lighting, air quality, and damp conditions. Workers are often
concerned that they have
symptoms or health conditions from exposures
to contaminants in the buildings where they work. One
reason for this concern is that their symptoms often get better when
they are not in the building.
While research has shown that some respiratory symptoms
and illnesses can be associated with damp buildings, it is still unclear
what measurements of indoor
contaminants show that workers are at risk for disease.
In most instances where a worker and his or her physician suspect that
the building environment
is causing a specific health condition, the information
available from medical tests and tests of the environment is not
sufficient to establish which
contaminants are responsible. Despite uncertainty about
what to measure and how to interpret what is measured, research shows
that building-related
symptoms are associated with building characteristics,
including dampness, cleanliness, and ventilation characteristics.