Pollutants considered to be harmful for the health of the public and environment have air quality standards set for them by the Clean Air Act of 1970 which was last amended in 1990. The Clean Air Act has set two types of national air quality standards. The two types of air quality standards set are Primary and Secondary standards.

Primary air quality standards were set to protect public health. The Primary standards include sensitive pollutants such as those that contribute to asthma and the pollutants dangerous to children and the elderly.

Secondary air quality standards are those set to the welfare of the public. The pollutants included in the Secondary standards include pollutants effecting animals, visibility, buildings, crops and vegetation.

The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set air quality standards for Carbon Monoxide and five other harmful pollutants. The six harmful pollutants that the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards or the OAQPS has set standards for are Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Particulate Matter and Sulfur Dioxide. These six pollutants are called criteria pollutants. The units used to measure these pollutants are parts per million (ppm) by volume, milligrams (mg/m3), and micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3).

These standards have been set because the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set the standards. The Clean Air Act also tells the EPA to review and update these standards to make sure that they continue to protect the public and the environment as the updates are needed.

The EPA and industry use these air quality standards to inform the public of the air quality in the United States of America. With this information the EPA and industry can also know if the steps they are taking to improve the air quality standards are effective.

If the air quality has went down then both the EPA and the specific industry creating the decline will know that they must change the way they are attempting to improve the air quality standards.

If the air quality has improved then the EPA and industry can investigate what improvement methods can be named as responsible for the specific improvements. After the responsible methods have been named the EPA can use these facts to update the standards, laws and regulations so that the improvements can be both continued and hopefully accelerated.

In review, the Clean Air Act has been used to set standards for the EPA to set and follow. These standards are regularly tested and updated. As the air quality standards are updated, we know the level of success our improvement methods are having on the air quality around us.

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Indoor air quality testing is important for your quality of life. If you are not sure how clean the air is inside your home, indoor air quality testing is recommended. After your home has been tested for any possible indoor air pollution you will be able t create a plan to begin improving your homes air quality.

You can have your home tested for mold and any possible mold contributing factors inside your home. After you have identified any areas of your home with mold, you can then test the areas for the mold contributing factors. Only after all of the areas of your home with mold have been identified along with the contributing factors you can then create your plan of defense against these areas and their contributing factors.

Mold is not an air quality issue limited to residential construction only. Commercial construction need to have air quality testing also. First, commercial buildings have a responsibility to both the employees that work inside of them and any customers and clients that may be within them for any reason. Without air quality testing there is no way for a commercial building owner to know if they are living up to their responsibility to provide the people that may be inside of the building at any given time with a clean and safe atmosphere.

If you are selling any real estate, it is important to have air quality testing performed on the home or building before it has been sold. If you are a buyer looking for a new home or a commercial building of any kind for any reason, it is your responsibility as a buyer to be sure that the home or building which you intend to or are interested in purchasing has had air quality testing done.

If you are living in a home with poor air quality, it is your responsibility for air quality testing to be done on your home and to do anything possible to improve the air quality of your home. Some of the both residential and commercial air quality testing that is recommended to be performed on a regular schedule is mold testing and monitoring, air quality testing and monitoring, asbestos testing, asbestos management planning, remediation protocols and anti-microbial testing, treatment and monitoring.

Some air quality testing service providers will offer 24 hours, 7 days a week response to your requests and needs for air quality testing. Others offer a fast sample results turnaround time and date. No matter who you contract to perform your air quality testing a high quality detailed analysis at a fair price should always be important to both the contracting party and contracted service provider.

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Allergies are everywhere in the world and some are affected more than others by these allergies. There are efforts everywhere to improve the air quality around us. The EPA has implemented many laws in conjunction with The Clean Air Act to clean up our environment, but pollution continues to be a problem. It’s this pollution that is affecting the environment and causing or worsening certain respiratory problems in people everywhere.

Recent studies have shown that individuals living in certain mobile homes may be triggered by reactions from allergies from mobile home air quality not being what it should. In Louisiana and Mississippi, FEMA supplied many families with mobile homes as temporary living quarters. Unfortunately, many of these homes have formaldehyde in them, which causes allergies. Mobile home air quality has been tested in these homes to ensure the safety of the residents. Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a very strong smell. It’s used a lot in the building of homes and home products including furniture, cabinets and walls in mobile homes and trailers.
Even if the tenants are not bothered by allergies, mobile home air quality in these homes is still at question by FEMA, who is doing the testing. Individuals that have breathed a lot of formaldehyde may experience symptoms such as cough, sore throat, scratchy eyes and nosebleeds.

Mobile home residents not living in FEMA assisted homes are often still affected by allergies. Mobile home air quality is seldom as healthy as you find in traditional homes with proper ventilation. The square footage is not usually as well spread out as you find in a traditional stick built home. Many new homeowners have central air or window air conditioners so they don’t suffer through many of the long hot humid days of summers. Extreme heat, humidity and stuffiness in these mobile homes will often bring out dormant allergies in a mobile home. Air quality can be improved by having proper ventilation in the home as well as keeping it as pollutant free as possible.

Some pollutants that will cause allergies and affect mobile home air quality are indoor pets such as dogs and cats, smoking or improperly vented heating and cooking appliances. There are many tests you can get today to help test the air quality in your home as well as air quality monitors. These utilities are excellent for helping your provide the best possible air quality in your home. Many organizations also exist for those that want to check the air quality in their home. Small utilities such as carbon monoxide detectors can also be purchased to be used by the homeowner.

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The Bush administration was told by the Environmental Protection Agency that California should be allowed to set tougher laws to protect the California air quality than those set by the federal government. President Bush did not agree with this statement. His belief is that there should be one equal national standard.

Senator Barbara Boxer, democrat from California is investigating what she calls an effort by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to cover up the threat of global warming.

The committee was told by a whistleblower named Jason Burnett that Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the EPA visited the White House last year with a plan to grant California a waiver to toughen the California air quality laws. This waiver would allow California to set tougher California air quality protection standards for a period of years. Bush made it clear to the EPA administrator that he prefers one national standard. Johnson then denied Californias request for tougher California air quality laws.

Johnson has claimed that there is nothing unique to California to support the waiver for tougher California air quality laws and that his decision was made independently.

The administration has denied every request from Boxer for e-mails and other documents during her investigation. Boxer wants to take a vote from her committee to find out if they feel that she should subpoena the documents. She would need at least two republican members to attend for this vote to count.

Coordination of demonstrations, experiments, investigations, research, studies, and surveys relating to the control, causes, effects, extent and prevention of indoor pollution in California is the mission of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Program.

The IAQ is a multi-disciplinary program with expertise in organic and physical chemistry, biological aerosols, microbiology and mechanical engineering among other disciplines.

Program staff from the IAQ in California has carried out original research on miscellaneous indoor air quality issues. These issues include but are not limited to the measurement of formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide in mobile homes, radon concentrations in California residences and schools, identify asbestos in public buildings, survey accidental deaths due to CO, effectiveness of ultraviolet radiation and ventilation to control the airborne infections and other California air quality issues have been researched.

The chair to the Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality in California is the IAQ section chief. There are also representatives from academic institutions, federal, state and local agencies on the Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality.

Unfortunately, California has not been allowed to pass tougher laws on California air quality at this time.

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In June of 2008 it was reported that the top 5 cities with the best air quality in the world were as follows: number one is Zurich in Switzerland then the second through fifth were the four following cities: Vienna in Austria and Geneva in Switzerland both registered 107.9 points to come in at second and third. The fourth of the top five cities with the best air quality is Vancouver Canada. Finally, the fifth of the five cities with the best air quality is Auckland, New Zeeland. The rating system that these five cities were ranked by was Mercer Consulting. After the fifth city of Auckland, there were three consecutive German cities with the best air quality. The three German cities are Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt. Baghdad is the lowest rated city on the list of cities with best air quality.

In the UK, while London ranked at 38 both Birmingham and Glasgow were together at 56. In the United States of America Honolulu ranked at 28.

Mercer Consulting based the scale on a point-by-point scoring index. This point by point scoring had Zurich with 108.0 points while Baghdad only scored 13.5 points. The cities were all based on a comparison with New York with an index score of 100 points. This quality of living scale ranks 215 cities around the world. The scale is used by various companies to place employees in cities for international assignments.

On the North American continent, the list was dominated by Canadian cities including Montral ranked at 22 up to Vancouver ranked at 4. After Honolulu, ranked 28 in the United States of America the U.S. cities fall down to New York ranked at 49.

In Central and Southern Latin America San Juan, Puerto Rico is the highest ranked at 72 only to fall down as far as Port au Prince in Haiti ranked 202.

European cities pretty much dominated the scale with Zurich in Switzerland ranked number 1 overall ending at Minsk in Belarus at 183. Switzerland and Germany are both represented in the top ten overall rankings with three cities from each country. Switzerland had Zurich ranked number 1 and Geneva ranked along with Vienna in Austria both scoring 107.9 points. You can say that Switzerland has the top two ranked cities with best air quality.

In the middle east and Africa Cape Town ranked at 80 and the cities in the Middle East and Africa with best air quality dropped all the way to the bottom with Baghdad, which was ranked as the worse at 215.

The Asia Pacific region of the world started with Auckland in New Zeeland that was ranked at five and went as far down as Jakarta which was ranked 146.

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You can prevent waste and save paper with copiers that are capable of double-sided and/or multi-page printing services. If you also buy re-manufactured toner cartridges instead of always buying brand new toner cartridges you can help to reduce the amount of waste that is placed in landfills or transformation service facilities. When you purchase refurbished copiers, you are again helping to reduce waste. Although, refurbished copiers may not be equipped with the new energy efficient components.

ENERGY STAR copiers have some of the same energy saving features as most new computers. An ENERGY STAR copier is capable of going to “sleep” or even powering itself down when it is not in use. If a copier complies with ENERGY STAR requirements it may be able to cut the amount of energy use from between 30 and 40 percent. The ENERGY STAR feature may even help you to reduce energy use by lowering the running time of your air conditioning and maintenance service costs.

You can set-up your copier to help you improve the indoor air quality of your office. You can do this by setting the performance standards to allowable standards for ozone, particulate matter, styrene and volatile organic compounds from the toner cartridge. After you have set-up your copier the emitted ozone concentrations should beat a minimum complying with the state and federal occupational standards.

You can make your copier less hazardous by not using toners with diphenyl ethers (PBDE) or polybrominated biphenyls (PBB). These chemicals are carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic substances. You may also purchase copiers that all lead-free solder construction of the printed circuit boards or use no arsenic, selenium or cadmium in the photoreceptor.

Another way that your copier can help air quality is waste prevention with a copier capable of Double-sided Copies. Some copiers available on the market feature automatic double-sided copying. This feature helps to save paper and energy. Based on how often the double-sided printing option is used, double-sided copying, also known as duplexing can reduce paper use. With the double-sided printing option your copier is turned into an energy saving piece of office equipment. The double-sided printing option makes a copier energy saving because it takes 10 times more energy to produce paper than it does to copy an image onto it. Digital copiers present paper-saving options with multi-page printing, as well as improvements in the way that paper is handled.

In review, you can help the air quality of your office and even the globe by buying and using ENERGY STAR copiers as well as newer technology copiers that can perform double-sided and multi-page printing services. You may also want to buy environment friendly toner cartridges as well as refurbished copiers and re-manufactured toner cartridges.

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Your home air quality is very important for your health and quality of life. Your home needs to be safe and comfortable, not a place to make you sick. It does not matter if your home is new or old; any age of home can have home air quality problems. Nonetheless, there is good news! You can do something about your home air quality, now! You can improve your home air quality and improve your quality of life.

First, investigate each room to find the air quality problems.

Contributors to poor home air quality include, but are not limited to the carpet, too much or not enough humidity, indoor pesticides, biological pollutants, asbestos, radon, mold, mildew and carbon monoxide.

The kitchen often has problems with moisture that causes mold, mildew and odors, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, formaldehyde, and inhalable chemicals.

The living room can have problems with, formaldehyde from new carpets, dust mold, pet dander and other allergens from old carpets, lead, Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs and particulate matter from candles and incense, and the carpet, curtains, drapes and furniture can hold toxic chemicals and gas from smoking.

Common home air quality concerns in the bathroom include mold and mildew, hygiene, air freshening products release toxic chemicals, and potentially dangerous and toxic cleaning chemicals may be stored in the bathroom.

The garage may have home air quality contributors such as, vehicle exhaust gasses, leaking fuel storage containers and improperly stored pesticides and used, old paint cans releasing toxins and VOCs.

The basement can have some of the widest range of contributing factors. Basement factors may include carbon monoxide from furnaces, particulate matter like dust and soot from wood burning stoves, VOCs from used paint and solvents, radon and mold, mildew, many other allergens and biological contaminants.

As you can see, there is a multitude of factors contributing to poor home air quality. Many of these can be limited or even eliminated with the use or air filters and purifiers. There are other ways to improve your home air quality too. The easiest and best way is to just not store the chemicals that cause or contribute a majority of the problems inside your home. It is as important if not considerably more to be aware of your home air quality, as it is to be aware of the outdoor air quality you are in daily.

After you have investigated and discovered the air quality problems inside of your home you will be better prepared to go out and to purchase the tools and supplies you need to improve your home air quality.

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Two individual homes will almost never have identical air quality issues. There are far too many variables involved in indoor air quality management for two different homes to have identical air quality issues. Some of these variables include habits of the family or occupants, pets, construction issues and traffic patterns on the roads around the home. Every individual home has its own set of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) entry points and factors. This is why home air quality testing is important.

Miscellaneous allergens can develop and grow throughout your home without your knowledge. There is a standard set of preventative methods that may be followed to stop this. The fact is, home air quality testing is only a starting point in the battle against indoor air pollution.

Home air quality testing gives you the knowledge you need to create a plan of attack against the indoor air pollution you may be experiencing. It also gives you a way to prove your homes air quality is clean, which is better than just guessing or believing without facts to support it.

The ability to prove the air quality of your home is clean is more important than the simple knowledge of the fact. The only way to prove that your homes air quality is clean is to have home air quality testing done. With the printed results from the home air quality testing, you have the opportunity to view and even show-off each individual result.

With the wide range of pollutants that are harmful taken into account home air quality testing is very important. There are pollutants such as, mold and mildew, bacteria, airborne pollutants and harmful gasses from stored chemicals.

The air in tightly sealed homes that have allowed pollutants to build up inside of them can be ten times and higher more hazardous than the outdoor air surrounding them.

With the correct tools and knowledge or directions, anyone can accurately perform home air quality testing. With the knowledge gained from the home air quality testing you can begin to create a plan and put the plan into action to improve your homes air quality.

Let us review what we have discussed here. First, because of the wide range of variables, two individual homes will almost never have identical air quality concerns. Home air quality testing will only give you an idea for the starting point of your homes air quality improvements. After you have identified the starting point you can then begin to create a plan for the improvements. Proof of your homes air quality is more important than the knowledge alone. The air quality inside can be 10 times and more hazardous than the outside air but with the correct tools and direction you can successfully perform home air quality testing yourself.

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Indoor air quality is important for everyone. If the air quality of your home is not clean then you will not be able to live a quality life that everyone deserves. If your homes indoor air quality is clean then your quality of life can be more enjoyable.
There are ways for you to improve your homes indoor air quality. The best ways to improve your homes indoor air quality is to not smoke or use anything that emits a toxic gas inside your home, use clean and clear active air filters to filtrate the air inside your home, replace filters used to filtrate any air that is re-circulated inside your home as they become dirty and clogged. If you live in an area with a high level of air pollution such as a large city it will help your indoor air quality if you keep your windows and doors closed as much as possible so that the outside-polluted air stays out side.

If you know that your indoor air quality is already at a diminished level you will want to use any means at your disposal to help you clean out as much of the air pollution as you possibly can.

The concerns for a better indoor air quality (IAQ) have risen since the 1970s when energy conservation plans were put into action especially in business offices. With the energy conservation efforts there was less outside air and more inside air with pollutants building up inside offices. This air quality inside of business offices is often referred to as Indoor Air Quality or IAQ.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) are both terms that have a relative connection to IAQ.

Complaints that have been filed in connection to IAQ are simple bad odor complaints to illness and work loss because of the IAQ. The number of possible causes, sources and general personal sensitivities are great, making it very difficult to pinpoint any actual causes. Even though the causes are difficult to make a connection to IAQ, IAQ is often named as the problem.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA and the American Biological Safety Association or ABSA are focused on bettering indoor air quality of the workplace in general. These two associations also wish to assist the employers at all levels of business to develop a preventative viewpoint on biological safety issues.

The summary of the above is that indoor air quality is important not only at home but also in the workplace. The government, businesses and employers across the nation are concerned about your indoor air quality and are doing everything within their power to improve it for you.

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If you wish to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency at the same time, you may want to follow some basic rules that will do both of these simultaneously.

If you do whatever you can to prevent cold drafts you will limit the amount of airborne allergens entering your home from the outside. By preventing cold drafts, you will be helping your indoor air quality and energy efficiency by limiting the loss of heat in the winter or cool room air in the heat of the summer. At the same time, you are limiting outside irritants as well as toxic particles that may be suspended in the atmosphere around the outside of your home. If you circulate the warm and cool air inside your home, you will not be allowing your rooms to become stuffy and stale as you are preventing odors. You will also be able to control the humidity in your home. By controlling the humidity in your home, you will be able to prevent mold and the need to use a dehumidifier, which can be very costly to run.

You will be far ahead with indoor air quality and energy efficiency if you are able to create a sanctuary inside your home away from airborne microbes that may include anthrax, botulism, small pox, toxic gasses, and radioactive particles that are released by terrorists or by accident.

A simple air leakage test can be the first step towards indoor air quality and energy efficiency. The air leakage test can be done with a fan in and outer doorway. After the fan has been placed in the outer doorway you will find that the amount of air flowing through the fan is equal to the air flowing through any leaks in the shell of the buildings construction.

If you use small cool white smoke puffs during the air leakage test you will be able to identify the areas where insects, dust, mold spores, pollen and any possible cold drafts may be entering your home.

In most new home construction as well as existing buildings there may be gaps, cracks and holes in the outer shell construction that can total as much if not more than 100 to 300 square inches. These holes in the construction of your homes shell are open all the time. If you have a ducted air circulation system in your home it may be creating a significant level of pressure that can drive air through the cracks, crevices, holes and leaks between the interior and exterior.

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