Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Scientific Findings Resource Bank (IAQ-SFRB)

Building Ventilation

Ventilation is the supply of outdoor air to a building. This section discusses how ventilation rates influence indoor air quality and occupant health and performance.

Topics discussed include the causes of excess building dampness, the influence of dampness on indoor biological and organic chemical contaminants, and the effects of dampness and of dampness-related indoor contaminants on people's health.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Indoor volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are carbon-containing organic chemicals emitted from a variety of sources. The implications of indoor VOCs for health are addressed.

Human Performance

This section discusses how the performance of office and school work is affected by indoor environmental conditions and by the features of buildings that influence indoor environmental conditions.

National-Level Opportunities

This section provides estimates at the national level of some of the benefits and costs of taking practical steps to improve indoor environmental conditions in U.S. buildings.

Air Cleaning

Indoor air cleaning is the process of intentionally removing pollutants from indoor air, or from the outdoor air as it enters a building. This section of the web site addresses the relationship of air cleaning to health and perceived air quality, focusing on application of air cleaning to buildings outside of the health care and industrial sectors.

Climate Change

Climate change will modify outdoor environmental conditions which, in turn, will modify indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Also, our responses to climate change will influence IEQ. The implications for health are discussed.