Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within and around buildings and structures. IAQ is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. Poor indoor air quality has been linked to sick building syndrome, reduced productivity, and impaired learning in schools. Common pollutants of indoor air include: secondhand tobacco smoke, air pollutants from indoor combustion, radon, molds and other allergens, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, legionella and other bacteria, asbestos fibers, carbon dioxide, ozone and particulates. Source control, filtration, and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants are the primary methods for improving indoor air quality.
IAQ is evaluated through collection of air samples, monitoring human exposure to pollutants, analysis of building surfaces, and computer modelling of air flow inside buildings. IAQ is part of indoor environmental quality (IEQ), along with other factors that exert an influence on physical and psychological aspects of life indoors (e.g., lighting, visual quality, acoustics, and thermal comfort).
Indoor workplaces include offices, retail stores, hospitals, libraries, schools and preschool childcare facilities. Although employees at these workplaces may not be exposed to hazardous substances or excessive noise, employees may exhibit symptoms associated with sick building syndrome. Symptoms can include burning of the eyes, scratchy throat, blocked nose, and headaches. These afflictions often cannot be attributed to a single cause. To determine the origin of the problem, investigators may analyze the air and consider lighting, noise, temperature, and any ionizing radiation. A report assisted by the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance can support in the systematic investigation of individual health problems arising at indoor workplaces, and in the identification of practical solutions.
Indoor air pollution is a major health hazard in developing countries and is commonly referred to as "household air pollution" in that context.
