Over the past 10 years, an expanding amount of evidence has shown the tremendous neg-ative impact air contaminants has on our health. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) www.epa.gov, indoor air is up to 10 times more hazardous than outdoor air. Contaminates that can effect poor air quality can be defined as:
  • Microbials: germs, microscopic bacteria, viruses, fungi, mildew, mold spores, and mycotoxins produced by a fungus, as small as .001 microns. Microbials often thrive in heating and air conditioning ducts.
  • Chemical Pollutants: ( volatile organic compounds) VOCs, aerosols, paints, insecticides, pesticides, cigarette smoke, carpet, drapes, cleaning materials, fabrics, and etc.
  • Odors: Animals, cooking, cigarette, cigar, sweat, shoes, litter boxes, and smoke damage, and others.
Many companies and government agencies are focusing efforts around establishing a "green" building and improving air quality, such as:

United States Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org)
The United States Green Building Council through its LEED efforts has developed standards for building owners and operators to measure operations, improvements, and maintenance on a consistent scale.

Green Seal (www.greenseal.org)
Another company setting standards in the commercial office industry is Green Seal. It has established GS-40 (40 recommendations for a building to become "green") . These recom-mendations range from the products being used in the building to the procedures on how to apply the products. Green Seal's focus is to provide for an environmentally safe work envir-onment.

Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA also is committed to tackling the problems associated with maintaining indoor air quality (IAQ)www.epa.gov/iaq/is-build2.html. IAQ programs that the EPA has established are: Energy Star (www.energystar.gov), Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) which is an education program for IAQ called Indoor Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/ibeam_page.htm, and the Clean Air Act www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaain.html. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62 defines acceptable air quality as "air in which there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which a substantial majority (80% or more) of the people exposed do not express dissatisfaction. " ASHRAE explains further that, " the majority of HVAC systems do not meet the minimum ventilation rates prescribed during operation. It is not uncommon for rates to fall below levels that result in occupant dissatisfaction significantly greater than 50%. Therefore, 1 out of 5 occupants for some reason or another complain of unsatisfactory indoor air quality." The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 40% of all buildings pose a serious health risk due to indoor air pollution, commonly known as "Sick Building Syndrome" or "Building Related Illness".

Occupation Safety & Health Adminstration(www.osha.gov)
OSHA realizes the issues with poor indoor air quality and has defined clean air as, "air such of purity that it will not cause harm or discomfort to an individual if it is inhaled for extended periods of time." OSHA further states that inadequate ventilation is the cause of about half of all indoor air quality problems in the workplace.

As many agencies are addressing the major problems with indoor air quality, AirOwatch's ROS technology has the answer to improving indoor air quality.AirOwatch solutions can be utilized for throughout a facility. From malodors to micro-organisms, AirOwatch has a solution for you.