| The California Air Resources Board (ARB) carries out a non-regulatory Indoor
Air Quality and Personal Exposure Assessment Program (Indoor Program) that includes sponsored research, exposure
assessment, development of indoor air quality guidelines, and public education and outreach. The goal of the Indoor
Program is to identify and reduce Californians' exposures to indoor air pollutants. The ARB is committed to
pursuing actions to prevent indoor pollution and to effectively reduce the significant risk it currently
poses to Californians. |
| ARB Lists Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a TAC |
| The California Air Resources Board (ARB) formally identified environmental tobacco
smoke (ETS), or second-hand smoke, as a Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC) at their January 2006 meeting. ARB's action
to list ETS as a TAC was based on a comprehensive report on exposure and health effects of ETS. To see the
news release click here and access to the documents, click
here. |
| AB 1173 Indoor Air Quality Report Completed and Approved |
| Assembly Bill 1173 (Keeley), signed into law in September, 2002, required the Air Resources
Board to prepare a comprehensive report on indoor air pollution, including information on the health effects
and sources of indoor pollutants; the effects of existing regulations and industry practices; and possible mitigation
options for homes, schools and non-industrial workplaces. The "Report to the California Legislature: Indoor
Air Pollution in California" was submitted to the Legislature in July 2005. The final report is available
for download, please click here. |
| Ozone Generators a Threat to Health |
| Not all air-cleaning devices are appropriate for home use — some can be harmful to
human health. The ARB recommends that ozone generators, air cleaners that intentionally produce ozone, not be used
in the home. Ozone is a gas that can cause health problems, including respiratory tract irritation and breathing
difficulty. For a list of ozone generators sold as air purifiers and other information, please click here. |
| Portable Classrooms Study (PCS) Finds Serious Problems |
| The "Report to the Legislature on Environmental Health Conditions
in California's Portable Classrooms" was submitted to the Legislature in November, 2004. For more information
on the study and access to the final report, click here. |
| Residential Cooking Exposure Study Finds Unhealthful Levels |
| Research scientists completed an ARB-funded study that showed very high
levels of several pollutants in indoor air during different types of cooking activities. The levels measured for
some cooking activities exceeded health-based standards and guidelines, and could pose a potential risk to home
occupants, especially susceptible groups of the population such as young children and the elderly. This
is the first comprehensive study of indoor air pollutant exposures from a wide variety of cooking activities
in a home. Click here
for a summary of the results. |
| The following indoor air quality documents are available: |
| INDOOR AIR QUALITY GUIDELINES
- Indoor air quality guidelines are available that identify the sources of toxic pollutants indoors and tell how
you can reduce your exposure to them. The guidelines also identify safe vs. unsafe levels for pollutants for which
such levels are known. The guidelines available are: |
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| SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS - The California Air
Resources Board (ARB) sponsored a symposium on May 3-4, 2000, in Sacramento entitled Indoor Air Quality: Risk
Reduction in the 21st Century. The California Department of Health Services (DHS) co-sponsored the event. The
objective of the symposium was to highlight new findings in the fields of indoor air quality and exposure
assessment and to promote actions to prevent and reduce indoor air pollution. This document summarizes the
two days of presentations and panel discussions held during the Symposium. To view or to download
the document, click here. |
| RESEARCH REPORTS -
Summaries and final reports for indoor air quality research projects sponsored by the ARB can be found by clicking here. Research Notes are also available for some of the research performed for the Indoor Program.
We also have a research summary for a report entitled "Measuring Concentrations of Selected Air Pollutants Inside California Vehicles." |
| For further information about the program, or to order hard copies of Indoor
Program Research Notes and guidelines, please call our Indoor Program message line at (916) 322-8282 or write to us at: |
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Indoor Air Quality Program
California Air Resources Board
Research Division
P. O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95812
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Related Indoor Air Quality Sites:
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