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INDOOR AIR QUALITY FUNDAMENTALS
Dose: The amount of a given agent that actually reaches the site
in the body where it causes an effect.
Electrostatic air cleaner: A device that has an electrical charge
to trap particles traveling in the airstream.
Emission: The release of airborne contaminants from a source.
Emission rate: A measure of the quantity of a chemical released
into the air from a given quantity of a source during a
given amount of time.
Emission standard: Either a voluntary guideline or a government
regulation that specifies the maximum rate at which a
contaminant can be released from a source; also called
source emission standard.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS): Combustion emissions
(composed of over 3800 identifiable contaminants,
including 43 known or suspected carcinogens) released
either by burning tobacco or exhausted tobacco smoke.
Flushout: A preoccupancy preventive procedure which involves
running a ventilation system on its highest settings to
remove the airborne emissions from newly installed
furnishings and carpeting. See Bakeout.
Formaldehyde (HCHO): An odorous Volatile Organic
Compound (VOC) that contains oxygen in addition to
carbon and hydrogen which is usually in the form of a
colorless gas at room temperature.
Fungi: Unicellular or multicellular eukaryotic organisms
embracing a large group of microflora including molds,
mildews, yeasts, mushrooms, rusts, and smuts.
HEPA filter: A classification of high-efficiency particulate air
filters.
Hypersensitivity disease: A type of disease characterized by
allergic responses to antigens.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): The characteristics of the indoor
climate of a building, including the gaseous composition,
temperature, relative humidity, and airborne contaminant
levels.
Legionnaires disease: One of two important diseases (the other
being Pontiac fever) that are caused by legionella
pneomophila bacteria. The disease is a severe
multisystemic illness that can affect not only the lungs
but also the gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system,
and kidneys.
Materials Safety Data sheets (MSDSs): OSHA required
documents supplied by manufacturers of potentially
hazardous products. MSDSs contain information
regarding potentially significant airborne contaminants,
precautions for inspection, health effects, odor
description, volatility, expected contaminants from
combustion, reactivity, and procedures for spill cleanup.
Micro-organisms: Life forms too small to be seen with the
unaided eye.
Mitigation: A procedure or strategy aimed at reducing or
eliminating an indoor air problem, through source
control, ventilation control, exposure reduction, and air
cleaning.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS): A medical condition
affecting several organs in which a person reports
sensitivity to very low doses of a variety of chemicals
after an identifiable chemical exposure to one chemical.
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS): The U.S.
outdoor air quality standards designed to protect public
health. Pollutants covered by the NAAQS include ozone,
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, respirable
particulates, and carbon monoxide.
Occupied Zone: The area in a room or building in which most
human activity takes place, considered by ASHRAE to
be between 75 and 1830 millimeters from the floor and
600 millimeters from walls or fixed equipment.
Off gassing: The release of gases, such as organic vapors, from a
building material after the manufacturing process is
complete.
Particulates: Small airborne particles found in the indoor
environment that include fibrous material, solid-state
semivolatile organic compounds such as Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), trace metal, and
biological materials.
Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL): Air contaminant standards
set by OSHA.
4-phenylcyclohexene(4-PC): An odoriferous compound that is
a by-product of the manufacture of styrenebutadiene.
Pollutant: A contaminant that is known to cause illness; often
used synonymously with contaminant.
Pollutant pathway: Route of entry of an airborne contaminant
from a source location into the occupant breathing zone
through architectural or mechanical connections (e.g.
through cracks in walls, vents, HVAC system ducts, and
open windows.
Radon: A colorless, odorless, radioactive gas emitted during the
disintegration of radium. Radon can be a serious indoor
air contaminant in building areas which are in contact
with or are penetrated by gases emitted from radium
containing bedrock or building stones.
Respirable Suspended Particles (RSP): Inhalable particulate
matter; particles less than 10 micrometer in diameter.
Sick building: A building in which the IAQ is considered to be
unacceptable to a majority of occupants.
ENGINEERING MANUAL OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL
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