Indoor air quality: The legal landscape II
- Shook, Hardy and Bacon, Kansas City, MO (United States)
Today`s office environment is as different from its predecessor as an automobile is from a horse and buggy. A 1950s office typically contained tile floors, painted walls, plaster ceilings, carbon paper, and plentiful fresh air circulating through windows that were usually open when weather permitted. In the 1990s, the decor has shifted to carpeted floors, synthetic wall coverings, ceiling tile and multiple copiers. Sophisticated building materials and motorized office products can emit unwelcome constituents into the indoor air, yet ventilation is limited by windows that do not open. One result of these changes has been an unprecedented and ever-increasing concern about indoor air quality (IAQ). Some studies rank indoor air pollution as today`s number one environmental health risk. Increased media attention to the topic has increased public awareness, which has increased litigation and regulatory activity in the area. This paper explores the legal landscape of IAQ in the US, ranging from legislative to regulatory activity on both the federal and state levels, and from civil litigation to actions brought before administrative boards. Along the way, the paper defines and discusses such IAQ problems as building-related illness (BRI) and sick building syndrome (SBS), examining the magnitude of the problems and their possible causes. Finally, the paper provides suggestions to those potentially liable for alleged injuries from indoor air pollution, including architects, builders, contractors, building product manufacturers, building owners and managers, building sellers, employers, and engineering and environmental consultants. This paper is an update of a paper presented at the Air and Waste Management Association`s Annual Meeting in 1992.
- OSTI ID:
- 351163
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970677--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Employing ASHRAE Standard 62-1989 in urban building environments
Indoor air quality study in Agency Building Two, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. Final report