subject: Health & Safety At Work - Indoor Air Quality (iaq) [print this page] Health & Safety at work concerns about indoor air quality (IAQ) increased when energy conservation measures instituted in office buildings and homes, minimised the introduction of outside air and contributed to the build-up of indoor air contaminants. IAQ generally refers to the quality of the air in an office environment or other workplace. Other terms related to IAQ include indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and "sick building syndrome" (SBS).
Complaints about indoor air quality range from simple complaints, such as the air smelling odd, to more complex, where the air quality causes illness and lost work time. It may not be easy to identify a single reason for indoor air quality complaints because of the number and variety of possible sources, causes, and varying individual sensitivities.
The following questions link to information relevant to indoor air quality in the workplace.
Ireland (HSA) has no indoor air quality (IAQ) standards but it does provide guidelines addressing the most common workplace health & safety complaints about indoor air quality, which are typically related to temperature, humidity, lack of outside air ventilation or other contaminant.
Not until workplace IAQ Health & Safety related problems move beyond matters of human comfort into potential hazardous conditions leading to serious physical harm or death, do Occupational exposure limit values become applicable. Such standards may include those for specific air quality contaminants such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide, ventilation systems, or the General Duty to provide a safe place of work under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
