Ministry of the Environment (1991) :
“The presence of contaminants in the air of confined spaces physical, chemical and biological processes are not naturally present in the outdoor air of ecological systems of high quality”.
U.S. :
Are identified in a specific way the pathologies arising from closed rooms with the term "Sick Building Syndrome" (Sick building syndrome).
Indoor air pollution
The main sources of indoor contaminants are :
- Building materials : radon, formaldehyde, VOC
- Land underlying buildings : radon
- Furniture and household products : VOC, formaldehyde
- Gas cooker : NOX, CO
- Wood stoves and fireplaces : PM10, CO, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (IPA)
- Tobacco smoke : particulate (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compound
(VOC)
- Heating : NOX, CO, SO2
- Insulating : asbestos
- Sources metabolic nature : CO2, NH3, herbs
- External contaminants : CO, oxides of nitrogen, particulate, benzene
Pollutants :
They are classified into three broad categories : chemical, physical and biological.
Chemicals : nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, toluene, volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, etc..
Physical agents : gas radon, noise, natural and artificial electromagnetic fields
Biological agents : acari, allergens of animal, bacteria, mushrooms, mold, pollen, virus, etc..
The toxicity of one pollutant is often enhanced by association with other substances, poor ventilation and inadequate air exchange or unable do the rest, therefore identify the alarm threshold is extremely difficult and unrealistic, as exposure to pollutants is never single and danger varies depending on the time of exposure, the concentration and combination with other pollutants simultaneously.
The study of the effects of air pollution on human health is particularly complex because the symptoms are nonspecific and may be more pollutants responsible for the same disorder, also take over the effects of stress and discomfort climate, then you have to consider that individuals can react differently to the same conditions.
