Chemical, Microbiological, Health and Comfort Aspects of Indoor Air Quality - State of the Art in SBS

A. Introduction.- The Sick Building Syndrome — Overview and Frontiers.- B. Chemical and Biological Aspects.- The dynamics of the indoor environment and some strategical aspects of indoor measurements.- Organic indoor pollutants — sources, species, and concentrations.- Sampling and analysis of organic indoor air pollutants.- Characterization of organic emissions from indoor sources.- Sensory characterization of air quality and pollution sources.- Indoor microbiological pollutants — sources, species, characterisation and evaluation.- C. Effects of Indoor Air Pollution on Humans.- Irritation of the upper airways. Mechanisms and structure-activity relationships.- Assessment methods and causes of eye irritation in humans in indoor environment.- Indoor environment and the skin.- Sensory effects for indoor air quality control.- Indoor air pollution: immunological interactions.- Indoor pollution and allergic sensitization.- Chemical hyper-responsiveness.- Some studies of human reactions from the emissions of building materials and office machines.- Human reactions to controlled exposures to VOC’s and the “TOTAL-VOC” concept.- D. ’Sick’ Building Epidemiology.- Questionnaires in exposure and effect assessment in the field.- The effects of microbiological pollution in buildings — results of building investigations.- Building epidemiology — approaches and results (European experience).- Building epidemiology and investigations — approaches and results (U.S. experience).- E. Mitigation and Control.- Regulating indoor air.- Controlling sources of indoor air pollution.- Construction and health — criteria, standards and techniques against indoor pollution.- Healthy buildings — where do we stand, where should we go?.