Why the EPA Is Concerned About Indoor Air Quality

The experts at AirMD who conduct mold and asbestos inspections as well as formaldehyde and VOC testing aren’t the only one who are concerned about the quality of the air in your home and your office. 

When you think about what kind of environment the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects, you’re probably thinking about rivers contaminated by toxic runoff or superfund sites, like the Davie landfill in Broward County, where inorganic compounds, heavy metals and VOCs contaminated the soil and groundwater.  

You might be surprised to learn that the EPA also keeps an eye on the quality of the air inside your home, your office and your kids’ school as well as the places where you shop and a host of other buildings.  

The EPA and Indoor Air Quality

Why would the EPA be concerned about the quality of the air in our homes, schools and shopping centers as well as our places of employment? 

The agency reports that, “Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors,¹ where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.²” 

Obviously, if there’s something wrong with the air we breathe 90 percent of the time, it’s going to have serious impacts on the public’s health. The EPA is also concerned because:

• People who are often most susceptible to the adverse effects of pollution (e.g., the very young, older adults, people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease) tend to spend even more time indoors.³

• Indoor concentrations of some pollutants have increased in recent decades due to such factors as energy-efficient building construction (when it lacks sufficient mechanical ventilation to ensure adequate air exchange) and increased use of synthetic building materials, furnishings, personal care products, pesticides, and household cleaners.

When conducted by science-based professional air testing companies like AirMD, indoor air quality assessments can be an important source of information that might impact the health and wellness of you and your family. For more information, contact us at your convenience.