ABSTRACT
Indoor air pollution is rapidly becoming a major health issue worldwide. Although research efforts are still under way to better define the nature and extent of the health implications for the general population, recent studies have shown significant amounts of harmful pollutants in the indoor environment. The serious concern over pollutants in indoor air is due largely to the fact that indoor pollutants are not easily dispersed or diluted as are pollutants outdoors. Thus, indoor pollutant levels are frequently higher than outdoors, particularly where buildings are tightly constructed to save energy. In some cases, these indoor levels exceed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards already established for outdoors. Research by the EPA in this area, called the Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies, has documented the fact that levels indoors for some pollutants may exceed outdoor levels by 200%-500% [1].
