ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on indoor air quality and highlights the sources of potential morbidity of indoor air quality as it pertains to lung health. It identifies key elements of indoor air quality which significantly impact the health of individuals in the United States. Indoor smoking, elevated radon levels, and undetected elevated carbon monoxide levels present significant health hazards. Secondhand smoke is composed of a mixture of both a sidestream smoke, the smoke released from the burning end of a cigarette, and exhaled mainstream smoke, the smoke exhaled by the smoker. The “thirdhand smoke” has been referred to as cigarette by-products that cling to a smoker’s hair and clothing as well as to household fabrics, carpets, and surfaces even after secondhand smoke has cleared. The Pro-Children Act of 1994 prohibits smoking in facilities that routinely provide federally funded services to children. A small subset of molds in the indoor environment is known to induce an immunoglobulin mediated antibody response in humans.
