Green Building Projects

  • Air Quality Management Process

    Air Quality Management Process

    Air quality management refers to all the activities a regulatory authority undertakes to help protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. The process of managing air quality can be illustrated as a cycle of inter-related elements. Click on the image below t...
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  • A Guide to Indoor Air Quality

    A Guide to Indoor Air Quality

    Introduction Indoor Air Quality Concerns All of us face a variety of risks to our health as we go about our day-to-day lives. Driving in cars, flying in planes, engaging in recreational activities, and being exposed to environmental pollutants all pose varying degrees of risk. Some risks are simp...
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  • Indoor Air Quality

    Indoor Air Quality

    We tend to think of air pollution as a risk faced outside, but the air we breathe indoors can also be polluted. Smoke, vapors, mold, and chemicals used in certain paints, furnishings, and cleaners can all affect indoor air quality and our health. Buildings affect overall well-being because most p...
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  • What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic?

    What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic?

    The question of whether SARS-CoV-2 is mainly transmitted by droplets or aerosols has been highly controversial. We sought to explain this controversy through a historical analysis of transmission research in other diseases. For most of human history, the dominant paradigm was that many diseases w...
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  • 5 Asthma and Allergy Tips for a Healthier Home for the Holidays

    5 Asthma and Allergy Tips for a Healthier Home for the Holidays

    Holiday decorations make your home fun and festive. But they can also bring in asthma triggers and allergens. How do you deck the halls while keeping a healthy home? Here are five asthma & allergy friendly® tips for a healthier home for the holidays. Wear a mask while dusting off decoration...
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  • Why Indoor Air Quality is Important to Schools

    Why Indoor Air Quality is Important to Schools

    Overview Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can impact their health, but indoor air pollution can also have significant and harmful health effects. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times — and occasionally m...
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  • Indoor Air Pollution from Cooking

    Indoor Air Pollution from Cooking

    Cooking can contaminate the indoor air with harmful pollutants, but range hoods can effectively remove them. People use a variety of heat sources to cook food, including gas, wood, and electricity. Each of these heat sources can create indoor air pollution during cooking. Natural gas and propane ...
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  • Reading the Air Quality Index

    Reading the Air Quality Index

    The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a representation of air pollution concentration levels. It assigns numbers on a scale between 0 and 500 and is used to help determine when air quality is expected to be unhealthy. Based on federal air quality standards, the AQI includes measures for six major air po...
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  • Volatile Organic Compounds’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality

    Volatile Organic Compounds’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality

    Introduction Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than ...
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  • Primary Causes of Indoor Air Problems – Secondhand Smoke and Smoke-free Homes

    Primary Causes of Indoor Air Problems – Secondhand Smoke and Smoke-free Homes

    What is Secondhand Smoke? Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars or pipes and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Exposure to secondhand smoke is sometimes cal...
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  • Primary Causes of Indoor Air Problems

    Primary Causes of Indoor Air Problems

      Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems. Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air po...
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  • Indoor Air Pollution and Health

    Indoor Air Pollution and Health

    Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns. Health effects fro...
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