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Resources - General


General | Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) | Secondhand Smoke | Carbon Monoxide | Fungi and microorganisms | Other Indoor Air Pollutants

The following links list publications and other resources to help with indoor air quality problems. These resources may not meet all the requirements for health and safety in British Columbia. Please check the Workers Compensation Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and related materials for specific WorkSafeBC requirements.


Indoor Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners, Managers, and Occupants

This new guide helps owners, managers, operators, building occupants, labour unions, engineers, environmental consultants, and suppliers maintain good indoor air quality, prevent indoor air quality problems, and correct problems that may arise. It also provides information on indoor air quality requirements in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC
* PDF (2 MB)

Office Air: A Worker's Guide to Air Quality in Offices, Schools and Hospitals

"If you are an office building occupant or one of the personnel responsible for the administration and management of building maintenance, you should find this booklet useful. The guidance provided is also applicable to similar-use areas in both schools and hospitals."
Source: Health Canada
* PDF (328 KB)

Indoor Air Quality in Office Buildings: A Technical Guide

"This document will provide guidance for those people responsible for conducting indoor air quality (IAQ) investigations in office buildings."
Source: Health Canada
* PDF (174 KB)

OSH Answers - Indoor Air Quality - General

Indoor air quality problems result from interactions between building materials and furnishing, activities within the building, climate, and building occupants.
Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality: An Introduction

In this e-course you will learn about the importance of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), the factors that affect it, how to deal with problems, and how to prevent them.
Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality - BC Health Files

One page fact sheet about indoor air quality.
Source: BC Ministry of Health Planning
* HTML

Indoor Environmental Quality

"Almost seventy percent of the U.S. work force -- approximately 89 million persons -- work in non-industrial, non-agricultural, indoor work settings, referred to here as indoor environments. In the last 20 years diseases and health complaints related to these indoor environments have received increasing attention."
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
* HTML

Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers

This guide helps you prevent and resolve indoor air quality problems in your building promptly. It recommends practical actions that can be carried out by facility staff, outside contractors, or both.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
* HTML

Building Air Quality: Action Plan

Action plan to be used with the document "Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers"
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
* HTML

An Office Building Occupant's Guide to Indoor Air Quality

"This guide is intended to help people who work in office buildings learn about the factors that contribute to indoor air quality and comfort problems and the roles of building managers and occupants in maintaining a good indoor environment."
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality- Tools for Schools Action Kit for Canadian Schools

"The IAQ Action Kit is a practical tool to help school boards, principals and their management teams, and school employees understand and address indoor air quality (IAQ) problems."
Source: Health Canada
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM)

A model designed to be used by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality Investigation

"Modern office buildings are generally considered safe and healthful working environments. However, energy conservation measures instituted during the early 1970's have minimized the infiltration of outside air and contributed to the buildup of indoor air contaminants."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
* HTML

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

"NIOSH investigators have found that concerns about air quality may be caused by a number of factors, encompassing much more than air contamination. Other factors such as comfort, noise, lighting, ergonomic stressors (poorly designed work stations and tasks) and job-related psychosocial stressors can individually and in combination contribute to complaints."
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
* HTML

Safety and Health Topics: Indoor Air Quality

"Concerns with Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) have increased since energy conservation measures were instituted in office buildings during the 1970s, minimizing the infiltration of outside air and contributing to the buildup of indoor air contaminants."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
* HTML

The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality

This booklet outlines steps to reduce the risk from existing sources and to prevent new problems from occurring.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* HTML

Indoor Air Quality

Information regarding indoor air quality in homes.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* HTML

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