Indoor air: guide values
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Until recently, the quality of air inside buildings was not considered to be a major health concern, unlike outdoor air quality. However, in temperate climates, we spend an average of 85% of our time in enclosed environments and much of this at home. The indoor environment has a wide diversity of polluting situations, with numerous physical agents and chemical or microbiological contaminants associated with buildings, equipment, the immediate outdoor environment and residents' behaviour. For the last few years, increasing attention has been paid to this matter, with, in particular, the creation by the public authorities, in 2001, of the French Observatory for Indoor Air Quality (OQAI).
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The remit of this observatory created by the French Scientific and Technical Centre for Construction (CSTB), is to review the exposure levels to air pollutants observed in living spaces and to establish their determinants with a view to obtaining the necessary information for assessing and managing any risks. The pilot study conducted in 2001 in homes and schools and extended by a national campaign in 2003-2005 confirmed the gaps concerning the existence of guide values on which regulations in this field may be based. It is therefore difficult to assess the concentration levels measured in enclosed environments and to establish measures for reducing emissions adjusted to the potential risk run.
At international level, recommended values are proposed in some countries and by some recognised bodies, including guide values for air quality (WHO, Air quality guidelines for Europe, second edition European series n°91, 2000) and more recently those resulting from the European project INDEX ("Critical Appraisal of the Setting and Implementation on Indoor Exposure Limits in the European Union"). Coordinated by Dr Dimitrios Kotzias (Commission of The European Union, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Physical and Chemical Exposure Unit in Ispra, Italy) and funded by the DG Sanco (Diectorate General for Health and Consumer Protection), the INDEX project aimed to draw up, for 2005, a list of priority chemical pollutants for indoor environments likely to be regulated in the future and to recommend limit exposure values.
To confront the health concern posed by indoor air quality and shed practical light on how to manage this risk for public authorities, the French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Afsset) issued a solicited request to itself on this issue by proposing that a working group be set up to draw up guide values for indoor air quality in France, based exclusively on health criteria.
This commitment to deepening knowledge in this field also falls within the framework of the national French National Health and Environment Plan (PNSE), as one of the twelve priorities to meet one of the plan's three key objectives, "guarantee good quality water and air", is to "find out more about determinants of indoor air quality" (see action 14 PNSE).
Working method:
So as to define a methodology for drawing up guide values for indoor air within the framework of a collegial expert assessment, a multidisciplinary working group co-managed with the CSTB was created and set up on 11 January 2005. The working group was attached to the Committee of Specialist Experts "Assessment of risks associated with air environments" (CSE - air environments) during the meeting of 16 December 2005.
Download :
Indoor Air Quality Guideline Value Proposals: Framework document and methodological elements (january 2006 - 562 Ko) 
Indoor Air Quality Guideline Value Proposals, Carbon monoxide: report (march 2007 - 705 Ko)
Indoor Air Quality Guideline Value Proposals, Formaldehyde : report (january 2007 - 685 Ko)
This translation is not an official or legally approved translation. Please refer to the authentic French version published by Afsset.
Indoor Air Quality Guideline Value Proposals, Benzene : report (may 2008 - 6,63 Mo)
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