What are considered “pollutants” of the air in the building?

There are 4 types of pollutants of the indoor air.

1. Biological pollutants : bacteria, viruses, fungi, molds, small insects, excrement of those small living things, dust. These pollutants are the direct cause of illnesses, and can easily found in the building such as the damp areas, leakage of water pipes, water stains on the wall and ceiling, pile of old and used cloth, garbage area, toilet rooms.The hidden area that one can not walk pass and find it on the daily basis is in the air duct pipe, as the difference between the temperature during the day time and night time causes to incur moist and hence factor that develops into molds and fungi inside the duct line. On the morning, when the air conditioning is turned on, the air flow inside the duct will blow the spores of such molds and fungi into the room areas, which aggravates the situation of molds spreading throughout the building.

2. Chemical pollutants : VOCs (volatile organic compounds), asbestos, formaldehyde, and other gases emitted from the furniture, office equipment (printer and copy machine), plastic equipment, and heating instruments can cause a detrimental effect to health both chronic and immediate effects.

3. Dangerous gases : These range from carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, and radon. It can be occurred naturally, or by man-made activities. Since the effects are extensive to the health and well-being of the tenants, regular inspection is recommended to ensure the proper level of such gases in the permissible limit.

4. Other factors : temperature, humidity, ventilation and odors are the factors that tenants can directly feel by themselves to determine whether they are OK with the indoor air. However, these factors do not mark only as the complaints about annoying things, they are the direct causes of the pollutants mentioned hereabove. In other words, they are the first signal of some bad / poor indoor air quality, and further investigations are required to determine the corrective or preventive measures.