INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) |
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Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) deals with the content of interior air that could affect health and comfort of building occupants. The IAQ may be compromised by microbial contaminants (mold, bacteria), chemicals(such as carbon monoxide,radon}, allergens, or any mass or energy stressor that can induce health effects. Often it is perceived that outdoor air is polluted, but indoor air is acceptable. Scientific studies illustrate the falsity of this perception, and, in fact, indoor air is often a greater health hazard than the corresponding outdoor setting.
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INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE |
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Occupational Hygiene is both a technical field of study and a profession.
The term 'Occupational Hygiene' (used in the UK and Commonwealth Countries as well as much of Europe) is synonymous with 'Industrial Hygiene' (used in the US, Latin America, and other countries that received initial technical support or training from US sources).
The International Occupational Hygiene Association defines Occupational Hygiene as 'the discipline of anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling health hazards in the working environment with the objective of protecting worker health and well-being and safeguarding the community at large.'
The American Industrial Hygiene Association has described Industrial Hygiene as that 'science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace which may cause sickness, impaired health and well being, or significant discomfort among workers or among citizens of the community.'
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POLLUTION |
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Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and dissolved oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S., Russia, China and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the number two country on a per capita basis.
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