AtmosphericPollutionResearch6(2015)751Ͳ767 

Atm spheric Pollution Research

www.atmospolres.com 
A review of standards and guidelines set by international bodies for the
parameters of indoor air quality
SabahAhmedAbdul–Wahab1,2,StephenChinFahEn2,AliElkamel2,LenaAhmadi2,KaanYetilmezsoy3
1
DepartmentofMechanicalandIndustrialEngineering,SultanQaboosUniversity,P.OBox33,PC123,Muscat,Oman
2
DepartmentofChemicalEngineering,UniversityofWaterloo,N2L3G1,Waterloo,Ontario,Canada
3
DepartmentofEnvironmentalEngineering,FacultyofCivilEngineering,YildizTechnicalUniversity,34220,Davutpasa,Esenler,Istanbul,Turkey

ABSTRACT 
Standards and guidelines as defined by various international agencies are employed by the researchers to
evaluateanacceptablequalityofairinindooraswellasoutdoorenvironments.Themainobjectiveofthispaper
istoestablishacomprehensivereviewofIndoorAirQuality(IAQ)guidelinesandotherstandardvaluesthatare
implemented currently. For this purpose, the present study summarizes the main standards and guidelines
related to key indoor air pollutants and levels of thermal comfort developed by different agencies around the
world. These agencies and organizations include the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air–
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD), the World
Health Organization (WHO), and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. 
Commonindoorairpollutantsthatare foundtofrequently affect indoorpopulations are, carbon dioxide (CO2), CorrespondingAuthor:
nitrogendioxide(NO2),formaldehyde(HCHO),carbonmonoxide(CO),sulfurdioxide(SO2),andparticulatematter
insizes<2.5and10μm(PM2.5andPM10,respectively).OtherfactorsthataffectIAQarethemoisturecontentof
Sabah Ahmed Abdul–Wahab
:+968Ͳ24141360
theair(i.e.,relativehumidity),thetemperatureoftheindoorair,andtheairspeedormovement.Sickbuilding
:+968Ͳ24141316
syndrome(SBS)describesthevariousinteractionsbetweenthesemajorpollutantsandfactorsofIAQthatcause
:sabah1@squ.edu.om
adverse health effects on humans. In addition, this paper reviews various stipulated guidelines that are
s2alsula@uwaterloo.ca
implementedbytherelevantregulatoryinstitutionsandagenciestopreventSBS.
 
Keywords:Indoorairquality,standards,guidelines,pollutants,sickbuildingsyndrome ArticleHistory:
Received:07July2014
Revised:19February2015
Accepted:21February2015

doi:10.5094/APR.2015.084

1.Introduction
 shortnessofbreath.
Indoorairquality(IAQ)isacommontermusedtodescribethe
qualityofairwithina buildingenvironment.Itisofgreatconcern
togovernmental,regionalandworldwideinfluentialorganizations
because of its impact on human health. In indoor environments,
humanexposuretoairpollutantscanhavenegativeeffectsonthe
well–being of the occupants. Even overlooked factors, if left
unchecked,couldweakenIAQ.Therefore,manycountries’national
organizations and worldwide influential committees for instance
the World Health Organization (WHO), have stipulated standard
andguidelinevaluesthatcoincidewithdesiredIAQmanagement.
Thesestandardsandguidelinesareimplementedwiththegeneral
consensusoflimitingexposureofhumanstocertainbreathingair
contaminants.
 2. Standards for Common Indoor Air Pollutants and
The frequent air pollutants contributing to weaken IAQ are
carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde
(HCHO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), total volatile
organic compounds (TVOCs) and particulate matter (PM2.5and
PM10). Air temperature, velocity, and humidity levels are further
IAQfactorsassociatedwiththermalcomfortzone.
 designedtoofferguidancetoreduceadversehealthimpactsofair
Theeventualdispositionoftheindoorenvironmentasaresult
of ignoring guidelines and standards may cause sick building
syndrome(SBS)(Abdul–Wahab,2011).SBStermisusedtodescribe
environmentswiththepoorairquality.Theadversesideeffectson
human health might be headaches, nausea, drowsiness and

Generally, IAQ standard guidelines are values which are
recommendedwhendevelopingafacility(EC,2013).AnIAQtarget
valueisdefinedasavaluethatoneshouldseektoachievebyaset
date,andanIAQlimitvalueisalegallybindingvalueinlegislation
that must be attained under risk of penalty or punishment (EC,
2013). Because of these different values’ definitions, underͲ
standing the application of IAQ guidelines and standard values to
minimize health effects and reduce the probability of SBS is
remarkablyimportant.Therefore,themainobjectiveofthispaper
istoestablishacomprehensivereviewofIAQguidelinesandother
standardvaluesthatareimplementedcurrently.

ThermalComfortFactors

Internationalagenciesthatestablishairqualityguidelinesand
standards are listed in Table1. An air quality standard is a
descriptionofairqualitythatisadoptedbyaregulatoryauthority
as enforceable. On the other hand, air quality guidelines are
pollutionbasedonexpertevaluationofcurrentscientificevidence.
Forinstance,somecountries(e.g.,SouthKoreaandJapan)present
their IAQ values as regulations whereas other countries suggest
theirIAQvaluesasguidelines.Theguidelinesandstandardsdiffer
withrespecttotheirderivation.Somestandardsarebasedonthe

©Author(s)2015.ThisworkisdistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution3.0License.
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 752

results of scientific studies whereas others are derived from documents from different organizations. The organizations which
practical experience, or consensus based on available knowledge. functioned as direct sources include the American Society of
Some standards focus on acceptable levels for occupant comfort Heating, and Refrigerating and Air–Conditioning Engineers
andtheavoidanceofirritationcausedbyodorswhereasothersare (ASHRAE)(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Hedrick,2010).Factordatasheet
based on health concerns. Some guidelines and standards were sources include the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC)
developed for industrial settings, where contaminant concenͲ (2003) and TEC Green Office (1997) published for the National
trations are likely to be relatively high whereas others were Health and Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). Other major
createdfornon–industrialsettings,suchasofficesandresidences. sources as previously stipulated are from research articles and a
Itmustbeemphasizedthatthepresentworkonlysummarizesthe number of theses. The majority of these sources utilized such
valuesofstandardsandguidelinesdefinedbyvariousinternational organizations as the American Conference of Governmental
bodies. For detailed information, derivation bases, application Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) (Environmental Policy Working
criteriaandrequirementsofstandardsandguidelines,consultation Group, 1999; Schuh, 2000; ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; ACGIH, 2005;
oftheciteddocumentsisstronglyadvised. Charlesetal.,2005;LightHouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;
 Hedrick, 2010; Eweda, 2012; Air Duct Cleaners, 2013; TSI, 2013),
It should be noted that there are no guidelines or standards Health Canada (Federal–Provincial Advisory Committee, 1989;
with respect to IAQ in India due to an exuberant amount of Schuh, 2000; NRC, 2005; Health Canada, 2006; Light House
ignorancedisplayedtowardspollutionindoors(Goyaletal.,2012). SustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Phipps,2007;Dalesetal.,2008;
There are also no official IAQ guideline values in the European GovernmentofAlberta,2009;Salthammeretal.,2010),theWorld
Union’s(EU)EuropeanCommission(EC).Howeverin 2013,IAQin HealthOrganization(WHO)(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,
Europe was assessed, and presented in February 2014. Currently 1999;Schuh,2000;WHO,2000;AIVC,2003;HKSAR,2003a;HKSAR,
theWHOguidelinesarebeingusedbytheEUasaresultofajoint 2003b;HKSAR,2003c;WHO, 2003;ISIAQ–CIB,2004;Charlesetal.,
workfromtheECandtheWHOheadofficeinGeneva,Switzerland. 2005; Light House Sustainable Building Centre, 2007; Bluyssen,
The standards and guidelines of the various indoor air 2010;Hedrick,2010;Berenguer,2011;Salthammer,2011;Eweda,
contaminants and factors of thermal comfort are summarized in 2012; Air Duct Cleaners, 2013; TSI, 2013) and the Deutsche
Tables1through14. Forschungs Gemeinschaft (DFG/MAK) Commission (Federal
 Republic of Germany, 2000; ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; Charles et al.,
The presented standards and guidelines in Tables1 through 2005; Light House Sustainable Building Centre, 2007; Hedrick,
14are taken from a variety of sources including research articles 2010; Eweda, 2012). The recommendations made by these
and review papers, fact sheets and reports and guideline agenciesforcommonindoorpollutantsareillustratedbelow.

Table1.Internationalbodiesinvolvedinsettingairqualityguidelinesandstandards
Country Organization AcronymofOrganization(Reference)
TheNationalHealthandMedicalResearchCouncil
Australia NHMRC(NHMRC,1996a,1996b;TECGreenOffice,1997)
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/
TheNationalOccupationalHealthandSafetyCommission
http://det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policyͲplanningͲandͲ
Australia accountability/policiesͲframework/webͲreferences/nationalͲ NOHSC(NOHSC,1995)
occupationalͲhealthͲandͲsafetyͲcommissionͲnohscͲ
procedures.en#mainͲcontent
AirInfiltrationandVentilationCentre
Belgium AIVC(2003)
http://www.aivc.org/
HealthCanada(Federal–ProvincialAdvisoryCommittee,1989;
HealthCanada Schuh,2000;NRC,2005;HealthCanada,2006;LightHouse
Canada
www.hcͲsc.gc.ca SustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Phipps,2007;Dalesetal.,
2008;GovernmentofAlberta,2009;Salthammeretal.,2010)
AdministrationofQualitySupervision,InspectionandQuarantine
China http://english.aqsiq.gov.cn/ AQSIQ(AQSIQ,2002)
http://english.gov.cn
StateEnvironmentProtectionAgency
China http://english.mep.gov.cn/ SEPA(You,2013)
http://www.sepa.gov.cn/
HongKongEnvironmentalProtectionDepartment HKEPD(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;HKEPD,
HongKong
http://www.iaq.gov.hk/index_eng.asp 1999; Leeetal.,2002;You,2013)
HongKongIndoorAirQualityObjectives HKIAQO(LeeandChang,2000;Lietal.,2001;Leeetal.,2002;
HongKong
http://allie.dbcls.jp/short/exact/Any/HKIAQO.html HKSAR,2003)
GovernmentoftheHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegion HKSAR(HKSAR,2003a;Charlesetal.,2005;Muhamad–Daruset
HongKong
http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/top.html al.,2011)
DanishSocietyofIndoorClimate
Denmark DSIC(Eweda,2012)
http://www.dsic.org/dsic.htm
EuropeanCommissiona
Europe EC(2013)
http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
FinnishSocietyofIndoorAirQualityandClimate FiSIAQ(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;FiSIAQ,
Finland
http://www.sisailmayhdistys.fi/portal/fisiaq_in_english/ 2001;HKSAR,2003;AirDuctCleaners,2013)
DFG/MAK(FederalRepublicofGermany,2000;ANSI/ASHRAE,
DeutscheForschungsGemeinschaft
Germany 2004;Charlesetal.,2005;LightHouseSustainableBuilding
http://www.dfg.de/en/
Centre,2007;Hedrick,2010Eweda,2012)
MinistryofHealth,LaborandWelfare
Japan MHLW(Charlesetal.,2005)
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/
KuwaitEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyorKuwaitEnvironment
Kuwait KuwaitEPA(TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
PublicAuthority,http://epa.org.kw/
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 753

Table1.Continued
Country Organization AcronymofOrganization(Reference)
KoreaEnvironmentalIndustryandTechnologyInstitute
Korea KEITI(Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
http://www.keiti.re.kr/en/index.do
DepartmentofOccupationalSafetyandHealth DOSH(DOSH,2010;Muhamad–Darusetal.,2011)
Malaysia
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php?lang=en
SingaporeIndoorAirQualityGuideline SIAQG(MinistryofEnvironment,1995)
Singapore
http://www.nea.gov.sg
InstituteofEnvironmentalEpidemiology,Ministryofthe InstituteofEnvironmentalEpidemiology(InstituteofEnvironmental
Singapore Environment Epidemiology,1996;Muhamad–Darusetal.,2011)
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/english
HealthandSafetyCommission HSC(HSC,2002)
UK
http://www.hse.gov.uk/
ACGIH(ACGIH,1995;EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;
AmericanConferenceofGovernmentalIndustrialHygienists Schuh,2000;ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;ACGIH,2005;Charlesetal.,2005;
US
http://www.acgih.org/ LightHouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Hedrick,2010;Eweda,
2012;AirDuctCleaners,2013;TSI,2013)
ASHRAE(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;Schuh,2000;
AmericanSocietyofHeating,RefrigeratingandAir– ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;LightHouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;
US
ConditioningEngineers,https://www.ashrae.org/ Hedrick,2010;Sebesta,2011;Eweda,2012;AirDuctCleaners,2013;
TSI,2013)
IllinoisDepartmentofPublicHealth IDPH(Sebesta,2011)
US
http://www.idph.state.il.us/
OSHA(Schuh,2000;ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005;OSHA,
OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration
US 2006;LightHouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Hedrick,2010;
https://www.osha.gov/
Sebesta,2011;Eweda,2012;AirDuctCleaners,2013;TSI,2013)
OfficeofEnvironmentalHealthHazardAssessment(California OEHHA(Schuh,2000;AIVC,2003;Salthammer,2011)
US EPA)
http://oehha.ca.gov/
US TexasDepartmentofHealth TDH(2003)
TheNationalAmbientAirQualityStandards NAAQS(U.S.EPA,1996;ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005;Light
US
http://www.epa.gov/air/criteria.html HouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Hedrick,2010;Eweda,2012)
NIOSH(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;Schuh,2000;Light
TheNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth
US HouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;NIOSH,2004;Charlesetal.,
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
2005;Hedrick,2010;Eweda,2012;AirDuctCleaners,2013;TSI,2013)
U.S.EPA(U.S.EPA,1996;EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;
Schuh,2000;ISIAQ–CIB,2004;Charlesetal.,2005;LightHouse
USEnvironmentalProtectionAgency
US SustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Hedrick,2010;Berenguer,2011;
http://www.epa.gov/
Salthammer,2011;Eweda,2012;U.S.EPA,2012;AirDuctCleaners,
2013;TSI,2013)
WHO(EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;Schuh,2000;WHO,
2000;AIVC,2003;HKSAR,2003;WHO,2003;ISIAQ–CIB,2004;Charles
WorldHealthOrganization
Worldwide etal.,2005;LightHouseSustainableBuildingCentre,2007;Bluyssen,
http://www.who.int/en/
2010;Hedrick,2010;Berenguer,2011;Salthammer,2011;Eweda,
2012;AirDuctCleaners,2013;TSI,2013)
a
Itconsistsof28memberstates,includingtheUK,Italy,Spain,PortugalandGermanyaswellasotherinternationalbodiessuchasWHO

2.1.Carbonmonoxide(CO) 000μg/m3) for good air quality in an 8–hour average. The
 organizations were partially guided by the Hong Kong Indoor Air
Table2 focuses specifically on CO as a specific pollutant in Quality Objectives (HKIAQO), which had values of <30000μg/m3
indoorair.ThemainhealtheffectofCOisaresultofitsabilityto over a 1–hour average and a value of <10000μg/m3 over an 8–
reducetheoxygen–carryingcapacityofredbloodcellsbybonding hour average (Lee et al., 2002). Unsurprisingly, the neighboring
with the carrier for oxygen, hemoglobin, to create carboxyͲ countries of Malaysia with its Department of Occupational Safety
hemoglobin. This reduced oxygen–carrying capacity may lead to and Health (DOSH) and Singapore with its Institute of
theexhibitionofarangeofsymptoms,fromnauseaandfatigue,to EnvironmentalEpidemiologyandSIAQG)havesetexactlythesame
deathbyasphyxiationifconcentrationsarehighenough(Fierroet guidelines(asetavalueof10ppmoveran8–houraverage)asthe
al., 2001). The severity of CO poisoning is dependent on limitforexposure(DOSH,2010).Chinaalsousesthesamevaluevia
concentration, length of exposure, and the general underlying the State Environmental Protection Agency at 10 ppm, which
health status of the exposed individual. CO, compared with the specifies the value for an average of 1 hour of exposure (You,
othermajorindoorgaseouspollutants,wasthestrongestpredictor 2013).Kuwaithasrecognizedvaluesof100,60,30,and10mg/m3
of the hospitalization of elderly patients for congestive heart as0.25–hour,0.5–hour,1–hourand8houraverages,respectively,
failureinastudy.Mostorganizationsandcountrieshaveaddressed asthestandards(TangandAl–Ajmi,2006).TheNHMRCwasfairly
this entity, but the level of attention CO has received as a less stringent in its specification of the value to be adhered to in
significantly serious contaminant highlights the fact that Australia,whichisapproximatelynineppm(10000μg/m3)overan
populations are exposed to it frequently; thus, CO continuously averageof8hoursofexposure,butitmadeanallowanceforthe
affects IAQ. Two organizations have addressed this pollutant in valuetobeexceededonlyonceperyear(TECGreenOffice,1997).
HongKong:theHongKongEnvironmentalProtectionDepartment In North America, there are less stringent values adhered to. In
(HKEPD)andtheHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegion(HKSAR) Canada, generally Health Canada (Federal–Provincial Advisory
(HKEPD,1999;HKSAR,2003a).Theseorganizationshavesetvalues Committee,1989;Phipps,2007;Dalesetal.,2008;Hedrick,2010;
of <1.7 ppm (2 000μg/m3) for excellent IAQ and <8.7ppm (10 Sebesta, 2011; Eweda, 2012) recognizes values of 25 ppm (29
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 754

000μg/m3) over an average of 1 hour along with 11 ppm (13 excellent air quality and the latter good. These numbers were
000μg/m3) over an 8–hour average as the limits for exposure. In issued in two different years with a difference of nine years
theUnitedStates,thereislessconsensus;however,themajorityof concludingthestandardshavenotchanged.China’sAdministration
organizationsstipulatethelimitsandguidelinevaluesasnineppm of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) issued
(10000μg/m3) for an average over 8 hours, 35 ppm 1000ppmasthelimitvalue(AQSIQ,2002).Malaysia(DOSH,2010)
(40000μg/m3) over an average hour, and a value of 200ppm as and Singapore (Institute of Environmental Epidemiology, 1996)
the ceiling limit. These organizations include ASHRAE (Air Duct haveagainbothrecognized1000ppmasthelimitvalue.However,
Cleaners,2013),theNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyand Malaysiaisslightlymorestringentinitslegislationregardingtheir
Health (NIOSH) (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; Hedrick, 2010) and the US value.Theyclearlystatethatthevalueisnottobeexceededatany
EPA (Berenguer, 2011). The Occupational Safety and Health point in time and that a measurement of that value means
Administration(OSHA)(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004),however,recognizes inadequate ventilation. The Kuwait EPA (Tang and Al–Ajmi, 2006)
a value of 50 ppm (55 mg/m3) over an average time period of 8 outlined four values 0.5%, 0.28%, 0.14%, and 0.03% as the limit
hours.ThemajorityoftheEC’smemberstateshavesettheirown values over 1–hour, 3–hour, 24–hour and annual averages,
guideline values below the guideline values stipulated by WHO. respectively.AlsoworthrepeatingistheunityamongtheCanadian
Germany, although a member state, have set their own limits or agenciesintheirrecognitionof3500ppmasthelimitvaluebyall,
guideline values in the past as 60 ppm and 30 ppm over average including Health Canada (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004). However, in the
time periods of 30 minutes and 8 hours, respectively UnitedStates,twoorganizations,ACGIH(Eweda,2012)andNIOSH
(ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004). These values are slightly greater than the (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004), recognize the same values of 30000ppm
proposedguidelinesbyWHOwhichare51ppmand8.6ppmover and5000ppmover15–minuteand8–houraverages,respectively.
thesametimeperiodsofexposure,respectively. In addition, ACGIH (Eweda) recognizes a value of 600 ppm as
 sufficient for a comfortable environment. ANSI/ASHRAE (2004)
2.2.Carbondioxide(CO2) however,recommendsthatCO2levelsshouldnotbegreaterthan
 700ppmabove outdoorslevels. TheIllinoisDepartment of Public
Table3 focuses on the IAQ of CO2, which can be used as a Health (IDPH) as a state body in the United States, has set its
rough indicator of the effectiveness of ventilation and excessive values lower than the popular national standards, at 1 000 ppm
population density in a structure. CO2 increases in buildings with (Schuh, 2000), but it has also highlighted the fact that, for health
higher occupant densities, and is diluted and removed from reasons, a value of below 800 ppm is preferred. In France and
buildings based on outdoor air ventilation rates. Therefore, Poland, a pollutant standard level for IAQ is not applicable. The
examining levels of CO2 in indoor air can reveal information Finnish Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (FiSIAQ) (2001)
regardingoccupantdensitiesandoutdoorairventilationrates. reported 700ppm, 900ppm and 1200ppm as standard values
 used in Finland. Germany’s MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004), which is
Table3 indicates that Hong Kongs’ two major organizations concerned with IAQ, outlined 10000ppm and 5000ppm as the
concerned with IAQ, HKEPD (Lee et al., 2002) and HKSAR (1998, standard values over the average time periods of 1–hour and 8
2003a, 2003b, 2003c), issued the same values of 800 ppm and hours,respectively.
1000ppmoveraveragetimesof8hourswiththefirstvaluebeing

Table2.Standardsandguidelinesforcarbonmonoxide(CO)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 10mg/m3as1–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
10mg/m3as1–haverage SEPA (You,2013)
HongKong <8.7ppm(10000μg/m3)as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
<1.7ppm(2000μg/m3)as8–h(ExcellentClass)1a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
<8.7ppm(10000μg/m3)as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b HKSAR (HKSAR,2003a)
<30000μg/m3as1–haverage1c HKIAQO (Leeetal.,2002)
<10000μg/m3as8–haverage
Japan 20ppm(23mg/m3)as1–haverage2a MHLW (Charlesetal.,2005)
10ppm(11.5mg/m3)as24–haverage2a
Korea 25ppm(29mg/m3)as1–haverage KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
8.7ppm(10mg/m3)as8–haverage
Kuwait 100mg/m3as15–minaverage KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
60mg/m3as30–minaverage
30mg/m3as1–haverage
10mg/m3as8–haverage
Malaysia 10ppmas8–haverage DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore 10mg/m3as8–haverage3a InstitueofEnvironmentalEpidemiology, (InstitueofEnvironmental
SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
Australia
Australia 9ppm(10000μg/m3)as8–haverage4a,4b NHMRC (NHMRC,1996a,1996b;TEC
34000μg/m3as8–hworkingday;5–dworkingweek4c NOHSC GreenOffice,1997)
(NOHSC,1995)
Canada/USA
Canada 25ppm(29000μg/m3)as1–haverage5a HealthCanada (Federal–ProvincialAdvisory
11ppm(13000μg/m3)as8–haverage5a Committee,1989;HealthCanada,
1989;Phipps,2007;Dalesetal.,
2008;Hedrick,2010;Sebesta,
2011;Eweda,2012)


 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 755

Table2.Continued
Country Value Organization Reference
US 9ppmas8–haverage(MaximumorPeakLevel) ASHRAE (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
35ppm(40000μg/m3)as1–haverage NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
9ppm(10000μg/m3)as8–haverage
35ppmas8–haverage NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Hedrick,
200ppm(MaximumLevelorCeilingLevel)6a 2010)
1374mg/m3(ImediatelyDangeroustoLifeandHealth,
IDLH)
50ppm(55mg/m3)as8–haverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
35ppm(40000μg/m3)as1–haverage(MaximumLevel) USEPA (Berenguer,2011)
9ppm(10000μg/m3)as8–haverage(MaximumLevel)
Europe/WHO
Belgium 9ppmas8–haverage AIVC (AIVC,2003)
Finland 1.7ppm(2mg/m3)as8–haverage FiSIAQ (HKSAR,2003)
2mg/m3asindividualindoorclimate(S1)7a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
3mg/m3asgoodindoorclimate(S2)7b
8mg/m3assatisfactoryindoorclimate(S3)7c
Germany 60ppmas30–minaverage MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
30ppmas8–haverage
UK 11.6mg/m3as8–haverage8a HSC (HSC,2002)
35.0mg/m3as8–haverage8b
Worldwide 90ppmas15–minaverage WHO (Leeetal.,2002;Bluyssen,2010)
50ppmas30–minaverage
25ppmas1–haverage
10ppmas8–haverage
86ppm(100mg/m3)as15–minaverage WHO (WHO,2000;ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
51ppm(60mg/m3)as30–minaverage
25ppm(30mg/m3)as1–haverage
8.6ppm(10mg/m3)as8–haverage
1a
Excellentclass(8–haverage)inIAQObjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces.ItisthehighlevelofIAQ(HongKong)
1b
Goodclass(8–haverage)inIAQobjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces.ItisthegoodlevelofIAQ(HongKong)
1c
Controlofairpollutioninsemi–confinedpublictransportinterchanges(HongKong)
2a
EnvironmentalqualitystandardsinJapan(Japan)
3a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
4a
Goalsformaximimpermissiblelevelsofpollutantsinambientair(Australia)
4b
Goalsformaximumpermissiblelevelsofpollutantsinindoorair(Australia)
4c
Exposurestandardsforatmosphericcontaminantsintheoccupationalenvironment(Australia)
5a
Acceptableshort–termexposurerange:exposureguidelinesforresidentialindoorairqulaity(Canada)
6a
Maximumlevelorceilinglevel:Highestpossiblyallowedvalueforexposure
7a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothinsummer
andwinter(Finland)
7b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottestdays
ofthesummer(Finland)
7c
CategoryS3:Theindoorairqualityandthethermalconditionsofthespacefulfilltherequirementssetbythebuildingcodes.Theindoorairmay
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)
8a
TheairqualtystrategyforEngland,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland(UK)
8b
Wokplaceexposurelimits(UK)

Table3.Standardsandguidelinesforcarbondioxide(CO2)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 1000ppmas24–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
HongKong 30000ppmas15–minaverage1a HKSAR (HKSAR,1998)
2500ppmas1–haverage(Level1)1b HKSAR (HKSAR,2003b)
3500ppmas1–haverage(Level2)1c HKSAR (HKSAR,2003c)
800ppmas8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1d HKEPD (Leeetal.,2002)
1000ppmas8–haverage(GoodClass)1e HKSAR (HKSAR,2003a)
Japan 1000ppm2a MHLW (Charlesetal.,2005)
Korea 1000ppm KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
Malaysia 1000ppm(CeilingLevel)3a DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Kuwait 0.5%as1–haverage KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
0.28%as3–haverage
0.14%as24–haverage
0.03%as1–yaverage
Singapore 1000ppmas8–haverage4a InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmental
Epidemiology.SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 756

Table3.Continued
Country Value Organization Reference
Australia
Australia 30000ppmas15–minaverage5a NOHSC (NOHSC,1995)
5000ppmas8–haverageworkingday;5–dworkingweek5a NOHSC (NOHSC,1995)
Canada/USA
Canada 3500ppm(LongTermExposure)6a HealthCanada (HealthCanada,1989;
ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
US 30000ppmas15–minaverage(Short–termexposure)7a ACGIH (ACGIH,1995;Eweda,2012)
5000ppmas8–haverageworkingday;5–dworkingweek ACGIH (ACGIH,1995)
600ppm(HighComfortLevel)7b ACGIH (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
Nomorethanabout700ppm(1800mg/m3)aboveoutdoor ASHRAE (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
ambient7c
<800ppm(Preferred) IDPH (Schuh,2000)
600ppm(HighComfortLevel)7b NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
30000ppmas15–minaverage
5000ppmas8–haverage
40000ppm(ImediatelyDangeroustoLifeandHealth,IDLH)
5000ppm(9000mg/m3)as8–hworkingday;5–dworkingweek OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
700ppmaboveoutdoorlevel TDH (TDH,2003)
800ppm(Allowableairconcentrationlevels) USEPA (EnvironmentalPolicyWorking
Group,1999)
Europe/WHO
Finland 700ppmasindividualindoorclimate(S1)8a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
900ppmasgoodindoorclimate(S2)8b
1200ppmassatisfactoryindoorclimate(S3)8c
France N/A  
Germany 10000ppmas1–haverage MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
5000ppmas8–haverage
Poland N/A  
UK 15000ppmas15–minaverage HSC (HSC,2002)
5000ppmas8–haverage
Worldwide 1000ppm WHO (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
1a 
Occupationalexposurelimitsforchemicalsubstancesintheworkenvironment(HongKong)
1b
Practicenoteformanagingairqualityinair–conditionedpublictransportfacilities–buses(HongKong)
1c
Practicenoteformanagingairqualityinair–conditionedpublictransportfacilities–railways(HongKong)
1d
Excellentclass(HighlevelofIAQ)inIAQobjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces(HongKong)
1e
Goodclass(GoodlevelofIAQ)inIAQobjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces(HongKong)
2a
Thelawformaintenanceofsanitationinbuildings(Japan)
3a
Ceilinglevel:Itisthemaximumlimitthatshallnotbeexceededatanytime.Readingsaboveceilinglimit(1000ppm)areindicationofinadequate
ventilation(Malaysia)
4a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
5a
Exposurestandardsforatmosphericcontaminantsintheoccupationalenvironment(Australia)
6a
Longtermexposure:acceptablelong–termexposureoveralongperiodoftime,usuallygreaterthan8hours,exposureguidelinesforresidentialindoorair
quality(Canada)
7a
Shorttermexposure:Itistheacceptableexposureoverashortperiodoftime,usually15minutes(US,ACGIH)
7b
Highcomfortlevel:Exposureinwhichpersonsexperienceadesirablelevelofcomfort(US,ACGIH)
7c
AmbientLevels:Immediateenvironmentlevelsofairquality(US,ASHRAE)
8a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothinsummer
andwinter(Finland)
8b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottestdays
ofthesummer(Finland)
8c
CategoryS3:Theindoorairqualityandthethermalconditionsofthespacefulfilltherequirementssetbythebuildingcodes.Theindoorairmay
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)

2.3.Formaldehyde(HCHO) of Environmental Protection) had installed a value of 0.08 ppm
 (100μg/m3)overa1–houraverage(You,2013).Thisisexactlythe
HCHO is a common constituent of adhesives used in particle same value that AQSIQ (2002) issued in 2002. Therefore, the
boards, carpeting and furniture. The use of HCHO has been stance has not changed on these exposure limits in China. Hong
modifiedinrecentyearstoreduceitsreleasefromtheseproducts. Kong’sHKEPD(Leeetal.,2002)hasissuedvalueswhichareexactly
HCHO is considered a carcinogen that causes cancer of the nasal thesameasthoseissuedaspartofthecountry’sobjectivesin1999
cavityinworkersexposedintheirjobsatremarkablyhighlevelsof under the HKIAQO. The values are <0.081 ppm (0.1 mg/m3) and
exposure (thousands of ppb or higher). Exposure to moderate <0.025ppm(0.03mg/m3),bothover8–houraveragesforexcellent
levelsofHCHO(hundredsofppborgreater)cancauseanumberof air quality and good air quality, respectively. These values were
irritant symptoms, including temporary burning of the eyes or stipulated initially as guidelines in 1999; however, in 2003 they
nose,andasorethroat(Salthammeretal.,2010).Table4liststhe weremodifiedandpresentedasanairqualitycertificationscheme.
standards and guidelines for HCHO. China’s former State TheMinistryofHealth,Labor,andWelfare(MHLW)inJapanissued
EnvironmentalProtectionAdministration(SEPA)(nowtheMinistry a value of 0.1mg/m3 which continues the trend of stringent
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 757

policiestowardstheexposureofpeopleindoorstoHCHO(Charles workweek. OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004) however, adopted higher
et al., 2005). The value issued in 2006 by NHMRC in Australia values than the previously mentioned organizations in issuing
(0.08ppm,whichwasdecreasedfroma1997issuanceof0.1ppm) valuesoftwoppmfora15–minuteaverageand0.75ppm as the
is approximately the same as the values adopted by both South limit of exposure for an 8–hour working day. In Finland, FiSIAQ
KoreaandJapan(TECGreenOffice,1997;Salthammeretal.,2010). (2001) established three classes of IAQ categories as their
ThemostrecentissuancebyHealthCanadaonexposuretoHCHO maximum values. These categories are the individual indoor
is 0.1ppm (123μg/m3) over a 1–hour average and 0.04 ppm climate(0.03mg/m3),the goodindoorclimate (0.05mg/m3), and
(50μg/m3)overan8–houraverage(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Daleset thesatisfactoryindoorclimate(0.1mg/m3).InGermany,thevalues
al., 2008). It has also been reported in Canada (ANSI/ASHRAE, reportedbyMAK(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)wereoneppmoverafive–
2004) that 0.1 ppm is the value allowed for a long–term average minute period, which was never to be exceeded, and 0.3 ppm as
and0.05ppmasaceilinglimitvalueforlong–termexposure. over 8–hour average exposure. For Denmark (Salthammer et al.,
 2010) and Sweden (Salthammer et al., 2010), issued values are
In the United States, different national organizations have 0.15mg/m3and0.1mg/m3,respectively.Poland(AIVC,2003;NRC,
recognizeddifferentstandardsaslimitvalues.Forexample,NIOSH 2005)hasreportedstandardsof0.05mg/m3and0.1mg/m3.Inthe
(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)setsvaluesof0.1ppmasaceilingleveland UK(HSC,2002),avalueof2.5mg/m3isacceptablewhichhasnot
0.016ppmasthelimitforaten–hourworkdayduringaforty–hour changedsinceissuedin2004.

Table4.Standardsandguidelinesforformaldehyde(HCHO)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 0.08ppm(100μg/m3)as1–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
SEPA (You,2013)
Hong <24ppb(30μg/m3)as8–haverage(Level1)1a HKEPD (Leeetal.,2002)
Kong <81ppb(100μg/m3)as8–haverage(Level2)1b
<300ppb(370μg/m3)as8–haverage(Level3)1c
<0.025ppm(0.03mg/m3)as8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1d HKSAR (HKSAR,1998;
<0.081ppm(0.1mg/m3)as8–haverage(GoodClass)1e HKSAR,2003a)
Japan 0.08ppm(0.1mg/m3)as0.5–haverage MHLW (Charlesetal.,2005)
Korea 0.1ppm(120μg/m3)as8–haverage KEITI (Jeong,2008;Salthammer
etal.,2010;Colbeck,2012)
Kuwait 0.12mg/m3asmaximumlimit KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore 0.1ppm(120μg/m3)as8–haverage2a InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmental
Epidemiology.SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
Australia
Australia 2500μg/m3as15–minaverage3a NHMRC (NHMRC,1996a;NHMRC,
0.1ppm(120μg/m3)(CeilingLevel)3b NHMRC 1996b)
(TECGreenOffice,1997)
0.08ppm(100μg/m3)(asshort–duration) NHMRC (Salthammeretal.,2010)
1200μg/m3as8–haverageworkingday;5–dworkingweek3a NOHSC (NOHSC,1995)
Canada/USA
Canada ActionLevel:0.10ppm(120μg/m3)4a HealthCanada (HealthCanada,1989,
TargetLevel:0.05ppm(60μg/m3)4b ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;
HealthCanada,2006)
0.1ppm(123μg/m3)as1–haverage HealthCanada (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.04ppm(50μg/m3)as8–haverage
Short–termexposure:100ppb(123μg/m3)per1hexposure HealthCanada (Dalesetal.,2008)
Short–termexposure:40ppb(50μg/m3)per8hexposure
US 0.3ppm(CeilingLevel) ACGIH (LightHouseSustainable
BuildingCentre,2007)
0.081ppmas30–minaverage ASHRAE (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
76ppbas1–hraverage
27ppbas8–hraverage
0.4ppm NAAQS/EPA (LightHouseSustainable
BuildingCentre,2007)
0.1ppm(123μg/m3)asceilinglevel NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.016ppm(20μg/m3)as10–hworkdayduring40–hworkweek5a
24540μg/m3(ImediatelyDangeroustoLifeandHealth,IDLH)
2ppm(2450μg/m3)as15–minaverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.75ppm(920μg/m3)as8–hworkingday;5–dworkingweek
20μg/m3+outsideairconcentration6a U.S.EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
Europe/WHO
Denmark 0.15mg/m3 DSIC (Salthammeretal.,2010)
Finland 0.03mg/m (individualindoorclimate)7a
3
FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001;Charleset
0.05mg/m3(goodindoorclimate)7b al.,2005)
0.1mg/m3(satisfactoryindoorclimate)7c
Germany 1ppm(1230μg/m3)as5–minaverage(neverto beexceeded) MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.3ppm(369μg/m3)as8–haverage
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 758

Table4.Continued
Country Value Organization Reference
Poland 0.04ppm(0.05mg/m3)as24–hexposureperday (CategoryA) Poland (AIVC,2003;NRC,2005)
0.08ppm(0.1mg/m3)as8–10hexposureperday(CategoryB)
Sweden 0.08ppm(0.1mg/m3) Sweden (Salthammeretal.,2010)
3 8a
UK 2ppm(2500μg/m )as15–minaverage HSC (HSC,2002)
Worldwide 0.081ppm(100μg/m3)as30–minaverage WHO (WHO,2000;
ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
1a
Level1:LevelthatrepresentsverygoodIAQ.Theseguidelinesissuedatyear1999(HongKong)
1b
Level2:LevelthatrepresentstherecommendedIAQstandardsforthegeneralpublic.Theseguidelinesissuedatyear1999(HongKong)
1c
Level3:LevelthatrepresentstheIAQrequiredasprotectionforworkers.Theseguidelinesissuedatyear1999(HongKong)
1d
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
1e
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
3a
Exposurestandardsforatmosphericcontaminantsintheoccupationalenvironment(Australia)
3b
Maximumlevelorceilinglevel:Highestpossiblyallowedvalueforexposure(Australia)
4a
Actionlevel:Whentheairqualityreachesthislevel,emergencymeasuresmustbetaken(Canada)
4b
Targetlevel:Itisthelevelthatattemptsshouldbemadetoattain(Canada)
5a
Recommendedexposurelimits(US,NIOSH)
6a
Allowableairconcentrationlevels(US,EPA)
7a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothinsummer
andwinter(Finland)
7b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottest
daysofthesummer(Finland)
7c
 Category S3: The indoor air quality and the thermal conditions of the space fulfill the requirements set by the building codes. The indoor air may
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)
8a
Workplaceexposurelimit(UK)

2.4.Nitrogendioxide(NO2) 2.5.Ozone
 
Nitrogendioxide(NO2)iscertainlyadangerouspollutantanda Ozone has been labeled a carcinogen because of its
componentofacidraininvarietyofcountriesworldwide.Thegas propagation of free radicals, and has been reported to cause a
hasmanyundesirablehealtheffectsonhumans,includingcausing wide range of respiratory problems, including chest pain and an
ofasthmaandotherrespiratoryinfectionsanddiseasesresultingin inability to breathe properly (U.S.EPA, 2013b). Table 6 shows the
swelling of the regular oxygen pathways in the human body standards and regulations for ozone in indoor air. As reported by
(U.S.EPA, 2013a). The standards and guidelines for NO2 are the AQSIQ (2012), China was operating with issued values of
summarizedinTable5. 0.16mg/m3fora1–houraverage. Valuesof 0.05mg/m3 and 0.12
 mg/m3 were issued as its standard values. The Kuwait EPA (Tang
China issued a NO2 limit value of 0.24mg/m3 which has not and Al–Ajmi, 2006) has set four values for four different time
beenchangedsincesettingbySEPA(You,2013).TheHKIAQO(Lee periods. These are 0.235 mg/m3, 0.2 mg/m3, 0.12 mg/m3, and
et al., 2002) reported for Hong Kong a value of 200μg/m3 (one– 0.06mg/m3 over 1–hour, 8–hour, 24–hour and annual averages,
hour average) and a value of 50 μg/m3 (8–hour average). The respectively. Malaysia and Singapore have set similar guidelines
HKEPD (1999) established two classes of IAQ objectives (8–hour andstandardsat0.1mg/m3 astheexposurevalueoveran8–hour
average).TheguidelineforanexcellentlevelofNO2was40μg/m3 average.TheNHMRCinAustraliahasassignedforozonefairlyless
and that a good level was 150 μg/m3. The Kuwait EPA produced stringent values of 0.1ppm (0.210mg/m3) and 0.08ppm
detailed standards for three averaging time periods, highlighting (0.170mg/m3)overaveragingtime periodsof1hourand4 hours
howseriousthispollutantisconsidered(TangandAl–Ajmi,2006), ofexposure(TECGreenOffice,1997).The0.1ppmvaluehowever
withlimitvaluessetat0.66mg/m3,0.2mg/m3and0.1mg/m3for has been explicitly stated to not be exceeded more than once a
30–minute, one–hour and 24–hour average exposures, respecͲ year.HealthCanadasetavalueof0.120ppm(0.240mg/m3)asthe
tively. In Canada, the same values set by Health Canada in 1987 exposure value for a time period of 1–hour (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004;
have been issued in 2004 (Dales et al., 2008; Federal–Provincial Dales et al., 2008). It is seen that NIOSH and OSHA set values of
Advisory Committee, 1989; ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; Bluyssen, 2010). 0.1ppm for 8–hour average exposure time although the former,
In the United States, a similar trend is exhibited as the values expressesitsvalueasaceilinglimitandthelatterasapermissible
issued are either less than 5 ppm as the ceiling limit, issued by exposurelimit(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).ACGIHhowever,expressesits
OSHAor5ppmand3ppmover15–minutesand8–houraverages values or standards relative to the level of work being done
as set by ACGIH (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004). The other values reported (Charles et al., 2005; ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004). In Germany however,
by NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004) and the US EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE, thepollutantwasestablishedasacarcinogenandyetnomaximum
2004) are 1 ppm over a 15–minute average and approximately value for exposure was established (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004). The UK
0.05ppmover oneyear fortheremainingtwoorganizations.The issuedavalueof100μg/m3over8–houraverage.Further,Finland
UK (HSC, 2002) adopted the guideline values set by WHO while has been operating at values of 0.02 mg/m3, 0.05 mg/m3 and
Germany, as reported by the ANSI/ASHRAE (2004), has slightly 0.08mg/m3(AirDuctCleaners,2013).
higherallowablevaluesthantheguidelinevaluessetat350μg/m3 
and 60 μg/m3. NO2 in relation to IAQ is heavily restricted and 2.6.Sulfurdioxide
remains a priority in those countries it affects. In continuation of 
the stringent guidelines and standards set by the many regional Sulfur dioxide is a considerably dangerous contaminant of
and national agencies, WHO (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004) set values of indoor air causing severe irritation of the eyes, nose, and
0.1ppm(200μg/m3)and0.02ppm(40μg/m3)overone–hourand respiratory symptoms. It is also linked to pulmonary and
annualaverages. cardiovascular disease after long repeated exposure (Bruce et al.,
 2000). All the recommended guidelines and standard values for
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 759

SO2aregiveninTable7.TheSO2rulingsarenotapplicabletoHong IntheUnitedStates,NIOSHandACGIHhavesetexactlythesame
Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. The value reported for China, by values(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005).Thesevaluesare
SEPA, is 0.5 mg/m3 over the average time period of 1 hour (You, 5ppm and 2 ppm for 15–min and 8–hour averages, respectively.
2013).Inthereportshowingtheguidelinespublished forNHMRC OSHAhasadoptedthevalueof5ppmfor8hours(ANSI/ASHRAE,
three different values are presented (TEC Green Office, 1997). 2004; Charles et al., 2005). US EPA has adopted 0.14 ppm and
Thesevaluesare0.25ppm(700μg/m3),0.20ppm(570μg/m3)and 0.03ppmfor24–hourandannualexposures(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;
0.02ppm (60 μg/m3) for 10–min, 1–hour and annual averages, Berenguer, 2011). The first value should not be exceeded more
respectively. Table7 also indicates how the guidelines and thanonceayear.Germanyhowever,has stipulationscurrently in
standards in Canada with regard to this pollutant has developed effect, having values of 0.5 ppm over an average time of 8 hours
from Health Canada at values of ч0.38 ppm (1 000 μg/m3) and and explicitly stated that a value of 1 ppm should never be
ч0.019ppm(50μg/m3)astheshortandlong–termexposurelimit. exceeded(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).

Table5.Standardsandguidelinesfornitrogendioxide(NO2)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 240μg/m3as1–haverage AQSIQ,SEPA (AQSIQ,2002;You,2013)
80μg/m3as1–yaverage1a AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
HongKong 9400μg/m3as15–minaverage2a HKSAR (HKSAR,1998)
300μg/m3as1–haverage2b HKIAQO (Leeetal.,2002)
5600μg/m as8–hworkingday;5–dworkingweek2a
3
HKSAR (HKSAR,1998)
21ppb(40μg/m3)as8–haverage(ExcellentClass)2c HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
80ppb(150μg/m3)as8–haverage(GoodClass)2d HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
200μg/m3as1–haverage HKIAQO (Leeetal.,2002)
50μg/m3as8–haverage
Korea 0.05ppm(100μg/m3)as1–yaverage KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
Kuwait 0.66mg/m3as30–minaverage KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
0.2mg/m3as1–haverage
0.1mg/m3as24–haverage
Canada/USA
Canada 0.25ppm(480μg/m3)as1–haverage(Short–TermExposure)3a HealthCanada (Federal–ProvincialAdvisory
0.05ppm(100μg/m3)as8–haverage(Long–TermExposure)3b Committee,1989;ANSI/ASHRAE,
2004;Dalesetal.,2008;Bluyssen,
2010)
US 5ppm(9400μg/m3)as15–minaverage AGGIH (ACGIH,1995;ANSI/ASHRAE,
3ppm(5600μg/m3)as8–hworkingday;5–dworkingweek 2004)
0.05ppm(100μg/m3)as1–yaverage NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
1ppm(1800μg/m3)as15–minaverage NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
37600μg/m3(ImediatelyDangeroustoLifeandHealth,IDLH)
5ppm(CeilingLevel)4a OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.053ppm(TWA)4b USEPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
Europe/WHO
Germany 350μg/m3 MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
60μg/m3
UK 200μg/m3as1–haverage HSC (HSC,2002)
40μg/m3as1–yaverage
Worldwide 0.1ppm(200μg/m3)as1–haverage WHO (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.02ppm(40μg/m3)as1–yaverage
1a
Indoorairqualitystandard(China)
2a
Occupationalexposurelimitsforchemicalsubstancesintheworkenvironment(HongKong)
2b
Controlofairpollutioninsemi–haverageconfinedpublictransportinterchanges(HongKong)
2c
Excellentclass(8–haveragehaverage)inIAQobjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces.ItisthehighlevelofIAQ(HongKong)
2d
Goodclass(8–haveragehaverage)inIAQobjectivesforofficebuildingsandpublicplaces.ItisthegoodlevelofIAQ(HongKong)
3a
Shorttermexposure:Exposureoverashortperiodoftime.Itisusuallylessthan8hours,or15minutestohighlevelsofasubstance(Canada)
3b
Longtermexposure:Exposureoveralongperiodoftime.Itisusuallymorethan8hours(Canada)
4a
Ceilinglevel:Themaximumvalueallowedforexposuretothesubstance(US,OSHA)
4b
TWA:Timeweightedaverage(US,EPA)

Table6.Standardsandguidelinesforozone(O3)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 0.16mg/m3as1–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
HongKong 25ppb(0.050mg/m3)as8–haverage HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
(ExcellentClass)1a
61ppb(0.120mg/m3)as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b
Korea 0.06ppm(0.120mg/m3)as8–haverage KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)


 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 760

Table6.Continued

Country Value Organization Reference

Kuwait 0.235mg/m3as1–haverage KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
0.2mg/m3as8–haverage
0.12mg/m3as24–haverage
0.06mg/m3as1–yaverage
Malaysia 0.05ppm(0.100mg/m3)as8–haverage DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
3
Singapore 0.05ppm(0.100mg/m )as8–haverage InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmental
Epidemiology.SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
Australia
Australia 0.1ppm(0.210mg/m3)as1–haverage(nottobe NHMRC (TECGreenOffice,1997)
exceededmorethanonceayear)
0.08ppm(0.170mg/m3)as4–haverage
Canada/USA
Canada 0.12ppm(0.240mg/m3)as1–haverage HealthCanada (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Dalesetal.,
(Short–TermExposure)2a 2008)
US 0.05ppm(100μg/m3)as8–haverage ASHRAE (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
3a
0.05ppm(TLVforheavywork)  ACGIH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,
0.08ppm(TLVformoderatework)3a 2005)
0.1ppm(TLVforlightwork)3a
0.2ppm(TLVforanyworkthatislessthanorequal
totwohours)3a
0.12ppmas1–haverage(nottobeexceededmore NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
thanonceperyear)
0.08ppmas8–haverage
0.1ppm(CeilingLevel)3b NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.1ppmas8–haverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.12ppmas1–haverage(MaximumLevel)3b USEPA (Berenguer,2011;AirDuctCleaners,
0.08ppmas8–haverage(MaximumLevel)3b 2013)
Europe/WHO
3 4a
Finland 0.020mg/m (S1) FiSIAQ (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
0.050mg/m3(S2)4b
0.08mg/m3(S3)4c
Germany Carcinogen(nomaximumvaluesestablished)5a MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
UK 100μg/m3as8–haverage UK (Bluyssen,2010)
3
Worldwide 0.064ppm(0.120mg/m )as8–haverage WHO (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.05ppm(MaximumLevel)3b WHO (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
1a
Excellentclass:excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
1b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2a
Insufficientdataforlong–haveragetermlevel(Canada)
3a
TLV(ThresholdLimitValue):Thelevelatwhichapersoncanbeexposedtoasubstancedailywithoutadversehealtheffects(USA,ACGIH)
3b
Ceilingormaximumlevel:Highestpossibleallowedvalueforexposure(US,WHO)
4a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothinsummer
andwinter(Finland)
4b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottestdays
ofthesummer(Finland)
4c
 Category S3: The indoor air quality and the thermal conditions of the space fulfill the requirements set by the building codes. The indoor air may
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)
5a
OzonehasbeenclassifiedasacarcinogenandinGermanyhowever,nomaximumvaluehasbeenestablishedrelativetoitsexposuretothepopulous
(Germany)

2.7.TotalVolatileOrganicCompounds(TVOCs) 3000 μg/m3. Both the Kuwait EPA (Tang and Al–Ajmi, 2006) and
 DOSH (2010) have adopted a value of 3 ppm as their standard,
ThesumofallindividualVOCs,referredtoasTVOCs,isoften with the latter specifying an average exposure period of 8 hours.
usedasaguidetodeterminewhetherchemicallevelsareelevated Australiaadoptedapproximatelysimilarvaluesforitsguidelinesof
inairsamples.Theselevelsoftenreflectthepotentialforoccupant 500μg/m3 for a 1–hour average (TEC Green Office, 1997).
irritation and discomfort. The symptoms of TVOCs experienced Surprisingly, there is not much concern regarding TVOCs in North
may range from slight irritation, to such toxicity levels that America; however Public Works Canada as a national body has
eventually lead to death (EC, 1997). Table 8 shows the standards stated a value of 200 μg/m3 as sufficient for a comfortable
and regulations of total volatile organic compounds. The AQSIQ environment and the State of Washington stipulated a value of
(2002) reported for China a value of 0.6 mg/m3 as an 8–hour 500μg/m3 as its limit value (Air Duct Cleaners, 2013). The UK
average.TheHKEPDestablishedforHongKongtwoclassesofIAQ stipulated a value of 300 μg/m3 for an 8–hour average (Bluyssen,
objectives. The guideline for an excellent classification of TVOCs 2010).
(8–hour average) is 600 μg/m3 and for a good classification it is 
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 761


Table7.Standardsandguidelinesforsulfurdioxide(SO2)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 0.5mg/m3as1–haverage SEPA (You,2013)
Australia
Australia 0.25ppm(700μg/m3)as10–minaverage NHMRC (TECGreenOffice,1997)
0.20ppm(570μg/m3)as1–haverage
0.02ppm(60μg/m3)as1–yaverage
Canada/USA
Canada ч0.38ppm(1000μg/m3)as5–minaverage HealthCanada (Federal–ProvincialAdvisoryCommitte,1989;
(Short–TermExposure)1a ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
ч0.019ppm(50μg/m3)as8–haverage
(Long–TermExposure)1b
US 80μg/m3as1–yaverage ASHRAE (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
5ppmas15–minaverage ACGIH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005)
2ppmas8–haverage
0.14ppmas24–haverage(nottobe NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
exceededmorethanonceperyear)
0.03ppmas1–yaverage
5ppmas15–minaverage NIOSH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
2ppmas8–haverage
5ppm(13mg/m3)as8–haverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005)
0.5ppm(1300μg/m3)as3–haverage USEPA (Berenguer,2011)
0.14ppm(365μg/m3)as24–haverage
0.03ppm(80μg/m3)as1–yaverage
Europe/WHO
Germany 0.5ppmas8–haverage MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
1ppm(nevertobeexceeded)
Worldwide 0.19ppmas10–minaverage WHO (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Hedrick,2010)
0.133ppmas1–haverage
0.048ppmas24–haverage
0.012ppmas1–yaverage
1a
Shorttermexposure:Exposureoverashortperiodoftime.Itisusuallylessthan8hours,or15minutestohighlevelsofasubstance(Canada)
1b
Longtermexposure:Exposureoveralongperiodoftime.Itisusuallymorethan8hours(Canada)

2.8.ParticulateMatter(PM2.5) enough,maycausepulmonaryandcardiovasculardiseasesaswell
 aslungcancer(WHO,2013).Table10focusesonthestandardsand
PMlessthan2.5μminsize(PM2.5)hasbeendirectlylinkedto guidelines used in an attempt to limit the expression of these
respiratory illnesses and infections such as asthma, as well as symptoms.ThevaluessetbyHKEPDinHongKonghaveremained
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer unchanged from 1999–2014 (HKEPD, 1999). The neighboring
(WHO, 2013). Table 9 focuses on this pollutant specifically. It is countries of Malaysia and Singapore have set the same values as
seenthatanymeasureforthispollutantisnotundertakeninHong their standards (DOSH, 2010). This value is 150 μg/m3, although
Kong,China,Japan,orSingapore.InNorthAmerica,however,more that amount is stipulated as per 8–hour exposure by Malaysia. In
attention is paid to PM2.5. In Canada, the values issued by Health spiteofthefactthatPM10isnottrackedinCanada,thereisunity
Canada in 1987 were 100μg/m3 for a 1–hour average and acrossmostoftheUS,withnationalAmericanstandardsforPM10.
40μg/m3 as a long–term exposure limit (Federal–Provincial ASHRAE (Air Duct Cleaners, 2013), the US EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,
Advisory Committee, 1989; ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; Phipps, 2007; 2004), and the IDPH (Schuh, 2000; Sebesta, 2011) have reported
Dales et al., 2008). There is again less unity in the guidelines and permissible values of 150 μg/m3 over an average of 24 hours.
standardssetbyvariousnationalinstitutionsintheUSA.ACGIHhas ACGIH,though,outlinesavalueof10mg/m3foran8–houraverage
stipulatedavalueof3mg/m3asanexposure–ceilinglimitoveran exposure time (ANSI/ASHRAE, 2004; Charles et al., 2005). Within
averageof8hours(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).BothASHRAEandUSEPA Europe,PM10isnotcoveredundertheUK’sIAQpoliciesinspiteof
reportedthesamevalueof65μg/m3overa24–houraverage(Air thefactthatin2006,theWHOreinstatedguidelinevaluesaboutit
DuctCleaners,2013).OSHAsetavalueof5mg/m3foran8–hour (Bluyssen,2010).Thespecifiedvaluesare50μg/m3fora24–hour
averageexposuretime(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).NIOSHhowever,has averageand20μg/m3asanannualaverage.
stipulatednovalue(ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).Also,NAAQS,whichare 
set by EPA, stipulated values of 35 μg/m3 and 15 μg/m3 for 24– 2.10.TotalSuspendedParticles(TSP)
hourand annual periods, respectively (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004).Also, 
it can be seen that the pollutant is not covered in the policies of In undertaking the current study, no TSP guidelines were
UK,Finland,andGermany.Inspiteofthis,asrecentlyas2006,the found for the European countries. Relatively few guidelines are
WHOset guideline valuesof 25 μg/m3and10μg/m3 for 24–hour available for TSP (Table 11). The Kuwait EPA (Tang and Al–Ajmi,
andannualaverages,respectively(Bluyssen,2010). 2006) stipulated values of 0.23mg/m3 and 0.075mg/m3 for
 averageexposureperiodsof24hoursand1year,respectively.The
2.9.PM10 AustralianNHMRC(TECGreenOffice,1997)recommendedavalue
 of 90μg/m3 for an exposure time period of one year while OSHA
PM10 refers to particles that are 10 μm or less in diameter. (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)specifiedavalueof15μg/m3foranaverage
They are less toxic than PM2.5. They still cause symptoms of timeperiodof8hours.
respiratory infections and irritations and if exposure is long 
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 762


Table8.Standardsandguidelinesfortotalvolatileorganiccompounds(TVOCs)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 0.6mg/m3as8–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
HongKong 600μg/m3as8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
3000μg/m3as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b
Kuwait 3ppm KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Malaysia 3ppmas8–haverage DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore 3ppm(refertotoluene)2a InstituteofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmental
Epidemiology,SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
Australia
Australia 500μg/m3as1–haverage3a NHMRC (NHMRC,1996a;NHMRC,
1996b;TECGreenOffice,
1997)
Canada/USA
Canada 200μg/m3(ComfortLevel)4a PublicWorksCanada (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
500μg/m3(BuildingStandard)4b StateofWashington (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
200μg/m3+outsideairconcentration5a USEPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
Europe/WHO
Finland 200μg/m3(maximumvalue,S1)6a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
300μg/m3(maximumvalue,S2)6b
600μg/m3(maximumvalue,S3)6c
87ppb(200μg/m3)as8–haverage FiSIAQ (HKSAR,2003a)
(ExcellentClass)1a
261ppb(600μg/m3)as8–haverage
(GoodClass)1b
UK 300μg/m3as8–haverage UK (Bluyssen,2010)
1a
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong,Finland)
1b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong,Finland)
2a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
3a
Goalsformaximumpermissiblelevelsofpollutantsinindoorair(Australia)
4a
Comfortlevelreferstotheexposurelimitthatallowsforacomfortableindoorenvironment(Canada)
4b
Buildingstandard:Itreferstothelegislationimposedinthecountrybyitsbuildingcodesandlaws(Canada)
5a
Allowableairconcentrationlevels(US,EPA)
6a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothin
summerandwinter(Finland)
6b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottest
daysofthesummer(Finland)
6c
CategoryS3:Theindoorairqualityandthethermalconditionsofthespacefulfilltherequirementssetbythebuildingcodes.Theindoorairmay
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)

Table9.Standardsandguidelinesforparticulatematterlessthan2.5micrometersinsize(PM2.5)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
Asia N/A N/A N/A
Australia
Australia N/A N/A N/A
Canada/USA
Canada 100μg/m3as1–haverage(Short–TermExposure)1a HealthCanada (Federal–ProvincialAdvisoryCommittee,1989;
40μg/m3as8–haverage(Long–TermExposure)1b ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Phipps,2007;Dalesetal.,
2008)
US 3mg/m3as8–haverage(CeilingLevel)2a ACGIH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
65μg/m3as24–haverage(Exposure)2b ASHRAE (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
35μg/m3as24–haverage NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
15μg/m3as1–yaverage
5mg/m3as8–haverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
0.06mg/m3as24–haverage USEPA (ISIAQ–CIB,2004)
0.015mg/m3as1–yaverage
65μg/m3as24–haverage(Exposure)2b USEPA (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
Europe/WHO
Worldwide 25μg/m3as24–haverage WHO (Bluyssen,2010;Salthammer,2011)
10μg/m3as1–yaverage
1a
Shorttermexposure:Exposureoverashortperiodoftime.Itisusuallylessthan8hours,or15minutestohighlevelsofasubstance(Canada)
1b
Longtermexposure:Exposureoveralongperiodoftime.Itisusuallymorethan8hours(Canada)
2a
Ceilinglevel:Highestpossibleallowedvalueforexposure(US,ACGIH)
2b
Exposure:Itmeansacontinualandrepetitivecontactwiththesubstanceoverasetperiod(US,ASHRAE)
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 763

Table10.Standardsandguidelinesforparticulatematterlessthan10micrometers(PM10)
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 0.15mg/m3as24–haverage AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
SEPA (You,2013)
HongKong 20μg/m3as8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
180μg/m3as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b
Malaysia 150μg/m3as8–haverage DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore 150μg/m3(inoffice)2a InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmentalEpidemiology,1996)
Epidemiology,SIAQG
Australia
Australia 90μg/m3as1–hr NHMRC (TECGreenOffice,1997)
Canada/USA
Canada N/A N/A N/A
US 10mg/m3as8–haverage ACGIH (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005)
150μg/m3as24–haverage(Exposure)3a ASHRAE (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
150μg/m3as24–haverage IDPH (Schuh,2000;Sebesta,2011)
150μg/m3as24–haverage NAAQS/EPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005)
50μg/m3as1–yaverage
150μg/m3as24–hr(Exposure)3a USEPA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)
150μg/m3as24–haverage
50μg/m3as1–yaverage
Europe/WHO
Finland <20μg/m3as8–haverage FiSIAQ (EnvironmentalPolicyWorkingGroup,1999;
HKSAR,2003)
Germany 4mg/m3as8–haverage MAK (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004;Charlesetal.,2005)
Worldwide 50μg/m3as24–haverage WHO (Bluyssen,2010;Salthammer,2011)
20μg/m3as1–yaverage
1a
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
1b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
3a
Exposure:Itmeansacontinualandrepetitivecontactwiththesubstanceoverasetperiod(US)

2.11.Temperature Kjaegaard, 2007). Moreover, high humidity can increase pollutant
 emission from the building materials, especially in the case of
Air temperature is an important factor to maintain an HCHO and other volatile organic compounds, which result in
acceptable thermal comfort level in a building’s indoor inferior IAQ (Jansz, 2011). In addition, the elevated levels of
environment. Higher or lower temperatures than the threshold relative humidity can lead to interior conditions which are
values can affect thermal comfort and the productivity of the favorable for the growth of molds and microbes. List of the
building’soccupants.Elevatedtemperatureshavebeenlinkedtoa standards and guidelines for relative humidity are presented in
higherprevalenceofSBSsymptomsamongabuilding’soccupants Table13. The ASQIQ (2002) in China recommended the relative
(Abdul–Wahab, 2011). Table 12 displays standards and guidelines humidity indoors should be 40–80% in summer and 30–60% in
of air temperature. The operative air temperature for buildings winter. Furthermore, the standards state whether or not air
recommended by AQSIQ in China was 22–28 °C for summer conditioning or indoor heating is needed to acquire these levels
conditionsand16–24°Cforwinterconditions(AQSIQ,2002). The andwhatseasonsthevaluerangesarespecifiedfor.HKEPD(1999)
issuance also states whether or not air conditioning or indoor set their standards as 40–70% relative humidity needed for
heating is needed to acquire these levels. Most of the guidelines excellentIAQand<70%forgoodairquality.DOSH(2010)alsoseta
present in Asian countries are similar. The temperature standardof40–70%whereasSingapore(InstituteofEnvironmental
recommendedbyHongKong’sHKEPDwas20–25.5°Cforexcellent Epidemiology, 1996) set their standards atч70% for office
airqualityand<25.5°Cforgoodairquality(HKEPD,1999).Malaysia premises. In Canada, the stipulated values are 30–80% and 30–
recommended a temperature in the range of 23–26 °C (DOSH, 55%as short–term exposure limits in both summer and winter
2010),whereasSingaporerecommendedthetemperaturetobein (Federal–Provincial Advisory Committee, 1989). Relatively few
therangeof22.5–25°C(InstituteofEnvironmentalEpidemiology, organizations in the US have set standards regarding relative
1996). In addition, Table 12 presents the same values in 2003 humidity. ASHRAE set standard relative humidity values of 40–
recommendedbyASHRAE(TSI,2013)andtheTexasDepartmentof 60%in summer and 30–60% in winter (Air Duct Cleaners, 2013).
Health(TDH).IntheUKandGermany,compliancewiththeabove Both of these values are stated to provide an acceptable level of
mentionedstandardisnotapplicabletoIAQconditions. comfort for the populous in indoor environments in different
 seasons. The IDPH set its humidity range standard at 20–60% for
2.12.Relativehumidity bothsummerandwinterconditions(Schuh,2000).
 
Relativehumidityreferstothemoisturecontentintheair.Itis 2.13.Airmovement
animportantfactorthatcouldaffectthermalcomfortinabuilding. 
Low levels of humidity causes a decrease of mucous available to Airmovementorairvelocityisanotherimportantfactorthat
the eyes and nose leading to drying of these organs and thus influences IAQ. It does not usually have any direct effects on
irritation. High levels of humidity would transfer airborne human health but mostly promotes both positive and negative
pestilencesalongwithdustparticlesintotherespiratorypathways. effectsonotherfactors.Forinstance,itiswidelyperpetuatedthat
This process indirectly could cause pathways’ irritation and may stillairheightenstheairtemperatureandhumidityaroundpeople
even results in worse diseases such as bronchitis (Wolkoff and thusdecreasingthermalcomfort;conversely,movingaircancause
 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 764

people to feel cooler if at the moving air is cooler than body <0.2m/sforexcellentairqualityand<0.3m/sforgoodairquality.
temperature(HSE,2013).Ifthevelocityishighenough,however,it DOSH (2010) and Singapore recommended different value ranges
increases drying of the skin. The link between air movement and of 0.15–0.5 m/s and ч0.25 m/s for excellent and good IAQ,
other factors and contaminants potentially affecting IAQ means respectively(InstituteofEnvironmentalEpidemiology,1996).
that different agencies in the world consider it a factor to 
promotinggoodIAQ. Aswithotherindicators,airmovementor velocitylegislation
 isnotinuseinNorthAmericatothesameextentasotherfactors.
Table14 lists the guidelines and regulations for air velocity. Generally in the US, there is no set federal legislation for air
TheAQSIQ(2002)recommendedthemeanairspeedforanindoor movement,sothestateagenciescreatetheirownones.TheWHO
environmentshouldbe0.3m/sinsummerand0.2m/sinwinter. also issued guidelines with regard to air velocity with a set
However, air conditioning may be needed in the summer and guideline value of 0.25 m/s (TSI, 2013). Noteworthy is the lack of
heating in the winter to acquire these values for the indoor useofthisfactorinregulatingIAQwithintheEU.
environment.AccordingtotheHKEPD(1999),airspeedshouldbe 

Table11.Standardsandguidelinesfortotalsuspendedparticles(TSP)

Country Value Organization Reference

Asia
Kuwait 0.23mg/m3as24–haverage KuwaitEPA (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
0.075mg/m3as1–yaverage
Australia
Australia 90μg/m3as1–yaverage NHMRC (TECGreenOffice,1997)
Canada/USA
US 15μg/m3as8–haverage OSHA (ANSI/ASHRAE,2004)

Table12.Standardsandguidelinesforthetemperatureofair
Country Value Organization Reference
Asia
China 22–28°Cinsummer(Sumerair–conditioning) AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
16–24°Cinwinter(Winterheating)
HongKong 20.0–25.5°Cas8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
<25.5°Cas8–haverage(GoodClass)1b
Japan 17–28°C(Office)2a MHLW (Charlesetal.,2005;HKSAR,2003)
Korea 26–28°Cinsummer(School) KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
18–28°Cinwinter(School)
Malaysia 23–26°C DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore 22.5–25.0°C(officepremises)3a InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmental
Epidemiology,SIAQG Epidemiology,1996)
Canada/USA
US 22.5–26.0°Cinsummer(ComfortLevel) ASHRAE (TSI,2013)
20.0–23.5°Cinwinter(ComfortLevel)
24.5–28.0°Cinsummer(lightclothing)4a,ifrelative ASHRAE (GovernmentofAlberta,2009)
humidityis30%
20–24°Cinwinter(warmclothing)4a,ifrelative
humidityis60%
22.5–26.0°Cinsummer TDH (TDH,2003)
20.0–23.5°Cinwinter
Europe/WHO
Finland 23–24°Cinsummer(S1)5a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
23–26°Cinsummer(S2)5b
22–27°Cinsummer(S3)5c
21–22°Cinwinter(S1)5a
20–22°Cinwinter(S2)5b
20–23°Cinwinter(S3)5c
1a
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
1b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2a
Thelawformaintenanceofsanitationinbuildings(Japan)
3a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
4a
Oneshouldwearlightclothingorwarmclothinginthetemperaturerangesspecifiedsoastonegatepossibleeffectsonthebody(US,ASHRAE)
5a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothin
summerandwinter(Finland)
5b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottest
daysofthesummer(Finland)
5c
CategoryS3:Theindoorairqualityandthethermalconditionsofthespacefulfilltherequirementssetbythebuildingcodes.Theindoorairmay
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)

 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR) 765

Table13.Standardsandguidelinesforrelativehumidity

Organizations Value Organization Reference

Asia
China 40–80%insummer(Summerair–conditioning) AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
30–60%inwinter(Winterheating)
HongKong 40–70%as8–haverage(ExcellentClass)1a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
<70%as8–haverage(GoodClass)1b
Japan 40–70%as8–haverage(ExcellentClass) MHLW (HKSAR,2003a;Charlesetal.,2005)
Korea 30–80%(School) KEITI (Jeong,2008;Colbeck,2012)
Malaysia 40–70% DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
2a
Singapore ч70%(officepremises)  InstitueofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmentalEpidemiology,1996)
Epidemiology,SIAQG
Canada/USA
Canada 30–80%insummer(Short–termExposure) HealthCanada (Federal–ProvincialAdvisoryCommittee,1989)
30–55%inwinter(Short–TermExposure)
US 40–60%insummer(ComfortLevel)3a ASHRAE (AirDuctCleaners,2013)
30–60%inwinter(ComfortLevel)3a
20–60%inbothsummerandwinter IDPH (Schuh,2000)
Europe/WHO
Finland 25–45%(S1)4a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
1a
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
1b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
3a
ASHRAElabelsitsvaluesascomfortlevels,whicharethevaluesassociatedwithacomfortableimmediateenvironment,whileAQSIQacknowledgeswhat
levelsofhumidityrequireadditionalheatingandcoolingviaair–conditioningorindoorheating.Mostvaluesobtainedhighlightedwheneachwere
acceptable,i.e.insummerorwinter
4a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothinsummer
andwinter(Finland)

Table14.Standardsandguidelinesforairmovement(airflowrate)

Organizations Value Organization Reference

Asia
China 0.3m/s(Summerair–conditioning)1a AQSIQ (AQSIQ,2002)
0.2m/s(Winterheating)1a
HongKong <0.2m/sas8–haverage(ExcellentClass)2a HKEPD (HKEPD,1999)
<0.3m/sas8–haverage(GoodClass)2b
Japan 0.5m/s MHLW (HKSAR,2003a;Charlesetal.,2005)
Malaysia 0.15–0.5m/s DOSH (TangandAl–Ajmi,2006)
Singapore ч0.25m/s(officepremises)3a InstituteofEnvironmental (InstitueofEnvironmentalEpidemiology,
Epidemiology 1996)
Europe/WHO
Finland 0.2m/sinsummer,24°C(S1)4a FiSIAQ (FiSIAQ,2001)
0.25m/sinsummer,24°C(S2)4b
0.3m/sinsummer,24°C(S3)4c
0.13m/sinwinter,20°C(S1)4a
0.16m/sinwinter,20°C(S2)4b
0.19m/sinwinter,20°C(S3)4c
0.14m/sinwinter,21°C(S1)4a
0.17m/sinwinter,21°C(S2)4b
0.2m/sinwinter,21°C(S3)4c
Worldwide 0.25m/s WHO (TSI,2013)
1a
ValueswerepresentedbyAQSIQalongwithwhatlevelsrequiredadditionalheatingorcoolingviaairconditioningorindoorheating(China)
2a
Excellentclass:Excellentlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
2b
Goodclass:Goodlevelofindoorairquality(HongKong)
3a
GuidelinesforgoodIAQinofficepremises(Singapore)
4a
CategoryS1:Itcorrespondstothebestquality.Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisverygoodandthethermalconditionsarecomfortablebothin
summerandwinter(Finland)
4b
CategoryS2:Theindoorairqualityofthespaceisgoodandnodraughtsoccur.Thetemperaturemayariseabovecomfortablelevelduringthehottest
daysofthesummer(Finland)
4c
CategoryS3:Theindoorairqualityandthethermalconditionsofthespacefulfilltherequirementssetbythebuildingcodes.Theindoorairmay
occasionallyfeelstuffyanddraughtsmayoccor.Thetemperatureusuallyrisesabovecomfortlevelsonthehotsummerdays(Finland)


 Abdul–Wahab et al. – Atmospheric Pollution Research (APR)


3.Conclusions
 Guidelines and Standards, NRC PR–204, NRC Institute for Research in
Standards and guidelines as defined by various international
bodies are employed by researchers to evaluate an acceptable
quality of air in indoor as well as outdoor environments. The
present review summarizes the standards and guidelines
developed by various international agencies to evaluate IAQ. The
limiting values for key airborne contaminants and variables of
thermal comfort are reviewed. This work provides a platform of
guidance and a convenient, quick reference regarding IAQ issues.
This study indicates that guidelines and standards set for
adherence are dependent on adverse health effects that could
potentially occur from exposure. All examined pollutants are
experienced similarly by the countries on each continent with
relatively similar guidelines. Some contaminants are bound
inherentlybymorestringentpoliciessuchasHCHOandparticulate
matter. Other factors such as temperature, humidity, and air
movement, which are correlated, interchangeably affect each
other and chemical pollutants. Therefore, in considering IAQ
guidelinesandstandards,itisimperativetoconsiderthechemical
species in the environment, the various health effects associated
withthemandthephysicalpropertiesoftheenvirons.
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Acknowledgments
 Educational Buildings Using BIM. Ph.D. Thesis, Concordia University,
The funding provided by Sultan Qaboos University Project
Number(IG/ENG/MIED/11/04)isgratefullyacknowledged.Thereis
noconflictofinterestdeclaredbytheauthors.
 Workplace and Biological Tolerance Values for Working Materials,
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