Welcome to Air Quality Guide
Air Quality Standards Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency Go Hand in Hand
from:If you wish to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency at the same time, you may want to follow some basic rules that will do both of these simultaneously.
If you do whatever you can to prevent cold drafts you will limit the amount of airborne allergens entering your home from the outside. By preventing cold drafts, you will be helping your indoor air quality and energy efficiency by limiting the loss of heat in the winter or cool room air in the heat of the summer. At the same time, you are limiting outside irritants as well as toxic particles that may be suspended in the atmosphere around the outside of your home. If you circulate the warm and cool air inside your home, you will not be allowing your rooms to become stuffy and stale as you are preventing odors. You will also be able to control the humidity in your home. By controlling the humidity in your home, you will be able to prevent mold and the need to use a dehumidifier, which can be very costly to run.
You will be far ahead with indoor air quality and energy efficiency if you are able to create a sanctuary inside your home away from airborne microbes that may include anthrax, botulism, small pox, toxic gasses, and radioactive particles that are released by terrorists or by accident.
A simple air leakage test can be the first step towards indoor air quality and energy efficiency. The air leakage test can be done with a fan in and outer doorway. After the fan has been placed in the outer doorway you will find that the amount of air flowing through the fan is equal to the air flowing through any leaks in the shell of the building’s construction.
If you use small cool white smoke puffs during the air leakage test you will be able to identify the areas where insects, dust, mold spores, pollen and any possible cold drafts may be entering your home.
In most new home construction as well as existing buildings there may be gaps, cracks and holes in the outer shell construction that can total as much if not more than 100 to 300 square inches. These holes in the construction of your home’s shell are open all the time. If you have a ducted air circulation system in your home it may be creating a significant level of pressure that can drive air through the cracks, crevices, holes and leaks between the interior and exterior.
Air Quality Standards Specific links
Air Quality Standards News
Clear it up: Dutchess County's air gets D grade - Poughkeepsie Journal
 ABC15.com (KNXV-TV) | Clear it up: Dutchess County's air gets D grade Poughkeepsie Journal The bad news is Dutchess County recently received a D grade from the American Lung Association on its air quality, specifically on the ozone levels. This is an improvement compared to last year's report by one letter grade, but “barely not failing” ... EPA Adopts Thresholds for Bad Air Designations Arizona's environmental regulators issue ozone health watch Monday for ... Phoenix area under ozone health watch Monday |
EPA updates Clean Air Act requirements for gas stations. - ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press release)
 Big Island Video News | EPA updates Clean Air Act requirements for gas stations. ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press release) This final rule will ensure that air quality and public health are protected while potentially saving the approximately 31000 affected gas stations located in mostly urban areas more than $3000 each year when fully implemented. Meet the Members of Congress Who Want to Force EPA to Lie to Us About Whether ... New Healthy Air Campaign |
Improved air quality in South Durban: minister - Independent Online
 Independent Online | Improved air quality in South Durban: minister Independent Online However, Molewa responded on Thursday with positive news: all stations in the Durban South Basin had recorded sulphur dioxide annual averages below the South African National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) value of 19ppb last year. |
Nueces County passes air quality standards, according to new report - Corpus Christi Caller Times
 Las Vegas Sun | Nueces County passes air quality standards, according to new report Corpus Christi Caller Times By Rhiannon Meyers CORPUS CHRISTI — Nueces County again received passing grades for air quality, a success clean air advocates say may be the result of years of work in reducing harmful emissions. The county passed particle pollution standards and ... Valley's air quality improving, but smog still at dangerous levels, new report ... Region's air quality better but it still stinks: Group gives Rock. County a ... Report: Twin Cities air quality reaches dangerous levels |
EPA air quality regulations 'deeply flawed', 'misleading' – group - EcoSeed
 Daily Yonder | EPA air quality regulations 'deeply flawed', 'misleading' – group EcoSeed "For the last three years, the EPA has justified a series of strict and incredibly expensive new air quality regulations on the assumption that even trace levels of particulate matter can accelerate death," said the report's author, Kathleen Hartnett ... Environmental protection: EPA proposes 'green force' and environmental magistrates |