ASHRAE Journal - February 2013 - 77

population for which these sources do not have any significant
impact.25 For the non-negligible sub-populations that are
exposed to these contaminants, specific design or mitigation
measures can be employed, since one is generally aware that
these hazards exist.
Rarely Important. Pretty much everything else in the indoor air that can be analyzed contributes negligibly to chronic
health impacts of the population as a whole. This is true even
for those things that may be above their standard levels. This
does not mean, of course, that there are not significant health
hazards in any given building—only that those hazards do
not contribute significantly to the health of the population as
a whole.
Most of the readers of ASHRAE Journal deal with conditioned air as part of their job. ASHRAE is, after all, big in air
conditioning.26 Inside that building are a host of materials and
activities that emit contaminants we’d rather not be exposed to.
This is, of course, why we ventilate and why there is a “V” in
ASHRAE.27 This is why the first presidential address ASHRAE
received (in 1895) discussed the need for ventilation. This is

why ASHRAE Standard 6228 is so important.
Currently, Standard 62 is principally a ventilation-based indoor air quality standard. If we look at all the contaminants we
know are important, we can begin to consider a health-based
indoor air quality standard instead. Such considerations would
provide alternatives and improvements to simple dilution ventilation and thus facilitate a benefit to both indoor air quality
and energy efficiency.
New chemicals and other contaminants appear in our
buildings almost daily. Many in the indoor air community
fear that some of these may be significant health hazards
either singly or in combination. Undoubtedly, some will.
But rather than speculate on that, it makes more sense to
work with the information we have on contaminants that
have demonstrated harm to the population, like particles,
formaldehyde and products of combustion. To put it more
simply, what we know can hurt us.
Max Sherman, Ph.D., is a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.

25That is, if there is no smoking you won’t get exposed to SHS. If the outdoor ozone level is not elevated, ozone is not likely to be an issue; if there is no radon
in the soil, you won’t have to worry about radon. 26Using Willis Carrier’s definition and not Sears’ (Top Ten Things Consumers Should Know About Air Conditioning
www.tinyurl.com/top10aboutAC). 27OK, so there isn’t a “V” in ASHRAE, but there used to be, back when we were ASHVE. When ASHVE merged with ASRE they
hid the “V” in the definition of “air conditioning” 28There is currently a Standard 62.1 and 62.2 reflecting commercial-industrial and residential occupancies
respectively, but we do not need to separate them in this discussion.

February 2013

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ASHRAE Journal

ASHRAE Journal - February 2013

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