Indoor NO2 Guidelines Update
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Background
CARB’s existing indoor air quality guidelines were developed as part of the 2005 Indoor Air Quality Report to the Legislature. They were based upon CARB’s outdoor standard for a 1-hour averaging time, and the World Health Organization's (WHO) indoor guideline for a 24-hour averaging time. These guidelines were one of the first efforts to provide information on safe levels for pollution indoors.
Since then, other agencies, most notably Health Canada and WHO, have continued to update their indoor guidelines and adopt lower indoor pollutant levels to protect public health. The Health Canada and WHO guidelines for safe levels of nitrogen dioxide are significantly lower than CARB’s guideline levels. This and other examples of updated guidelines from other agencies support the need for a reevaluation of CARB’s indoor air guidelines.
Workshops
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to participate in public workshops to discuss health effects of indoor exposures to nitrogen dioxide and impacts of possible updates to the California indoor air quality guidelines for nitrogen dioxide on public health.
The purpose of the workshops is to hear information about the health effects of indoor exposures to nitrogen dioxide, current indoor air guidelines for international agencies, and how updates to the guidelines could improve indoor air quality and benefit public health. Presenters from health agencies and academia will share their perspectives on indoor air quality issues and the development and use of nitrogen dioxide guidelines. We will also hear from representatives of community groups and non-profit organizations, who will discuss how poor indoor air quality impacts their communities and what factors they consider important for new indoor air quality guidelines.