Indoor air quality

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term which refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. IAQ can be affected by gases (including carbon monoxide, radon, volatile organic compounds), particulates, microbial contaminants (mold, bacteria), or any mass or energy stressor that can induce adverse health conditions. Source control, filtration and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants are the primary methods for improving indoor air quality in most buildings. Residential units can further improve indoor air quality by routine cleaning of carpets and area rugs. EPA has guidelines for frequency of cleaning based on traffic, number of household members, pets, children and smokers. Carpets and rugs act like an air filter and must be cleaned.

Determination of IAQ involves the collection of air samples, monitoring human exposure to pollutants, collection of samples on building surfaces, and computer modelling of air flow inside buildings.

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, or other harmful materials into Earth's atmosphere, causing diseases, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as animals and food crops, or the natural or built environment. Air pollution may come from anthropogenic or natural sources.

The atmosphere is a complex natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted Places report. According to the 2014 WHO report, air pollution in 2012 caused the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide.

Pollutants

An air pollutant is a substance in the air that can have adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem. The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. A pollutant can be of natural origin or man-made. Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are usually produced from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption. Other examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhaust, or the sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.

Nowcast (Air Quality Index)

The NowCast is a weighted average of hourly air monitoring data used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for real-time reporting of the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM (PM₁₀ or PM_2.5) data.

The NowCast is computed from the most recent 12 hours of PM monitoring data, but the NowCast weights the most recent hours of data more heavily than an ordinary 12-hour average when pollutant levels are changing. The NowCast is used in lieu of a 24-hour average PM concentration in the calculation of the AQI until an entire calendar day of hourly concentrations has been monitored.

Calculation of the NowCast

Let c₁,c₂,...c₁₂ represent the hourly PM concentrations for the most recent 12-hour period, with c₁ the most recent hourly value, and let c_min and c_max represent the minimum and maximum hourly concentration for the 12-hour period.

Define:

and let

With these definitions the NowCast is given by:

For the special case where there is no variability in the hourly values, c_min = c_max, w = 1, and the NowCast reduces to the twelve-hour average: