Presentation made at a Seminar in IIT Delhi. Provides a framework how regulatory and market mechanisms could be used to initiate formulation of Indoor Air Quality standards in India. A Road Map to this effect is presented

1. Road map for Management of Indoor
Air Quality
Prasad Modak
Executive President,
Environmental Management Centre, Mumbai
prasad.modak@emcentre.com

2. • Indoor Air quality
(IAQ)-
Air quality within and
around buildings and structures,
especially as it relates to the
health and comfort of building
occupants.
• Traditionally associated with
Sick Building Syndrome
(SBS)
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3. • IAQ impacts the health, comfort, well being, and productivity of
building occupants
• On average, people spend at least 90% of their time indoors.
Assuming ceteris paribus, exposure from indoor pollutants is 9
times that from ambient pollutants
• Good indoor air quality can:
1. Safeguard our health
2. Contribute to our comfort and wellbeing
3. Improve productivity at the workplace
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4. • IAQ could be addressed
through: Standards, Codes
Engineering Control
• Ventilation & Dilution
and Guidelines
• Filtration
• Standards
a. Standards, codes and guidelines – International
• Disinfection
governing IAQ-nationally and/or – National
internationally • Codes Indoor Air
– ASHRAE & Quality
ISHRAE
b. Source reduction strategies by • Guidelines
– NBC, 2005 Source Modification
choosing low emission materials – GRIHA • Low VOC emitting
and finishes – IGBC
household products
• Low VOC Building
Materials/ interior
design materials
c. Engineering control for cleaning • Low VOC paints
the air
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5. • Most countries have used combination of regulatory standards
supported by building codes.
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6. • Early starter on forming
IAQ standards
• Three stages of
legislative history
• Starting stage (late 1970s-
1993)- Established two
sets of IAQ relevant
standards
• Developing stage (1994-
2000)
• Normative management
stage (2001-present)
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7. • Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
• National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) first proposed
in 1988
• NAAQS upgraded in 2009
• Aligned as per the international AAQS
• No indoor air quality standard
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8. – Covers Industrial and non
industrial use
– Standards for ventilation and
design of HVAC systems to
remove particulate matter
– Does not specify concentrations/
interventions for management of
IAQ
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9. – Covers new construction, major renovations and core and
shell.
– Has stringent requirements. Includes air quality performance
and ETS control. Also monitoring and preparing a
management plan
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10. – Areas covered- Homes, townships,
SEZ and factory buildings. Separate
guide on each type gives information
about the credits and requirements
– Focuses mainly on tobacco smoke
control and VOC. It does not include
monitoring and management of
indoor air quality
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11. – Different types of new and existing
buildings (commercial, institutional or
residential.)
– Focus on Low VOC materials and
ETS
– No emphasis on ventilation rates,
monitoring or management of IAQ
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12. – Focus on HVAC design
– Covers all types of buildings
– ASHRAE has performance
based procedures and not
occupancy based
– also referred in LEED
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13. • Maintaining good IAQ requires enhanced ventilation and hence
increased consumption of energy and thus higher operating
costs.
• Reducing ventilation rates to save energy, with no
countermeasures, increases indoor-generated VOCs and small
particles by an amount that may pose health risks.
• To strike balance between two, integrated design approach
towards IAQ and energy should be used.
• Such an approach needs to be reflected in India's
building codes, standards and rating systems.
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14. – Most studies based on short term measurement and/or suffer from
smaller sample size
– Focus on either rural and/or urban poor areas (slums). Cooking stoves as
source of pollutants.
– Focus of research is limited to conventional pollutants like PM10, NO2
and/or CO. Cumulative aspects not studied
– Hardly any studies conducted on urban or peri-urban households, using
natural and/or artificial ventilation
– Impacts on artificial ventilation on the build up of indoor pollutant levels
are yet to be investigated
– Very few studies have been conducted at public places
(auditoriums, cinema, Metro)
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15. • Broad scale, sufficiently long term experiments should be
conducted in both artificially and naturally ventilated houses in
both rural and urban areas in India. Will allow better
understanding of IAQ and its health implications to develop
appropriate interventions.
• Apart from PM10, NO2, SO2 and CO, pollutants like PM2.5,
Benzene-Toluene-Xylene, Formaldehyde, Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), Trichloroethylene and
Tetrachloroethylene should be analyzed in
chemical parameters. Biological parameters
like growth of molds, spores, dust mites and
bacteria should be considered.
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16. • A networked research project
that will address IAQ at 6 to
7 metropolitan cities and 3 to
4 rural clusters could be
taken up. This study will not
only provide valuable
research data but help build
capacities, monitoring
protocol etc. on lines with
the source apportionment
study that was coordinated
by the Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB).
• There is a need to set up a National Centre of
Excellence researching on IAQ with
appropriate infrastructure.
The INDOORTRON facility is one excellent
example
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17. • Multiple stakeholders involved
• Multi agency coordination required
• Set up a multi agency Central Coordination Agency (CCA)
Ministry of Housing and
Urban poverty alleviation
Ministry of health and Bureau of Indian
family welfare (MoH&FW) standards
Ministry of women and Ministry of Environment
Child development & Forests (MoEF)
(MoWCD) Indoor air
pollution and
health
Ministry of Rural
development (MoRD) Ministry of new and
renewable energy (MNRE)
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18. –Develop overarching policy – Gradually shift to more
regarding IAQ – Assign research projects to develop complex pollutants like PM2.5,
–Establish a Central standards on IAQ HCHO, VOCs, BTX etc.
– Initiate long term networked
Coordinating Agency (CCA) research such as Expolis
–Develop monitoring protocol
–Develop ToR , responsibility – Create a Centre for Excellence for for above
& authority and its delegation research on IAQ with facilities like –Review effectiveness of
for CCA INDOORTRAN enforcement mechanism
–Identify research gaps and – Hold international dialogues on –Publish emission standards for
potential areas for IAQ major or most commonly used
interventions – Publish IAQ standards with core building materials and
set of criteria pollutants for target
–Identify research agencies / areas e,g, public common places
products
organizations – Develop monitoring protocol –Continue awareness on IAQ
–Initiate Standard Setting – Establish enforcement mechanism –Provide
Process for IAQ – Demand reporting requirements incentives/disincentives and
–Develop plans for generating on IAQ e.g. ESR, SoER awards
awareness amongst major – Initiate economic assessment
stakeholder – Influence Building Codes and
Ratings for addressing IAQ
–Plan for economic assessment – Initiate standards for emissions
from building materials and
products
– Launch awareness on IAQ in both
urban and rural areas
– Ensure inter ministry and inter-
agency coordination on IAQ
SHORT (6 months – 1 year) MEDIUM (1 year – 3 years) LONG (3 years – 6 years)

19. –Identify best international –Hold discussions on IAQ with –Develop ties with international
practices / benchmarks for international counterparts and agencies for knowledge
IEQ in Buildings like research agencies sharing and/or technology
ASHREA 189.1 etc. –Encourage / sponsor research transfer
–Sensitize members / industries –Modify/strengthen building –Encourage indigenous patents
/ clients on IAQ & create a codes and rating schemes in IAQ – technologies,
demand –Innovate building materials mateials and products
–Provide feedback to Govt. to and products that have low –Develop market based
ensure that the VOC emissions instruments for IAQ
plans/guidelines on IAQ are –Develop cost-effective IAQ technology improvement &
aligned to market monitoring systems promotion
demands/requirements –Sustain IAQ demand in
–Generate awareness amongst market by introducing energy
members efficient and innovative air
cleaning technologies
–Adopt /develop technologies
to suit Indian conditions
–Help Govt. on improving IAQ
related policy/guidelines
SHORT (6 months – 1 year) MEDIUM (1 year – 3 years) LONG (3 years – 6 years)

20. –Identify and collate research –Conduct research & develop – Develop low cost IAQ
(s) conducted on IAQ, status new technologies on solutions (incl. retrofits)
in India & abroad and improving IAQ – ventilation, suited for Indian conditions
linkage(s) with health, air cleaning, monitoring, – Help Govt. in developing
exposure, energy, building materials and new IAQ standards /
management plan etc. products etc. monitoring protocols
–Identify gaps in present –Address the context and – File patents & tie up with
research space need of the rural poor and industries for mass
–Develop research proposal slums in urban areas – production of IAQ related
to Central Coordination develop cheap but cleaner solutions
Agency (CCA) fuel substitutes – Help in developing mass
–Identify counterpart –Develop ties with awareness on IAQ along
international agencies / international agencies for with Industry & Govt.
universities working on IAQ knowledge sharing and/or – Apply economic assessment
technology transfer , do to make a business case of
technology adoption to suit managing IAQ
Indian conditions
–Build robust framework for
economic assessment
SHORT (6 months – 1 year) MEDIUM (1 year – 3 years) LONG (3 years – 6 years)

21. –ACTION (WHAT , WHEN ) –WHO (AGENCY & –EXPECTED OUTCOME
PARTNER) OF THE ACTION

22. Questions / suggestions ?
Email prasad.modak@emcentre.com
URL: www.emcentre.com
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