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TOPIC SHEETS POLICY FORUM ON INDOOR AIR September 29,30, 1987

SESSION 1: Design, Operation, Diagnosis and Remedial Services for Sick $uildings (Subject covers institutional buildings such as offices and schools, but does not cover single family residences) Background: Few firms provide diagnostic services and the quality of the services is unknown. No diagnostic protocols have been established, and private sector processes for developing protocols is slow. Architects, builders, and building managers are not aware of the impact their actions have on indoor air quality and there are no guidelines to establish acceptable practices for these groups. No one is sure who is liable, and building trade groups may be reluctant to assu;ne responsibility for indoor air quality. Diagnostic services may be too expensive for some (e.g. small school districts). MAJOR ISSUES REIATED ISSUES #1 What actions, if any, should the Federal goverrLment take to stimulate the development of diagnostic and remedial services for sick buildings? #2 Gfiat are the appropriate roles of state and local governments and private sector organizations in monitoring diagnostic and remedial services for sick buildings? #3 What actions, if any, should the Federal government take to ensure that buildings are designed and maintained in ways that prevent indoor air quality problems from occuring? Should the Federal government assune responsibility for developing diagnostic protocols? Should 'the Federal government develop a program for advising users on how to judge the quality of services. What kind of program? Should the States be encouraged to provide diagnostic and remedial services or is that solely a private sector function? Should the Federal government expand the diagnostic service now provided by NIOSH? If so, what are the situations in which that service should be available? Would building owners take corrective actions if the Federal government limited its role to research and guidelines development? Are local building codes the botton line toward getting corrective action in the long term? How long would it take to get building codes changed? Should the federal government develop model codes?

SESSION 2: Information and Services on Indoor Air Pollution for Homeowners an onsumers Background: It is not clear how effective public information can be in actually changing behavior, or what kinds of information strategies work best. Most persons that have serious indoor air problens in their homes can not afford to pay for currently available diagnostic services. States and local governments are ill equipped to help homeowners diagnose and solve most indoor air pollution problems. Except for some specific pollutants, mechanisms have for helping homeowners and consumers solve indoor air quality problems have not been developed. MAJOR ISSUES #1 G]hat are the best ways of packaging and delivering information about indoor air quality problems and solutions to homeowners and consumers so that the information is used and risks are minimized? #2 What can and should the Federal government do to ensure that residents can obtain diagnostic and renedial assistance•at affordable costs when -they encounter a potentially serious-- indoor air quality problem? #3 How can the Federal government cooperate with state and local govermnent and with private sector groups to provide information and services to homeowners and consumers? RELATED ISSUES Are public information documents from the Federal government as effective as those from the States or public health or consumer groups? Would it be appropriate for the Federal government to research effective information marketing strategies and devices so that the information is more likely to be used? Are there public information programs which could be effective models for indoor air? Can the Federal government develop manuals for self diagnosis and could these replace the need for home diagnostic services? Should the Federal government stimulate development of monitoring devices that consumers and homeowners can use? How? Uhat private sector groups might the Federal government cooperate with to provide diagnostic services to homeowners and residents at reasonable cost?

SESSION 3: Ventilation Efficiency Bac round: Energy conservation measures which reduce ventilation rates can elevate pollution concentrations. Residential ventilation needs are most freqently met by infiltration which varies with environmental parameters and housing construction. Ventilation systems which are not well maintained can generate contaminants or fail to deliver or distribute air to occupants. Ventilation supply and exhaust registers are often located in ways which introduce contaminants or short circuit the delivery of outside air. Renovations often alter interior layout and destroy the effectiveness of ventilation. Ventilation systems which are well designed and maintained can reduce indoor air pollution concentrations. Ventilation standards which establish minimum ventilation rates indirectly control indoor p<);.lat-il1t concentrations. Voluntary industry standards do not carry the force of law. Current State and local codes often do not even require that ventilation systems be operated, and enforcement is a problem. MAJOR ISSUES #1 Should the Federal government establish or otherwise intervene in current processes for_establishing ventilation standards for indoor air quality? #2 What actions, if any, should the Federal government take to ensure that ventilation design standards are actually maintained or enforced in existing buildings? #3 What actions if any should the Federal government take to improve design and installation practices during new construction and renovation stages? I RELATED ISSUES Can ventilation standards be used to ensure "acceptable" indoor air quality? Can they be practically enforced? Can infiltration be used to ensure adequate ventilation in residences? Can the voluntary industry concensus process be used to establish ventilation. standards? If so, what is the proper federal role? oD Will architects, engineers, owners managers follow ASHRAE ventilation standards? Will that protect them from legal liability? b _J W N O Are building codes the bottom line to which owners respond? Will the States need to develop ventilation codes and begin enforcing them? Should the federal government develop model state ventilation codes?

SESSION 4: (',armercial/Consumer Products Background: lhmdreds of products and pollutants have been identified as possible contributors to indoor air quality problems in homes, schools, office space and other indoor environments. Major health consequence may result from the cumulative and possible synergistic effect of exposure from a large number of pollutants and product sources in an indoor space. Existing legislation can be used to regulate individual products when warranted, but regulatory processes are ctanbersome. There is some institutional experience with voluntary emission reductions by manufacturers in the absense of formal regulations. M470R ISSUES #1 What strategy should be used to identify and act on products and chemicals producing significant indoor contamination and risks? Should current practices be modified? #2 Is current legislation adequate to provide the federal government with the tools to reduce risks through product emission controls? What are the most significant provisions? What are the deficiencies? ---- - ----- #3 What is the appropriate role for State and local governments and private sector organizations in setting and meeting standards on coaanercial and consuner products? REIATED ISSUES Given the nutnber of products and pollutants affecting indoor air, how much attention should be given to regulating them one at a time? What, if anything, should EPA and CPSC do differently in using TSCA, FIFRA, CPSA, and other legislation legislation to protect indoor air from high risk products and chemicals? What-products or chemicals have states regulated and has the experience been effective? Is it cost effective for States to regulate emissions from products in the absence of Federal regulations? Can emission reductions be negotiated with manufacturers avoiding formal regulations, and under what conditions will such negotiations be effective? Would manufacturers respond to market demands for lower emissions stimulated by procurement requests from private sector buyers and governments?

SESSION 5: Indoor Air Quality Standards: The Federal Role Background: Standards for individual pollutants may not solve the sick building problem. This problem may be associated with the cumulative exposure to large numbers of pollutants at levels well below current health-based limits. Data is sufficient to develop standards only for a few pollutants. Standards development could require a huge research budget over many years. It may be important to define baseline levels of adequate indoor air quality, and standards can be useful in establishing goals and objectives. Standards can be developed as regulations having the force of law, or as guidelines. MAJOR ISSUES #1 Should the federal government set indoor air quality standards for specific pollutants and require States to develop plans to meet those standards through building codes and.ordinances? RELATED ISSUES Are individual pollutant standards needed to act as definitions of what is acceptable indoor air quality? Are individual pollutant standards redundant to ventilation standards, or do we need both? #2 Should the federal government limit its role to developing and disseminating information on pollutants,-sources, health effects, and mitigation strategies and allow the private sector and states full lattitude in designing control programs? #3 Is there a middle ground (such as indoor air quality guidelines) or other combination of approaches that would best define the appropriate federal role? Are standards in the form of regulations preferable to guidelines? Could indoor air quality guidelines take the form of health advisories wfiich simply describes the health consequences at various concentrations? With limited funds, Would the Federal government be better off focusing - on proTnoting diagnostics and mitigation, rather than on developing specific standards for individual pollutants?