States are central players in the development of policies addressing indoor air quality (IAQ). In the absence of a general federal regulatory scheme in this area, states are free to explore diverse approaches to protecting and improving the indoor environment. Since the late 1980’s, there has been considerable activity in state legislatures on the subject of indoor air quality. State policies reflect the multi-faceted nature of IAQ issues. Laws and regulations address a variety of individual pollutants, practices and building types.
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI), with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has developed a database that includes a broad cross-section of these state laws, and the charts below contain key information about these laws. The database does not purport to reflect all areas of policy that relate directly or indirectly to indoor air quality. Following are the general guidelines used to develop the database:
Document Type: The database contains
state laws. In some cases, regulations or guidance documents relating to individual laws are noted. The database does not include federal or local laws, nor does it include legislation that has been proposed but not enacted.
Time Frame: The database contains laws enacted
through December, 2003.
Scope/Exclusions: The database includes laws that address indoor air quality generally. Certain types of laws that may have an impact on the indoor environment are not included; for example, the database does not cover laws dealing with assessment and cleanup of contaminated sites. Similarly, the database does not seek to catalogue state building codes, or state occupational safety and health codes. With respect to individual pollutants, the database does not include laws governing the following: lead, asbestos, environmental tobacco smoke, and pesticides. It does, however, include laws that address certain other pollutants, such as radon, mold, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.
The first chart contains all of the documents in the ELI database. The remaining three charts include subsets of these documents on the subjects radon, schools and mold.
For additional information, contact:
Pure Air Control Services
800-422-7873, ext. 802
