Today, everybody is very concern about health. When we talk about air pollution, most people will think of the air quality outside like, smoke cause by vehicles, smoke from the burning of forest and stint smell from rubbish etc. Few people are concerning about the quality of air indoor. From my experience in career since 2001 in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Remediation Work, it is hoped that from my sharing, people from all walks of life would also start to pay more attention to the quality of air indoor, whether it is inside a commercial buildings, restaurants, or in their household.

　In Malaysia, a lot of high-rise buildings were constructed in the 80's. These buildings are private commercials, hotels, government buildings, condominiums & apartments. Most of the buildings especially office buildings, hotels & government buildings are all sealed. Fresh air from outdoor cannot enter the building easily. The design is to be energy efficient to keep running cost down. But in the effort to seal the air out, we are also sealing the air in. Since we spend our time indoor on an average of about 70-90%, the effects can have serious health consequences.

　The above-mentioned is related to so call as Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). When the building is 'sick', it means that both the employer & employee are at the looser sides and the consequences are higher absenteeism, higher medical costs, reduced productivity with lower earnings. This is because over the years, dust has already accumulated inside the air duct and trapped inside the carpet. Dust mites, mold and bacteria, mildew, animal dander, insect waste, etc are contained in the dust. There are also TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) caused by tobacco smoke and is related with paints, new furniture replacement and glue. Symptoms caused by sick building are eye irritation, nose and throat irritation, headaches, fatigue, coughing, sneezing, nausea and difficulty in concentration.

　There is another term named as New Building Syndrome (NBS). Before the tenant move into a new building, renovation work such as hacking, plastering, gluing of carpet, paintings and moving in of new furniture were carried out. Tremendous of dust has been created from plastering, mixing of cement, hacking and also the fiber created from wrapping of the ducting. TVOC will be also created from painting, thinner, gluing and new furniture. According to the IDPH Illinois Department of Public Health's, the acceptable levels of the air quality is 0.065 mg/m3, but, in some cases, the air quality of a new building before occupied can be as high as 4.0 mg/m3 which was 60 times higher than the requirement levels. This is not good for our health, as our lungs will act like the filters for the dust. For TVOC, the acceptable level is 800ppb(parts per billion), it can be as high as 5000ppb which was 6 times more toxic than the requirement.

　To overcome the above problems, IAQ Remediation Work is recommended. This includes air duct cleaning, carpet steam extraction, application of anti microbial chemicals, elimination of the dust that suspended in the air and also elimination the cancerous volatile organic compound such as Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene etc.

　Although the Malaysia government sectors such as NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) and DOSH (Department of Occupation Safety and Health) have a guild line on the IAQ Remediation Work, but to-date they have not enforced it, these two departments have just started educating the public about this kind of health hazard.

　To have a better IAQ environment, the tenant and employer need to engage and consult the IAQ expert to monitor the air quality of their building every year and to carry out remediation work when the air quality is bad. Only if the air quality is always maintaining well, the remediation work is worth for the employer with lesser absenteeism, a better efficiency of the staff and workers and a greater productivity can be expected. Also, Government has the responsibility to look after welfare of its people especially their health.