Poor air quality can result in respiration problems, allergic reactions or similar issues; including headaches, tiredness, nausea and a diminished immune system. These issues affect countless individuals every day: this makes indoor air-quality a buzz-word of the twentieth century and illustrates why it is important to make sure that the air you breathe at home and at work, is not harming you or your family or employees.

Ironically, the move to sealing houses better to improve heating/cooling efficiency has led to an increase in problems with air quality and an increased hypersensitivity to pollutants. To combat this, in 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established threshold standards for air pollution, designed to protect human health. Initially, the standards were concerned specifically with the carcinogenicity of chemicals present in homes and workplaces, but those guidelines have since been expanded to cover other areas of potential pollution.