Indoor Air Hygiene Commission
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The Indoor Air Hygiene Commission (IRK) provides professional counsel to the president of the Federal Environment Agency on all matters of indoor air hygiene.
Click to enlargeSource: auris / Fotolia.com
Recommendations and opinions
The members of this commission are appointed by the UBA President for a period of three years and come primarily from scientific institutions in Germany and various authorities at the Laender level. Membership in the IRK is honorary. In addition to appointed members, representatives from the Federal Ministry for Environment, the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, as well as the Federal Environment Agency itself attend its regular meetings. Other expert guests are invited as necessary.
The IRK develops recommendations and opinions on various issues and problems concerning indoor air hygiene. In the past, this has concerned for example tetrachloroethene in dry cleaning shops; household disinfectants; polychlorinated biphenyls; asbestos in storage heaters; asphalt floor panelling; and formaldehyde. Newer areas of focus include the occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) after application of adhesives containing tar when putting down parquet panelling, hygiene problems of air conditioning and ventilation in buildings, microbiological indoor air pollution, and emissions from building products. The IRK has recently published several manuals.
The Commission’s areas of focus in the current session include proper ventilation in schools and particulates in indoor spaces.
Indoor Air Hygiene Commission
IRK recommendations
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ederal Health Office recommendation on tetrachloroethene in indoor air
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 31 (1988), pp. 99-101
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Recommendation on use of disinfectants and pesticides
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 31 (1988), p. 366
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Recommendations on building clean-up after fires
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 33 (1990), pp. 32-34
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Polychlorinated biphenyls in indoor air
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 33 (1990), p. 497-499
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Storage heaters containing asbestos
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 34 (1991), p. 198
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Federal Health Office recommendation on asphalt floor panelling
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 34 (1991), p. 391
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Control of pollutant emissions from building materials and other products used in indoor areas
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 36 (1993), p. 76
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Assessment of indoor air quality
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 36 (1993), pp. 117-118
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Substitution of tetrachloroethene with hydrocarbon solvents in dry cleaning
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 36 (1993), p. 392
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Biological indoor air pollution
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 38 (1995), pp. 284-287
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Hygiene requirements of air conditioning and ventilation systems in buildings
Bundesgesundheitsblatt 38 (1995), pp. 288-289
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DDT in US-Housings
Bundesgesundhbl.-Gesundheitsforsch.-Gesundheitsschutz 42 (1999), p. 88
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Guidebook on indoor air hygiene in school buildings
Federal Environment Agency, June 2000
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Guidebook on prevention, assessment, and clean-up of mould growth in indoor spaces
Federal Environment Agency, December 2002
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Guidebook on source detection and clean-up of mould in indoor spaces
Federal Environment Agency, September 2005
