Jump to full article: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), 2005-06-30
Author: Approved by ASHRAE Board of Directors
Intro: ASHRAE concludes that:
• It is the consensus of the medical community and its cognizant authorities that ETS is a health risk, causing lung cancer and heart disease in adults, and exacerbation of asthma, lower respiratory illnesses and other adverse effects on the respiratory health of children.
• At present, the only means of effectively eliminating health risk associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity.
• Although complete separation and isolation of smoking rooms can control ETS exposure in non-smoking spaces in the same building, adverse health effects for the occupants of the smoking room cannot be controlled by ventilation.
• No other engineering approaches, including current and advanced dilution ventilation or air cleaning technologies, have been demonstrated or should be relied upon to control health risks from ETS exposure in spaces where smoking occurs. Some engineering measures may reduce that exposure and the corresponding risk to some degree while also addressing to some extent the comfort issues of odor and some forms of irritation.
• An increasing number of local and national governments, as well as many private building owners, are adopting and implementing bans on indoor smoking.
• At a minimum, ASHRAE members must abide by local regulations and building codes and stay aware of changes in areas where they practice, and should educate and inform their clients of the substantial limitations and the available benefits of engineering controls.
• Because of ASHRAE’s mission to act for the benefit of the public, it encourages elimination of smoking in the indoor environment as the optimal way to minimize ETS exposure.
Jump to full article » |