INDOOR AIR-QUALITY MEDICOLEGAL ISSUES

The regulatory and legal communities have begun only recently to address the medicolegal issues surrounding indoor air quality. No single governmental agency is responsible for indoor air quality issues. The focus of the federal government's indoor air quality programs is on the gathering and dissemination of information rather than on the regulation of indoor air pollution. Stare and local regulatory controls vary but may include antismoking ordinances, building codes, and contractor certification programs. Numerous lawsuits involving various parties and legal theories have been filed on the basis of illness allegedly related to indoor air quality. Further regulatory and legal review of indoor air problems will likely occur in the near future particularly as a result of the characterization of environmental tobacco smoke as a class A carcinogen.