I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1930
To authorize a national program to reduce the threat to human health
posed by exposure to contaminants in the air indoors.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 29, 1993
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. SANDERS, Mr.
KOPETSKI, Ms. BYRNE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms.
PELOSI, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey,
Mr. WHEAT, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Mr. OWENS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
WISE, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mrs. UNSOELD, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. LAFALCE,
Mr. CLAY, Mrs. MORELLA, and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce,
Science, Space, and Technology, and Education and Labor
A BILL
To authorize a national program to reduce the threat to
human health posed by exposure to contaminants in the
air indoors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indoor Air Quality
Act of 1993’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Indoor air quality research, development, and demonstration.
Sec. 6. Management practices to reduce indoor air contamination.
Sec. 7. National indoor air quality response strategy.
Sec. 8. Federal building evaluation and remediation program.
Sec. 9. State and local indoor air quality grant program.
Sec. 10. Relation to other law.
Sec. 11. Reports.
Sec. 12. Authorizations for research and related activities.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Americans spend up to 90 percent of a day
indoors and, as a result, have a significant potential
for exposure to indoor air contaminants.
(2) A number of contaminants found in both
ambient air and indoor air may occur at higher con-
centrations in indoor air than in outdoor air.
(3) Indoor air contaminants pose a significant
threat to public health (including cancer, respiratory
illness, skin and eye irritation, and related health
effects).
(4) A portion of the population of the United
States may have heightened sensitivity to chemicals
and related substances found in the air indoors.
(5) Indoor air contamination is estimated to
cause significant increases in medical costs and de-
clines in work productivity.
(6) Sources of indoor air contamination include
conventional ambient air contamination sources,
building materials, consumer and commercial prod-
ucts, combustion appliances, pesticides, and other
sources.
(7) Exposure to indoor air contamination can
be reduced through the proper design, operation,
and maintenance of heating, ventilation, filtration,
and air conditioning systems in buildings.
(8) Federal efforts to combat indoor air pollu-
tion could be greatly enhanced by conducting re-
search on the seriousness and extent of indoor air
contaminants and by developing methods, tech-
niques, and protocols for the assessment of indoor
air contaminants.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to develop and coordinate through the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency a comprehensive Fed-
eral program of research and development to assess
the seriousness and extent of indoor air contamina-
tion and the human health effects of indoor air con-
taminants, and to reduce human exposure to such
contaminants;
(2) to ensure coordination and effective applica-
tion of Federal authorities to reduce human expo-
sure to indoor air contaminants; and
(3) to provide support to State governments to
augment the efforts of the Federal Government to
reduce human exposure to indoor air contaminants.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(2) The term ‘‘indoor’’ refers to the enclosed
portions of buildings including Federal buildings,
buildings of State and local governments, schools,
commercial buildings, and residences.
(3) The term ‘‘indoor air contaminant’’ means
any chemical substance or biological organism, in-
cluding combinations or mixtures of substances or
organisms, known to occur in indoor air which have
an adverse effect on human health.
(4) The term ‘‘Federal agency’’ means any de-
partment, agency, or other instrumentality of the
Federal Government, including any independent
agency or establishment of the Federal Government
or government corporation.
(5) The term ‘‘Federal building’’ means any
building or portion of a building—
(A) that is more than 10,000 square feet
in area and is owned, leased, or operated by a
Federal agency; and
(B) that is more than 10,000 square feet
in area and in which the Congress employs con-
gressional employees.
(6) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(7) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.
(8) The term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has
the meaning given such term in section 1471(12) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 2891(12)).
(9) The term ‘‘local air pollution control agen-
cy’’ means any city, county, or other local govern-
ment authority charged with the responsibility for
implementing programs or enforcing ordinances or
laws relating to the prevention and control of air
pollution including indoor air contamination.
SEC. 5. INDOOR AIR QUALITY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT,
AND DEMONSTRATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in
cooperation with the National Institute of Standards
and Technology and other appropriate Federal agen-
cies, establish a national research, development, and
demonstration program to ensure the quality of in-
door air.
(2) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.—In carry-
ing out this section, the Administrator may—
(A) enter into contracts or cooperative
agreements with public agencies and authori-
ties, nonprofit institutions and organizations,
and other persons;
(B) conduct studies, including epidemiolog-
ical studies, of the effects of indoor air contami-
nants on mortality and morbidity and clinical
and laboratory studies on the immunologic, bio-
chemical, physiological, and toxicological effects,
including the carcinogenic, teratogenic, muta-
genic, cardiovascular, and neurotoxic effects, of
indoor air contaminants;
(C) develop, in coordination with the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology,
effective and practical processes, methods, ref-
erence materials, and techniques, traceable to
national standards, for the prevention, detec-
tion, and correction of indoor air contamina-
tion; and
(D) coordinate with the Consumer Product
Safety Commission and the private sector to en-
courage the development of innovative products
and techniques to improve indoor air quality.
(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator,
in coordination with other appropriate Federal agencies,
shall conduct, assist, or facilitate research, investigations,
surveys, or demonstrations, including—
(1) research, in consultation with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, to character-
ize and assess actual human exposure to indoor air
contaminants and identify the principal sources of
harmful exposure for indoor air contaminants;
(2) research, in coordination with the heads of
other appropriate Federal agencies and other
sources of expertise, for the purpose of addressing
the effects on human health of indoor air contami-
nants—
(A) including additive, cumulative, and
synergistic effects on the general population
and populations particularly sensitive to indoor
air contaminants, such as children in schools
and day care facilities; and
(B) with emphasis on contaminants that
comprise the greatest human exposure; and
(3) research, in coordination with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and other ap-
propriate sources of expertise, for the purpose of de-
veloping—
(A) methods for predicting exposure to
contaminants;
(B) improved techniques and equipment
for assessing human exposure to indoor air con-
taminants; and
(C) techniques for improving indoor air
quality, with emphasis on pollution prevention.
(c) TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es-
tablish a technology demonstration program to de-
velop and demonstrate methods that reduce exposure
to indoor air contaminants. In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Administrator may enter into cooperative
agreements or contracts, or provide financial assist-
ance in the form of grants, to public agencies and
authorities, nonprofit institutions and organizations,
employee advocate organizations, local educational
agencies, or other persons, to demonstrate practices,
material, methods, technologies, or processes that re-
duce such exposure.
(2) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—In as-
sisting demonstration activities under paragraph (1),
the Administrator shall give priority to activities
that serve to demonstrate the feasibility and cost ef-
fectiveness of a new, significantly improved, or
unproven method that reduces exposure to indoor air
contaminants.
(3) SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND SELEC-
TION OF PROJECTS.—Within 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and at least every 12
months thereafter, the Administrator shall publish a
solicitation for proposals to demonstrate methods
that may be effective in reducing exposure to indoor
air contaminants. The Administrator shall expedi-
tiously select projects pursuant to such proposals.
(4) AMOUNT
OF
FEDERAL
FUNDING.—Total
Federal funds for any demonstration project under
this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the total
cost of such project, except that the Administrator
may provide funding in amounts other than that
specified in this paragraph in any case where the
Administrator determines that research under this
section is of a basic nature which would not other-
wise be undertaken, or the applicant is a local edu-
cational agency.
(5) PUBLICATION OF REPORTS.—The Adminis-
trator shall, from time to time, publish general re-
ports for the use of the public which describe the
findings of demonstration projects conducted pursu-
ant to this section and shall make such reports
available to the clearinghouse established in section
6(d).
(d) EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator
shall, when appropriate, consider indoor human exposure
to a contaminant in the development of ambient air qual-
ity standards under section 109 and national emissions
standards for hazardous air pollutants under section 112
of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409, 7412).
(e) ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOLS AND CHILD CARE FA-
CILITIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con-
duct a national assessment to survey the seriousness
and extent of indoor air contamination in buildings
owned by local educational agencies and child care
facilities.
(2) 
ADVISORY
GROUP.—The 
Administrator
shall establish an advisory group to provide rec-
ommendations to the Administrator on how the as-
sessment conducted under paragraph (1) can be
guided and directed to accurately predict the extent
of indoor air contamination in schools and child care
facilities.
(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator shall
enter into an agreement with the National Academy of
Sciences for the Board on Environmental studies and
Toxicology to conduct a study to review and assess issues
related to chemical sensitivity disorders. The assessment
shall include identification of data gaps and a proposed
research agenda that would significantly narrow critical
gaps in the data base. The Indoor Air Panel of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board
shall review and comment on the report before submittal
to the Congress, and any such comments shall be trans-
mitted to Congress in conjunction with the report.
(g) INDOOR ALLERGEN STUDY.—The Administrator
shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy
of Sciences for the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on indoor aller-
gens that will characterize what is known about effects
of allergens on human health, determine the extent of the
problem nationally, define commonly affected population
groups, and identify specific positive agents.
(h) HEALTHY BUILDINGS BASELINE STUDY.—The
Administrator and the Director shall conduct research on
indoor air quality in nonresidential, nonindustrial build-
ings that comply with generally accepted principles of
proper design, maintenance, and operation of ventilation,
filtration, and other building systems, including ASHRAE
Standard 62–1989. The Administrator and the Director
shall arrange for some or all of such research to be carried
out by appropriate private persons and academic institu-
tions. The study shall include—
(1) the monitoring of biological contaminants,
respirable particulate matter, volatile compounds,
and other contaminants of interest; and
(2) to the maximum extent practicable, the
sources of the contaminants.
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO REDUCE INDOOR AIR
CONTAMINATION.
(a) TECHNOLOGY BULLETINS
AND MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES.—
(1) TECHNOLOGY
BULLETINS.—The Adminis-
trator, in coordination with the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, the Consumer
Product Safety Commission, the Department of En-
ergy, and other appropriate sources of expertise,
(3) TRAINING FEE.—The Director, or a firm or
organization operating under contract with such Di-
rector, may establish a fee for training pursuant to
this subsection. Fees shall be in an amount not to
exceed the amount necessary to defray the costs of
the training program.
(c) 
INDOOR
AIR
CONTAMINANT
HEALTH
ADVISORIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall
publish advisory materials addressing the health ef-
fects of indoor air contaminants that are likely to
occur indoors at concentrations which have adverse
human health effects. Such advisory materials shall,
at a minimum—
(A) describe the physical, chemical, biologi-
cal, and radiological properties of the contami-
nant;
(B) evaluate the adverse human health ef-
fects of exposure to various concentrations of
contaminants;
(C) describe any indoor air contaminant
standards or related action levels established
under Federal, State, local, or foreign law, in-
cluding standards or levels suggested by appro-
priate domestic or international organizations;
(D) include applicable available informa-
tion on the risk to subpopulations which may
have higher exposure levels than the average
person or be especially sensitive to exposure to
the contaminant;
(E) characterize the likely sources of expo-
sure, including the extent to which the contami-
nant, or a mixture of contaminants, is associ-
ated with a particular substance or material,
and when the particular substance or material
is a consumer product, that portion of the advi-
sory shall be prepared in coordination with the
Consumer Product Safety Commission;
(F) when applicable, describe the relative
contribution of ambient sources of the contami-
nant;
(G) refer to any technology and manage-
ment practice assessment bulletin published
under subsection (a) which is applicable to the
contaminant; and
(H) include relevant information generated
under section 5(b)(1).
(2) RELATION
TO
OTHER
FEDERAL
LAW.—
Health advisories published pursuant to this sub-
section shall in no way limit or restrict the applica-
tion of requirements or standards established under
any other Federal law.
(3) FORMAT.—The Administrator shall estab-
lish and utilize a standard format of presentation of
indoor air contaminant health advisories. The format
shall be designed to facilitate public understanding
of the range of risks from exposure to indoor air
contaminants and shall include a summary of the re-
search and information concerning the contaminant
which is understandable to public health profes-
sionals and to those who lack training in toxicology.
(4) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall
publish not less than six advisories within 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall
publish not less than an additional six advisories
within 3 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(5) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—In devel-
opment and revision of health advisories pursuant to
this subsection, the Administrator shall provide for
public review and comment.
(d) INDOOR AIR QUALITY INFORMATION CLEARING-
HOUSE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator, in
consultation with the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, shall establish a national indoor air
quality clearinghouse to be used to disseminate in-
door air quality information to other Federal agen-
cies, State, and local governments, and private orga-
nizations and individuals.
(2) 
PURPOSE.—The 
Administrator, 
acting
through the clearinghouse, shall make available to
the public reports, programs, and materials devel-
oped pursuant to the requirements of this Act, in-
cluding the technical bulletins referred to in sub-
section (a)(1), the health advisories referred to in
subsection (c), and the reports referred to in section
5(c)(6).
(3) HOTLINE.—The clearinghouse shall operate
a toll-free telephone hotline on indoor air quality to
provide the public general information about indoor
air quality and general guidance concerning response
to indoor air quality contamination problems.
(4) CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT.—The Admin-
istrator may provide for the design, development,
and implementation of the clearinghouse through a
contractual agreement with a nonprofit organization.
The total costs paid by the Administrator under
such an agreement may not exceed the direct costs
of operating the clearinghouse.
(e) VENTILATION PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in co-
ordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed-
eral agencies, shall conduct a program to analyze the
adequacy of existing ventilation standards and
guidelines to protect the public and workers from in-
door air contaminants.
(2) DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—In car-
rying out the program referred to in paragraph (1),
the Administrator shall—
(A) determine the effectiveness of, and
compliance with, existing standards for protect-
ing public health and promoting worker produc-
tivity;
(B) assess the costs and benefits of compli-
ance with such standards; and
(C) evaluate the efficacy of increasing
building ventilation rates based upon increased
complaints of indoor air contamination by
building occupants, and assess the potential for
ventilation to complement controls over specific
sources of contaminants in reducing indoor air
contamination.
(f) TEST METHODS FOR RESPIRATORY IRRITANTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Consumer Product
Safety Commission shall develop specific test meth-
ods for the identification of respiratory irritants,
such as ozone, formaldehyde, and methyl ethyl ke-
tone, for purposes of regulation of such substances
under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2(j) of
the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C.
1261(j)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and includes
respiratory irritants’’ after ‘‘inflammatory reaction’’.
(g) PRIORITY LISTING.—The committee established
under subparagraph (A) of section 4(e)(1) of the Toxic
Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2603(e)(1)(A)) shall
review indoor air contaminants for the purpose of includ-
ing such substances in a priority list under such subpara-
graph. The committee shall give priority attention to
chemical substances and mixtures known to cause or con-
tribute to, or which are suspected of causing or contribut-
ing 
to, 
cancer, 
gene 
mutations, 
birth 
defects,
neurotoxicity, or sensory irritations and that have the
greatest potential for human exposure.
SEC. 
7. 
NATIONAL 
INDOOR 
AIR 
QUALITY 
RESPONSE
STRATEGY.
(a) AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in
coordination with the Director of the National Insti-
tute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Sec-
retary of Energy, and the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, and in consultation with the heads of
other appropriate Federal agencies, design and pub-
lish a strategy for a national response to indoor air
quality problems.
(2) RANGE OF RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The re-
sponse strategy shall provide for implementation of
a range of response actions that would result in the
reduction of human exposure to indoor air contami-
nants.
(b) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—The Administrator, in
coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commis-
sion and the Secretary of Energy, shall include in the
strategy provided for in subsection (a) of this section a
description of specific potential response actions based on
existing statutory authorities provided in—
(1) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
(2) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 201 et seq.);
(3) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.);
(4) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300 et seq.);
(5) the authorities of the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, with the concurrence of such
Commission;
(6) the authorities of the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, with the concurrence of
such Administration; and
(7) other regulatory and related authorities pro-
vided under any other Federal statute.
(c) SUPPORTING ACTIONS.—The strategy provided
for in subsection (a) shall include a description of specific
supporting actions including—
(1) programs to disseminate technical informa-
tion to public health, design, and construction pro-
fessionals concerning the risks of exposure to indoor
air contaminants and methods and programs for re-
ducing exposures to such contaminants, along with
an indication of the cost and feasibility of such pro-
grams;
(2) education programs for the general public
concerning the health threats posed by indoor air
contaminants and appropriate individual response
actions, and a description of sampling methods and
instruments that are inexpensive and easy to use by
the general public; and
(3) private and public sector options for provid-
ing technical assistance for State and local officials,
private and professional firms, and labor organiza-
tions to address indoor air contamination topics.
(d) EVALUATION OF DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES, MITIGA-
TION SERVICES, AND VENTILATION SYSTEM OPERA-
TORS.—The Administrator, in coordination with the Di-
rector of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology and the Director of the National Institute for Occu-
pational Safety and Health, and in consultation with other
appropriate sources of expertise, shall include in the first
strategy published pursuant to this section—
(1) an evaluation of the range, effectiveness,
and reliability of indoor air quality diagnostic serv-
ices;
(2) an evaluation of the current range, effec-
tiveness, and reliability of indoor air contamination
mitigation services; and
(3) an evaluation of the current range of knowl-
edge and mastery of indoor air quality and energy
efficiency techniques of ventilation system operators.
(e) REVIEW
OF RESPONSE STRATEGY PROVIDED
UNDER THIS SECTION.—The Administrator shall provide
for public review and comment on the response strategy
provided for in this section.
SEC. 8. FEDERAL BUILDING EVALUATION AND REMEDI-
ATION PROGRAM.
(a) EVALUATION.—The Director shall, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator and the Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology, and in con-
sultation with other sources of appropriate expertise, de-
velop within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
Act a program to evaluate the nature and extent of indoor
air contamination in Federal buildings. Such program
shall include—
(1) a compilation of the names of all Federal
buildings which are known or suspected to have the
most serious indoor air contamination, listed in
order of the seriousness of the indoor air contamina-
tion;
(2) recommended methods for measuring indoor
air contaminants at the concentrations that are rou-
tinely found in buildings;
(3) recommended methods for determining the
actual minimum amount of fresh air delivered per
person;
(4) a questionnaire and follow-up survey that is
capable of determining the routine ventilation rates
and the extent of indoor air contamination or related
employee health effects in Federal buildings, with
priority on the evaluation of those buildings in which
the greatest number of Federal employees work;
(5) a plan generated by the Administrator, to
be carried out by the Office of Research and Devel-
opment, to evaluate a minimum of 20 Federal build-
ings to assess and develop predictive models of ac-
tual human exposure to indoor air contamination;
and
(6) the selection of a minimum of 10 Federal
buildings to be used for demonstration of indoor air
contamination mitigation strategies, and, in coordi-
nation with the Secretary of Energy, the selection of
a minimum of 5 Federal buildings to be used for
demonstration of energy efficiency technologies that
do not decrease indoor air quality.
(b) MODEL REMEDIATION PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator and the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology and
in consultation with the heads of appropriate Fed-
eral agencies, representatives of Federal employees,
and other sources of appropriate expertise, shall,
within one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, develop and disseminate to all Federal
agencies a model indoor air quality remediation pro-
gram. The program shall include—
(A) a description and schedule of general
remediation actions;
(B) adaptations of the model to a mini-
mum of 5 building subtypes or classes that are
routinely used as Federal buildings;
(C) plans for distribution of the model re-
mediation program to all Federal agencies that
occupy Federal buildings, and for the execution
of an educational program to enhance the un-
derstanding and usefulness of the model reme-
diation program to all Federal agencies that oc-
cupy Federal buildings; and
(D) recommendations for regulations that
establish a method and format for Federal em-
ployees and the public to file confidential com-
ments and complaints concerning indoor air
quality in Federal buildings.
(2) REMEDIATION
PROGRAM.—The head of
each Federal agency responsible for the operation of
1 or more Federal buildings shall, within 1 year
after receipt of the model indoor air quality remedi-
ation program developed under paragraph (1), de-