Newsletter
DRAFT LEGISLATION ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Indoor air quality (IAQ) has a direct impact on human health. In order to improve indoor air quality, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has drafted the proposed Indoor Air Quality Management Act. The main points of the Act are as follows:
- The IAQ of specific premises above a certain size, as designated and announced by the EPA ("designated premises"), must comply with IAQ standards. Designated premises will be announced in stages, with priority given to those of premises used by large numbers of people.
IAQ standards will be defined by the EPA according to types of premises, periods of use, and characteristics of use. But IAQ in workplaces will governed by the permitted concentration standards for workplaces as defined by the Council of Labor Affairs.
- The owner, manager, or user of designated premises should engage a specialist test organization to perform periodic testing or monitoring of the premises' IAQ, and the results should be prominently displayed inside the premises and at the entrance thereto. The environmental authorities may dispatch personnel or engage test organizations to inspect designated premises.
The operator of designated premises must establish an action plan for IAQ improvement and maintenance, and must conduct regular maintenance and management of air conditioning or ventilation equipment. The IAQ action plan for designated premises that are established after the Act takes effect must be duly verified and signed by specialist personnel who have qualified from training courses to be provided by the EPA.
- Personnel must be appointed with specific responsibility for IAQ maintenance and management at designated premises. Such personnel must meet the eligibility conditions set by the EPA, and must undergo training and receive a qualification certificate.
- An owner, manager, or user of designated premises that violates the provisions of the Act and fails to make improvements before a notified compliance deadline will be subject to administrative fines. Specialist personnel and test organizations that violate the provisions of the Act will also be subject to administrative fines.
- In serious circumstances, such as where compliance deadlines have been set twice within a period of one year but the violation continues, or where indoor air quality at designated premises has seriously deteriorated and the owner, manager, or user has not undertaken immediate emergency response measures, resulting in serious risk to public health, the environmental authorities may restrict or prohibit the use of the premises, and if necessary may order the suspension of business operations.