INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING

Often indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air quality. This can happen because of malfunctioning appliances like wood stoves, furnaces and hot water heaters or because water infiltration has allowed mold to grow.

To address community needs regarding indoor air quality monitoring, the Bishop Tribe’s Air Program continues to develop its capability in this area. Current monitoring capacity includes:

• Carbon monoxide
• Particulate matter
• Carbon dioxide
• Common allergens (aerosols)

The instruments used are shown on these pages. These instruments are small (often less than a bread box) and quiet. Typically, they are left to collect data in an indoor location for 24-hours.

Carbon monoxide is perhaps the most dangerous indoor pollutant. This invisible, odorless gas can be toxic at high concentrations. It is a product of combustion and can be generated from malfunctioning wood stoves, hot water heaters or furnaces.

Tribal members who believe that they may have malfunctioning wood burning or gas-fired appliances are encouraged to contact the Environmental Management Office at the first opportunity.

The instrument on the left is one of the smallest instruments that we use. It collects information on carbon monoxide using an electro-chemical sensor. It is a passive device and does not have a digital display. The information is stored and can subsequently down-loaded to a computer for analysis. It is used in conjunction with a second device, on the right, that alarms if concentrations exceed safe limits.