Exhaust ventilation in attached garages improves residential indoor air quality.

Previous research has shown that indoor benzene levels in homes with attached garages are higher than homes without attached garages. Exhaust ventilation in attached garages is one possible intervention to reduce these concentrations. To evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention, a randomized crossover study was conducted in 33 Ottawa homes in winter 2014.

The IVAIRE project--a randomized controlled study of the impact of ventilation on indoor air quality and the respiratory symptoms of asthmatic children in single family homes.

Unlabelled: A randomized controlled trial was carried out to measure the impact of an intervention on ventilation, indoor air contaminants, and asthma symptoms of children. Eighty-three asthmatic children living in low-ventilated homes were followed over 2 years. Several environmental parameters were measured during the summer, fall, and winter.

Estimation of bias with the single-zone assumption in measurement of residential air exchange using the perfluorocarbon tracer gas method.

Unlabelled: Residential air exchange rates (AERs) are vital in understanding the temporal and spatial drivers of indoor air quality (IAQ). Several methods to quantify AERs have been used in IAQ research, often with the assumption that the home is a single, well-mixed air zone. Since 2005, Health Canada has conducted IAQ studies across Canada in which AERs were measured using the perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) gas method.

Heat recovery ventilators prevent respiratory disorders in Inuit children.

Unlabelled: Inuit infants have high rates of reported hospitalization for respiratory infection, associated with overcrowding and reduced ventilation. We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial to determine whether home heat recovery ventilators (HRV) would improve ventilation and reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses in young Inuit children. Inuit children under 6 years of age living in several communities in Nunavut, Canada were randomized to receive an active or placebo HRV.

Indoor air quality and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in young Canadian Inuit children.

Background: Inuit infants have the highest reported rate of hospital admissions because of lower respiratory tract infections in the world. We evaluated the prevalence of reduced ventilation in houses in Nunavut, Canada, and whether this was associated with an increased risk of these infections among young Inuit children.

Methods: We measured ventilation in 49 homes of Inuit children less than 5 years of age in Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin) Region, Nunavut.