Ministry to revise indoor air quality regulations

CLEAR THE AIR: Taiwanese spend more than 80% of their time indoors, making it essential to have a science-based indoor air management system, an advocate said

• By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA

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The Ministry of Environment yesterday said it is proposing revisions to the Indoor Air Quality Management Act (室內空氣品質管理法), including stricter regulations for facilities serving young children and older adults, standardized monitoring requirements and adjusted requirements for dedicated indoor air quality personnel according to the size of a facility.

The ministry is to hold discussions with local environmental protection bureaus on the proposed changes next month.

The eighth annual Taiwan Indoor Air Quality Week, organized by the Taiwan Indoor Environment Quality Management Association, opened yesterday. Events are being held in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, focusing on indoor air quality management and healthy living.

A person walks past the name and logo of the Ministry of Environment at its headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph.

Photo: CNA

Department of Atmospheric Environment Director-General Huang Wei-ming (黃偉鳴) said the ministry had begun work on revising the act, which took effect in 2012.

The ministry held three meetings with experts and academics last month and plans to consult local environment protection bureaus with practical enforcement experience next month.

The timeline for completing the draft amendments remains uncertain, Huang said.

The ministry would consider tightening indoor air quality standards for facilities serving vulnerable groups, such as older adults and young children, he said.

However, the would be on improving air quality rather than simply tightening standards, he said.

If conditions cannot be improved and standards are simply tightened, the effect would be limited, Huang added.

The ministry aims to establish standards by the end of this year for simplified continuous automatic devices to help monitor air quality in indoor facilities, he said.

The thresholds for requiring facilities to appoint dedicated indoor air quality management personnel would also be revised and adjusted based on the characteristics and size of each facility, he added.

The ministry has finished an initiative started last year to help kindergartens improve indoor air quality, Huang said, adding that the results would be announced as soon as possible.

Taiwan Indoor Environment Quality Management Association chairwoman Chou Nan-chun (周南君) said that the theme of this year’s Indoor Air Quality Week is clean air as a basic human right.

People in Taiwan spend more than 80 percent of their time indoors, she said.

Amid the growing combination of risks posed by extreme heat and emerging infectious disease, it is essential to establish scientifically based management system, she added.

In France, where air-conditioning penetration is only about 20 percent, vulnerable groups were exposed to heat-related harm amid heat waves in Europe this summer, Deputy Minister of Environment Hsieh Yen-ju (謝燕儒) said.

Although air-conditioning is common in Taiwan, keeping doors and windows closed for extended periods while running air-conditioners makes indoor air quality an issue that must be taken seriously, he said.

The UN has discussed epidemic-prevention issues, saying that following the COVID-19 pandemic, disease prevention should be considered comprehensively, she said.

Indoor air quality is an important part of that effort, she said, citing the need for disinfection and sanitation at airports and maintaining air quality at large-scale gatherings.