Indoor air conferences: some personal snapshots

In the 1960s and 1970s, the indoor environment was reduced from being a major issue from a health perspective to almost nothing; ‘Environment’ was reduced to outdoor, and industrial environments. ‘Indoor air’ was supposed to be ‘clean’ and ‘protective’. Today, we know that non-industrial indoor environments are the most important environments from a human health point of view. This understanding has evolved, to a great extent, through the Indoor Air conferences. We are now approaching the 9th International, Triennial Indoor Air conference – Indoor Air 2002 in Monterey, CA, USA. But, where did we start? Ole Fanger phoned in early 1978 and asked whether I was willing to chair an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) session at the upcoming Indoor Climate conference in Copenhagen. Two Ole's, Fanger and Valbjørn, were the main organizers. In my session the late George Green from Canada had a presentation, indicating a need for humidification of indoor air in cold areas. Jens Korsgaard from Denmark took the opposite position in his presentation on indoor air RH, house dust mites, and asthma. Half of the conference was devoted to thermal climate and half to the emerging issue of IAQ. This was Jack Spengler's, Demetrios Moschandreas', and the late Craig Hollowell's conference, the first called ‘Indoor Air’. On the way there, Ib Andersen, Ole Valbjørn, Lars Mølhave, and I discussed the need for an international society on IAQ. IAQ was the main issue. Birgitta Berglund and I helped, but this was chiefly Thomas Lindvall's conference. The main idea was to get more involvement from the medical field into our indoor air science. It was stated in a plenary session that we were now in the ‘post-formaldehyde era’! Charlie and Lulu Weschler won the first Indoor Air jogging contests (as so often later). Jan Stolwijk told us that the only way to make most people in a building happy with their environment was to give them some control over it. Bernd Seifert, President. Hal Levin told us ‘What architects can do to improve IAQ’, Michael Lebowitz lectured on the role of ETS from a health perspective, and Ole Fanger presented his ‘solution to the mystery of SBS,’ the olf-concept. Doug Walkinshaw, President. The need for an International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ, started in 1992), and of an International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences (IAIAS, started in 1991) were discussed. Olli Seppänen, President. Everything ran so smoothly. The core of delegates had now been around for up to 15 years, a ‘happy family’. Susumu Yoshizawa, President. The ‘happy family’ met for the first time outside Europe/North America. Kirk Smith opened our eyes (again, as in 1984 and 1999) to the massive problem of unvented burning of biomass in kitchens--one of the most lethal killers of women and children worldwide. Gary Raw, President. The ‘expensive’ conference (as are all conferences today, that are not sponsored by major ‘interests’). Microbiology and ‘dampness’ were surging to the top of the list of important themes. Hal Levin, President A few of us – Ole Fanger, Lars Mølhave, Bjarne Olesen, Demetrios Moschandreas, Bernd Seifert, Bill Cain, and I – have been lucky enough to attend all Indoor Air conferences. Jack Spengler almost made it (had a paper at the first conference Ben Ferris presented it). Jack has since been, by far, the most productive participant with more than 70 papers presented (as author or co-author)! However, this group as well as the rest of the core of attendees to our conferences tend to be rather old! A new generation, with new (and improved) ideas is needed. Few important findings within the indoor air sciences have not been presented ‘for the first time’ at an Indoor Air conference. It has been and will be the most important meeting place for persons interested in all aspects of indoor environmental quality and its effects on human beings. In Monterey we will see the start of what will constitute indoor air sciences during the new millennium with over 700 scientific papers. As introduced in Issue 2000/1, the Editorial Board has been partly changed. We thank Max Kjellman, Thomas Lindvall, Lars Mølhave, Bjarne W. Olesen, Bernd Seifert, Jim Woods, and Susumi Yoshizawa for their valuable input through the years. Now we welcome Alfred T. Hodgson, Matti Jantunen, Thomas Schneider, and Peder Wolkoff.

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