A Scoping Study on the Costs of Indoor Air Quality Illnesses: An

0,09

MB

Insurance Loss Reduction Perspective

38

stron

5016

ID

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

1998

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction . 1

1.1. Methodology2

1.2. Organization of Report . 3

2. Overview of Indoor Air Quality-Related Illnesses 3

2.1. Commercial Sector. .4

2.2. Industrial Sector..6

2.3. Residential Sector.6

3. Insurance-Related Costs .. 7

3.1. Discussions with Industry Representatives7

3.2. IAQ Insurance Products.9

3.3. Workers’ Compensation Funds..12

3.4. ASTM, ASHRAE, and IAQ Standards. .13

4. Litigation-Related Costs 14

4.1. Introduction.14

4.2. Call vs. Prudential. 15

4.3. Four Recent Cases Involving Verdicts. 16

4.3.1. DuPage County Courthouse . .16

4.3.2. Polk County Courthouse.18

4.3.3. Martin County Courthouse. .. .18

4.3.4. EPA Headquarters Building.19

4.4. Frequency of IAQ Litigation. 19

4.5. IAQ litigation and Building Type 20

4.6. Development of IAQ Legal Theory.. 21

5. Summary and Conclusions. .23

5.1. IAQ Awareness.23

5.2. Future Activities24

5.2.1. Quantify IAQ-related insurance costs by sector.24

5.2.2. Educate the insurance industry about the importance of IAQ issues.25

5.2.3. Examine IAQ impacts on the insurance industry in the residential sector.25

5.2.4. Evaluate the relationship between IAQ improvements and energy use . 26

Acknowledgments.26

References27

Appendix A. List of Interviews. .. 32

Appendix B. Web Sites.. 33

Appendix C. People Interested in Working with the IPVMP’s IEQ Subcommittee. 34