The protection from harm to populations of people provided by Exposure Limit Values

The protection from chronic harm provided by exposure limit values (ELVs) is evaluated for indoor air contaminants set by regulatory bodies of member countries in the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC). Significant variability was found in the regulated harm levels from ELVs for the same contaminants across different countries, highlighting inconsistencies in public health protection. The concept of a regulated harm budget (RHB) is introduced, representing the total allowed harm from regulated contaminants implicitly set by a regulatory body. Among AIVC countries, Spain is the only nation with an RHB of 2400 DALYs/10⁵ person/year for the three key contaminants PM_2.5, NO₂, and formaldehyde. The RHBs for most AIVC countries exceeded harm values associated with smoking and alcoholism. This underscores the need for interventions to mitigate indoor air contaminant harm and reduce it to acceptable levels that are comparable to other regulated risks.