Polluted indoor air is said to be responsible for a good many premature deaths. Here's an interesting article, out of Perdue University, on developments in sensors that can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that cause many of those deaths. From the article:
“Our work’s goal is developing low-cost volatile organic compound sensors capable of identifying indoor air quality problems and capable of controlling ventilation in response to high indoor emissions,” Braun said. “Sensing indoor volatile organic compound concentrations and then adjusting ventilation accordingly can maintain acceptable levels, but current sensor technologies are much too expensive for this purpose.”
Also of concern is size of the detector, and power usage.
Can't solve a problem that you cannot detect, and measure.
In our commercial janitorial operation, we have a slightly different focus - particulates, generally in the 1 to 10 micron size. Such particles, of various kinds, can cause cancer; the AMA lists 50 some occupational disease syndromes, such as asbestosis and black lung disease (common among coal miners), all of which seem to be caused by such size particles.
Several studies on how you can tweak janitorial service, such as by using HEPA filtrated vacuums and microfiber mops and wipes, show a better than 50% reduction in daytime airborne particle count, in that size range. We monitor IAQ as part of our service package, and (in a fairly tightly sealed, 5-night per week client facility), that's about what we achieve, as compared to usual janitorial equipment and procedures.
Breath easy!