Strategic Issues in Building Materials Production IV: Indoor Air Quality In building, the most pervasive expression of the economys toxicity is sick building syndrome and the related crisis of indoor air quality (IAQ). The problem manifests in the use phase of the building lifecycle, but is mainly rooted in production. A certain amount of pollution is attributable to combustion appliances, cigarette smoking, mould and mildew, radon gas, faulty ventilation and the like. But even this would be far less debilitating if it not for the toxic load of common building materials, furnishings and cleaning products. Thus while complete solutions do require measures in building operation, maintenance, ventilation, etc., this section will focus on the main sources of toxicity in building materials themselves. Most of these sources could be eliminated by good product design and selection. Air pollution is nothing new to industrial capitalism, but its composition has changed substantially over the last century. Certain kinds of outdoor air pollution have been reduced in the developed countries, but the rise of petrochemical industry has introduced completely new kinds of substances to challenge the human immune system (Oliver & Shackleto, 1998). Indoor air pollution is not new, but it could previously be ignored as an insignificant externality. By the 1970s, the proliferation of new chemicals