Updated July 17, 2026
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Concerns
Always report any health and safety related concerns within your workplace environment to your supervisor, manager or academic lead. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) can also be contacted to assess individual situations (ehs.office@utoronto.ca). Students should contact their registrar’s office, graduate administrator or course instructor for any IAQ related questions or concerns.
In some cases, involving building issues, for example if an office is too hot, departments can contact their local facilities group (UTM, UTSC, UTSG) directly. For UTSG campus, please also refer to: What to do when you are too hot or too cold and Seasonal heating and cooling transition.
Once EHS is contacted, a visual walkthrough will be scheduled to assess the concern. The cause of IAQ concerns can vary significantly and the purpose of the walkthrough is to identify potential sources of concern. For example, in situations where there is complaint of headaches, this may be caused by several different factors besides air quality, such as eye strain, fatigue, lack of or too much lighting, glare, poor office ergonomics, dehydration, other personal factors etc. In some cases, specific situations may require medical accommodations (for more information, please contact Health and Well-Being).
In some situations, EHS will schedule an IAQ survey (air sampling), which typically includes monitoring carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature and relative humidity. Other agents may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Indoor environments (e.g., homes, offices, etc.) usually have very low amounts of many chemicals that are important and common in our daily lives (e.g., soaps, hand sanitizer, personal hygiene products, cleaning products, etc.). Many chemicals detected at low concentrations provide very little or no information regarding health effects and do not have exposure standards for comparison. For these reasons, air sampling is only useful in specific circumstances. Many IAQ concerns can be addressed expediently through an initial walkthrough without air sampling.
Seasonal Air Quality Changes
Indoor and outdoor air quality can be impacted by temporary seasonal events (e.g., wildfires) and weather patterns. The University continues to monitor conditions and will provide updates as applicable. The resources below provide general measures for protecting your health.
Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) does not have a specific regulation for poor outdoor air quality, but under the employer’s general duty clause [Section 25(2)(h)], employer are required to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers from hazards. During poor air quality days, supervisors and managers can take the following steps:
- Monitoring: Tracking local air quality levels using the Air Quality Ontario index.
- Adjusting work: Rescheduling strenuous outdoor tasks or rotating shifts to limit exposure. Develop a back-up plan for completing alternative work indoors during poor air quality days (e.g. maintenance, inspections, etc.) and idenitfy alternative indoors spaces (e.g. camps). Provide temporary accommodations where applicable for individuals with existing health conditions (e.g. heart issues, asthma, etc.) – if you require assistance, please contact Occupational Health (ehs.occhealth@utoronto.ca).
- Identify alternative spaces within the area/building(s) that have been less impacted. Provide this alternative/communal space for people to rotate and work to limit their time in the more impacted areas if possible.Depending on the nature of the work and operational feasibility, consider offering the ability to go a different building that has been less impacted to conduct work.
- Keep windows (if operable) and doors closed, where possible, to limit outdoor air from entering.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – It is not mandatory but individuals may choose to wear their own mask or N95 respirator. For certain roles which require extended strenuous outdoor work, please contact EHS for assistance.
Please report any concerns to your manager or academic lead. EHS can also be contacted to assess individual situations (ehs.office@utoronto.ca). Students should contact their registrar’s office, graduate administrator or course instructor for any questions or concerns.
During the shoulder seasons (e.g., spring and fall), sudden changes in outdoor temperature or unseasonably warm/cold conditions may impact indoor occupant comfort. Please report these concerns to your supervisor and contact your local facilities group (UTM, UTSC, UTSG).
Resources for Activity Planning
Learning Space Management (LSM) Classroom Technology Information
Environment Canada Air Quality Alerts
Health Canada’s Wildfire smoke, air quality and your health.
Ontario – Air Quality Health Index – Summary
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks AQHI Observations
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks AQHI Categories and Health Message