Indoor air quality in restaurants with and without designated smoking rooms.

Indoor air quality in restaurants was studied in two cities in northwest Ohio after clean indoor air ordinances had been enacted. Carbon dioxide and ultrafine particles were measured in two restaurants in Toledo and two restaurants in Bowling Green. One restaurant in each city was smoke free, and one restaurant in each city contained a dedicated smoking room. A smoke free office space was also assessed as a reference site. Measurements were collected with datalogging instrumentation simultaneously in both the designated smoking room, if present, and in the nonsmoking section. For smoke free establishments, datalogging instrumentation was also used. Carbon dioxide levels were elevated in all four restaurants, with only 32% of the measurements meeting the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) criterion level of 1000 ppm. Ultrafine particles currently do not have any formal standard or guideline. Statistically significant differences were evident between all four...