Everybody Needs Healthy Indoor Air
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The average American spends between 80 and 90 percent of their time indoors, while a large majority of air pollution rules and regulations deal with outside air standards. Your health can be directly affected by your indoor atmosphere. The state of the indoor air in the home, at work and at school is crucial, because these three places are where people spend the most time. Most indoor air problems are related to human behavior and building design. This section includes information on indoor air quality (IAQ) and your health, what you can do to improve IAQ in your home or workplace, and information for designers. Depending on what kind of pollutants you are exposed to and what their sources may be, the health effects may range anywhere from mild discomfort to death or serious bodily harm. Children and elderly people are particularly susceptible to problems relating to air pollution. |
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Unhealthy Air Quality
Mild discomfort involves eye irritation, nose allergies, sore throat, rash, and poor concentration. These are common sources of these symptoms:
More serious cases include asthma attacks, chest tightness, pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung cancer, and death. An infliction of this sort can have several causes, and sometimes a combination of causes such as:
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What You Can Do– at home or at work
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Don't allow people to smoke indoors.
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Use your kitchen vent when cooking.
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Keep outdoor pollutants out by closing the doors and windows when barbecuing, smoking, or when there is the presence of combustible exhaust from cars or lawnmowers. These things carry harmful gases that accumulate and cause injury.
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Never run your car with the garage door closed. Install a garage exhaust fan that runs automatically after the door has been opened.
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Choose formaldehyde–free products. Plywood, particle board, and fiberboard are common sources of formaldehyde. However, exterior grade plywood with less formaldehydes, and formaldehyde–free fiberboards are available and are better choices for indoor use. If you have these products in your home, then making sure they are sealed with paint or finishes is the next best option.
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Gas stoves and kerosene heaters emit trace amounts of NO2 when in use and can leak from aging. If you own one, get it checked by a professional at least once a year.
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Choose paints and finishes that have no VOC's. (What's a VOC?)
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Try not to paint interior walls when floor carpeting is installed because fumes from the paint can collect in the carpeting. Clean your carpets often and use vacuum cleaners with a HEPA filter. Dust actually contributes to indoor air pollution, so it is beneficial to consistently vacuum your floors.
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Clean up mold inside your house because it can grow and eventually be inhaled. Look for moisture in your home and its source, because wet areas cause mold to form. When cleaning always dry the area as much as possible. Fix leaky pipes and pay attention to areas of your home that have water damage. Visit the EPA's informational advisory on mold and learn how to control this overlooked problem.
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Consider installing plants in your house or workplace. View a list of plants that act as air filters, including details on NASA's study on house plants.
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Retrofit your fireplace with an EPA wood stove or fireplace insert, gas unit, or pellet stove. Or don't use the fireplace at all. These steps can reduce particulate matter by 75–90% over a standard fireplace.
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When you shop for furniture, ask about finishes, materials, and adhesives that are used and choose wisely.
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Eliminate or reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers outdoors. These chemicals are often tracked inside and then lodge in the carpets to provide continual exposure.
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Using natural cleaning liquids and detergents is environmentally friendly and healthy. Conventional products spray toxic particles into the air. Check out this list of natural cleaning products and other assortments, provided by Yahoo.
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When you get clothes back from the dry cleaners, air them out for a day in a room with good ventilation or outside air.
The U.S. Green Building Council states, "It is more beneficial to reduce IAQ problems at the source than to use energy to ventilate the building and to condition a greater volume of air." Engineers and architects can take certain procedures to ensure comfort for occupants by designing for clean indoor air. The Green Building Council refers to studies that suggest that better indoor air raises occupant productivity by 16% due to higher morale and less absenteeism. Following are several ways you can design a building while being sensitive to the health of its indoor air.
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Design bricks and concrete surfaces to drain away from entryways. Also limit the vegetation or use low maintenance plants around entryways to prevent pesticides used for gardening from entering the indoors. Encourage your clients to switch to organic and natural means of pest control and fertilization, as pesticides and other chemicals can persist in leaves, grass, and dirt, which can be tracked inside.
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Provide a water spigot and electrical outlet near each entryway so that occupants are able to clean the area efficiently.
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Isolate the building's future occupants from rooms that may potentially store chemicals. For example, build storage areas away from the rest of the building and provide a sink, a drain, and a separate exhaust ventilation system that connects directly to a safe outdoor area.
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When designing an office building, it is important to create a room exclusively for copy and printing machines. This room should be located away from where the staff regularly work and should be built with its own exhaust ventilation. Exhaust points should be located away from intake air systems.
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After finishing building the facility or house, allow two weeks to flush out the indoor air with fresh air from the outdoors.
VOC's in Paint and Wood Finishes
VOC's, or volatile organic compounds, are toxic chemicals found in household cleaning supplies and paints. They can cause mild health effects, and too much exposure can cause more serious problems. The EPA reports that VOC content is sometimes 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors. Review this complete list of manufacturers who offer zero–VOC paint . The Green Seal Organization is an organization that recommends standards and products to make your building healthy for the occupants. For paint, they recommend using flat paint with a VOC limit of 50g/L and non–flat paint with a limit of 150 g/L. For wood products, exclusively focus on environmentally sensitive finishes. Products like Weather–Bos, or Eco–Furniture.com sell products with little or no chemicals in them.
Carpeting
If you are renovating and planning to install carpet as well as paint, be sure to paint first, then air the building out well, and finally install the carpet. VOC's settle in carpet and other absorbent materials and they can float back up into the air as a result of human disturbance or with an increase in temperature in the building. Carpets also contain their own chemicals that can diminish IAQ. Find healthful carpet professionals, along with guidelines and information on the relationship between carpets and indoor air quality on this useful website.
More Informative Links
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The Environmental Protection Agency is a large resource for building designers who want to learn more about IAQ issues. |
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The California Indoor Air Quality Program provides the latest news and events for Californians. This is also a great website for research and statistics. |
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The American Indoor Air Quality Council is a nonprofit organization, comprised of IAQ professionals, that provides the latest information, newsletters, and informational workshops. |