Fwd: [S-A] [SoFlaVegan] Is Your Indoor Air Rated X-Tremely Polluted?

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" Misty L. Trepke "

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 16:02:30 -0000

[s-A] [soFlaVegan] Is Your Indoor Air Rated X-Tremely Polluted?

 

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Is Your Indoor Air Rated X-Tremely Polluted?

 

http://www.seventhgen.com/html/recentnews.html#story02

Seventh Generation - Safer for you and the environment

 

Unless you're one of the five or six people currently living in

outer space, you probably don't give a second thought to the air

inside your home. After all, air is free and you can pretty much

find it everywhere. It's no wonder we take it for granted. Yet we

probably shouldn't because indoor air is often the kind that's the

most hazardous of all.

 

The issue of indoor air quality starts with one of the more perverse

environmental statistics of modern times: According to EPA research,

on average, the air inside the castles we call home typically

contains levels of pollutants 2-5 times higher than the air outside

and in extreme cases can be 100 times more contaminated. In one study

of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a class of airborne chemical

toxin, the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that while

outdoor air at sampled sites contained less than 10 VOCs, indoor air

at those same sites contained 150 VOCs.

 

Factor in the essential point that the average American spends about

90% of their time inside and suddenly indoor air quality becomes

something we ought to be thinking about. No wonder the EPA ranked

indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to

public health. Or that the National Academy of Sciences estimated

that indoor air pollution costs our country between $15 and $100

billion each year in related health care costs.

 

Although the specific types of air pollutants found indoors often

vary considerably from home to home, poor indoor air quality has four

basic causes: The chemical substances we use to clean and maintain

our homes. Many homeowners use a large number of petrochemical

cleaners and other toxic products like pesticides, disinfectants,

and air deodorizers liberally around the house. These products

produce hazardous fumes when used and leave residues behind that

then gradually dissolve into the air over time. The constant

application of such a wide variety of chemical compounds

throughout the average home greatly increases both the number of

dangerous indoor air pollutants and their concentration levels.

 

The materials we use to build and furnish our homes. Modern

residences contain a staggering variety of synthetic materials from

carpets and foam cushions to insulation and chemically-treated

pressed wood products. These products outgas which means that the

chemical compounds they contain break down with age and are slowly

released into the air over time in the form of toxic fumes.

 

Modern construction techniques. Following the oil shocks of the 70s,

American homes began to be built with energy efficiency in mind.

Today's homes are better insulated and better sealed than any in the

past. This is good for energy conservation. But bad for indoor air

quality because without a system that ensures adequate air exchanges

to remove hazardous fidyl indoor air pollutants or dilute their

concentrations, indoor air can quickly reach become unsafe.

 

Household combustion equipment like furnaces, hot water heaters, and

gas stoves. If improperly maintained or vented, these devices can

introduce combustion by-products into indoor air that range from

particulates like soot to deadly gases like carbon monoxide. In spite

of the fact that these basic factors have introduced over 900

identified air pollutants to modern indoor air, the American Lung

Association found that 87% of homeowners were not aware that indoor

air quality was even an issue. That's probably because such air

pollution can be very difficult to detect. Many pollutants have

little or no smell, and those that do smell often go largely

unnoticed thanks to olfactory fatigue, a fancy name for the fact that

the nose almost immediately adapts to the presence of new odors and

effectively removes them from conscious notice. In fact, odors that

persist in a house can even lead the nose to develop a semi-permanent

fatigue that sometimes even a day away from home can't overcome.

 

In her book, Home Safe Home, healthy home expert Debra Lynn Dadd

recommends that anyone concerned about their home's air spend a day

away in the best air they can find in order to " rinse out " their

nose. Windows and doors at home should be closed to concentrate any

odors and a big sniff should be taken immediately upon return. In

this way it may be possible to detect odors that indicate problems.

Friends whose noses aren't immune to your home's smells can also

help. More precise results can be obtained by indoor air quality

tests. However, these are often costly to conduct. An effective

alternative strategy is to examine your home for potential sources of

indoor air pollution and then take steps to either remove those

sources (as in the case of toxic cleaners or household materials) or

assure that they are functioning properly and therefore not producing

airborne toxins (as in the case of furnaces and water heaters).

 

What sources should you be looking for? Here's an alphabetical list

of the most common kinds of indoor air pollutants and the places they

come from. If you have any of the source materials or devices listed

below in your home it's advisable to either remove them or have a

knowledgeable professional verify that no contaminants like these are

being emitted:

 

Carbon Monoxide: An invisible, odorless, and tasteless gas produced

by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels like gas and oil in

devices like furnaces, gas ranges, and non-electric space and hot

water heaters.

 

Combustion by-products (CBPs): Gases and particles created by

cigarette smoking, fireplaces, woodstoves, furnaces, gas ranges, and

non-electric space and hot water heaters.

 

Dust: Believe it or not, the average 6-room home accumulates roughly

40 pounds of dust each year, and there's not much we can do about it

because dust is being made around us all the time as the materials we

use in our daily lives breakdown and shed microscopic particles.

Household dust can contain tiny pieces of textiles, wood, and food;

mold spores; pollens; insect fragments; furs and hairs; and particles

of smoke, paint, nylon, rubber, fiberglass, plastic, and paper.

 

Formaldehyde: A chemical used in everything from carpet and pressed

wood products like plywood to bed linens. Formaldehyde is a volatile

organic compound (VOC) but it's so common that some experts believe

it to be the single most important indoor air pollutant. For this

reason, it warrants a separate mention among the many hundreds of

VOCs that can exist in indoor air. Formaldehyde is colorless gas with

a sharp odor, although at the concentrations typically found in

indoor air, it is undetectable by the nose. Composite or pressed-

wood products are a common source of indoor formaldehyde. Wood

resins and glues containing it are found in particleboard, plywood,

paneling, furniture, wallboard and ceiling panels. Other sources

include carpets, decorative wallpapers, and fabrics in which

formaldehyde is used as a finish to create permanent press, flame-

resistant, water-repellant, and shrink-proof materials. Formaldehyde

can also come from gas stoves, glues, room deodorizers, cosmetics,

personal care products, paper grocery bags, waxed paper, paper

tissues and towels, and even feminine protection products.

 

Nitric Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide (Nitrogen Oxides): Colorless,

odorless and tasteless gases produced by gas ranges.

 

Ozone: A gas created by the breakdown of volatile compounds found in

solvents; reactions between sunlight and chemicals that are produced

by burning fossil fuels; and reactions between chemicals found in

materials like paint and hair spray. Most ozone in the home comes

from outside and results predominantly from automobile exhaust which

is why this pollutant is more problematic in urban and suburban homes

than rural homes. Ozone can also come from copy machines, laser

printers, and ultraviolet lights.

 

Particulates: Tiny particles of soot and other materials. The biggest

sources of indoor particulates are windblown dust, house dust, and

tobacco smoke. Secondary sources include wood stoves and appliances

like furnaces and non-electric heaters.

 

Pesticides: The mere act of applying these toxic materials spreads

them around the house and introduces them to indoor air. Residues

that remain continue to pollute the home and its occupants.

 

Radon: A natural radioactive gas that seeps from the rocks and soil

surrounding certain homes. Radon is odorless, colorless, and

tasteless and largely a problem only in basements in regions where

soils have a large radon content.

 

Tobacco smoke: A mixture of over 4,700 different chemical compounds

and the single most preventable indoor air pollutant on this list.

 

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Chemical compounds that exist in a

gaseous form at room temperature. In the home, the presence of these

chemicals in the air comes predominantly from two sources: the

outgassing of synthetic materials like foams and plastics and the use

of toxic cleaning products and other household chemicals. Common VOCs

include benzene, toluene, xylene, vinyl chloride, naphthalene,

methylene chloride, and perchloroethylene. But such materials are

just the tip of the indoor air/VOC iceberg. There are hundreds of

VOCs capable of causing everything from neurological and organ

damage to cancer. Interestingly, many victims of Multiple Chemical

Sensitivities think their troubles began with an exposure to VOCs.

Because of this high toxicity, VOCs are a major indoor air concern.

That ends our look at common indoor air pollutants and their sources.

As to what to do about them-stay tuned. In our next issue, we'll have

a complete look at the strategies you can use to help your family

breathe a little easier.