General Indoor Air Information

The majority of the population spends up to 90% of their day indoors, and yet, indoor air quality (IAQ) receives only a fraction of the attention paid to outdoor air quality. With the introduction of a plethora of new building and furnishing materials, each with its own concoction of volatile organic compounds, and the ongoing movement to make buildings more energy efficient we are experiencing an ever-decreasing quality of the air we are breathing indoors. Indoor air pollutants include the following:

• Secondhand smoke
• Radon
• Organic compounds (VOCs)
• Biological pollutants (animal dander, fungi, pollen, dust mite and cockroach parts, infectious agents)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies that compare risks of environmental threats to public health consistently rank indoor air pollution (including all of the above) among the top five.

What Can You Do About…?

Secondhand Smoke

• Don’t smoke in the house or permit others to do so
• Increase ventilation if family member insists on smoking indoors
• Do not smoke around infants or toddlers, they are particularly susceptible to the effects of passive smoking
• Work with parent/teacher associations, your school board and school administrators, community leaders, and other concerned citizens to make your child’s environment smoke free
• If there are designated outdoor smoking areas at your child’s school or at you work place, they should not be right outside the doors (or near building ventilation system air intakes) where nonsmokers may have to pass through smoke.
• If your local smoking control ordinances are not sufficiently protective, urge your local government officials to take action.

Radon

• Have your home tested. Radon gets into your home through cracks in solid floors, construction joints, cracks in walls, gaps in suspended floors, gaps around service pipes, cavities inside walls, the water supply; all these areas should be tested.
• Check with your local health department to see if they provide testing.
• If your water comes from a well, have it tested for radon.
• If you find a radon problem in your home, do something about it. Most homes can be fixed for about the same cost as other common home repairs like painting; the average costs range from $500 to about $2,500.

Organic Compounds

• Organic compounds are found in many products that we use at home such as cleaners, paints and lacquers, and furnishings. Be aware of what products you are using and the chemicals they contain.
• Be sure there is plenty of ventilation when using products that contain harmful organic compounds. When painting indoors there should always be an outside air source and fans should be placed in windows to suck vapors out of the room.
• Never mix chemical products, especially cleaners containing bleach with any product that does not include instructions for such mixing.
• Rinse treated surface areas well to remove all traces of chemicals.
• Know what you are buying when purchasing furnishings and carpet. Look for products that advertise being chemical-free. Many furnishings contain formaldehydes and other harmful organic compounds; avoid purchasing these if possible or look for “low-emitting” products.

Biological Pollutants

• Biological pollutants can cause an array of allergic reactions such as watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, difficulty breathing, headaches and fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should take steps in investigating biological pollutants in your home.
• First, you should do a self-inspection of your home and pay close attention to possible nutrient sources (insulation, construction materials), air circulation, and moisture.
• Appliances such as humidifiers, kerosene and gas heaters, and gas stoves add moisture to the air and should be controlled by using exhaust fans or counteracting them with dehumidifiers and air conditioners.
• Check other moisture sources such as air-conditioning units, basements, attics, crawl spaces, bathrooms, carpets, air ducts, refrigerator drip pans-these can all provide moisture for molds and other biological pollutants to grow.
• Control dust by cleaning rooms and closets well; dust and vacuum often to remove surface dust.
• Discard any water-damaged items such as carpets, drapes, stuffed toys, upholstered furniture, and ceiling tiles unless they can be recovered by steam cleaning and thorough drying.

Browse the following web pages for more information on IAQ:

• Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor Air Quality web page.
• The National Safety Council provides a large amount of information on all issues related to indoor air. Or you may contact an information specialist at (800) 557-2366.
• Find out more about the American Lung Association in Georgia.

1. “Current Estimated from the National Health Interview Survey, 1995″,
National Center for Health Statistics, 1998, Series 10, No.9.
2. “Childhood Chronic Illness: Prevalence Severity and Impact,”
American Journal of Public Health, March 1992, Vol., 182, No.3, pp.264-371.

3. “An Economic Evaluation of Asthma in the United States,”
New England Journal of Medicine, 1992, Vol., 326, pp. 862-867.
4. “A National Estimate of the Economic Costs of Asthma,”
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 1997, Vol.,156, pp.787-793.