Dyson’s air quality expert asks “does your shampoo cause as much pollution as car exhausts?”
“Finally, scientists are beginning to understand the effects of household chemicals and pollutants on indoor air quality,” says Dyson’s VP of Health and Beauty.
New findings published in the research journal, Science, report that chemicals used in household goods like shampoo, deodorant, and cleaning sprays may contribute as much to poor air quality as cars.
The key finding of the research suggests that the amount of potentially harmful “emissions per unit product use” produced when using some household chemical products can be “one to two orders of magnitude higher than from automobile exhaust.”
Although the focus on most discussions about improving air quality are has been on the outdoor pollution caused by traffic, this latest study has shifted the focus instead onto the more wide-ranging “urban air quality”.
Paul Dawson, Dyson’s VP of Health and Beauty says: “Fumes released from new furniture, cleaning solvents, deodorants, and even scented candles are some of the most common indoor air pollutants.”
He continues, “There are a multitude of factors that affect indoor air quality. They can be external factors such as whether there is industry nearby or whether the room faces out to road traffic can have an impact a room’s air quality. Or internal sources; how often the individual cooks or clean, whether they use a lot of aerosols such as deodorant or hairsprays. Even the level of natural air circulating can temper indoor air quality.”
Air pollution is reportedly the fifth biggest risk to human health globally, just behind malnutrition, dietary risks, high blood pressure, and tobacco.
In The Times, Science Editor, Tom Whipple explains that this recent piece of indoor air quality research, “scientists studying air pollution in Los Angeles found that up to half of particles known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air actually came from domestic products, which also include paint, pesticides, bleach, and perfumes.”
Dr Brian Macdonald was part of the Chemical Sciences team that led the research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US governmental scientific agency.
VOCs are compounds which can, over time, degrade to become PM 2.5 particles which are small enough to penetrate human lungs and have been frequently associated with respiratory health issues and linked to the premature deaths of nearly 30,000 people every year in the UK.
Automotive emissions of VOCs have decreased steadily from efforts to control tailpipe emissions in the United States and Europe. As a result, other sources of VOC emissions are likely growing in relative importance.
The study also coincides with the release of the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) data on air pollution emissions, which they say “reflects what has been achieved in recent years to cut emissions, and show the UK complies with all emissions ceilings from 2011 onwards.”
The UK Government has recently signed up to ambitious targets to reduce emissions of five key pollutants, including non-methane volatile organic compounds, by 2020 and 2030 under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive.
A Defra spokesperson said:
“Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds have already fallen by 33% since 2005, and under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive we have signed up to ambitious targets to reduce them further.
“Air pollution has improved significantly since 2010, but we recognise there is more to do and that’s why we have invested £3.5billion to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions. Emissions from non-methane volatile organic compounds in consumer products will be considered as part of our Clean Air Strategy which will be published for consultation later this year.”
