Indoor Air Pollution
I wanted to focus this blog post on the issue of indoor air pollution — in some cases considered more harmful than pollutants that are found outdoors because of the vast number that can build up in a compact space. To do this, I thought it might be interesting to take a basic online quiz that is available to any common Google-user. After typing in the search engine, “how many indoor air pollutants are there quiz”, I chose found a quiz on the site ‘HowStuffWorks’. With a total of 20 questions, ‘The Ultimate Indoor Air Pollution Quiz’ offers a series of statistics about indoor air pollution that can really informative to the average homeowner. I included these questions below and have italicized my responses and bolded the correct one. Time for a Pop Quiz!
Interested in taking it with me? Find it here at: https://quizzes.howstuffworks.com/quiz/indoor-air-pollution-quiz (1)
“How much worse can the quality of indoor air be than that of the air outdoors?”
“Twice as bad”? “Ten times as bad”? “Four times as bad”?
Being in an enclosed space without proper ventilation can lead to various hazardous pollutants building up that then cause serious health problems.
“Which of these does TerrEssentials’ Home Air Quality Test Kit test for”?
“Formaldehyde”? “Nitrogen”? “Chlorine”?
The TerrEssentials’ Home Air Quality Test Kit helps homeowners test for a variety of air pollutants, a main one being formaldehyde. An important chemical that is widely used in today’s world to manufacture building materials and several household products, formaldehyde has become a concern for many homeowners. Research has shown that high levels of the chemical can cause not only irritation to people’s skin, eyes, nose, and throats, but also has been linked to causing some types of cancers (2). Other types of pollutants the kit tests for includes carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and any forms of bacteria and fungi (1).
“About what percent of their time do people spend indoors on average?”
“50%”? “90%”? “75%”?
Shocking? I didn’t think so, especially with this cold weather that’s been blowing in lately. Take this percentage and add it to the fact that indoor air pollutants can come from various average household sources, and you realize just how important it is to monitor the health of the air inside your space.
“How much time does the average person spend at home?”
“35%”? “75%”? “65%”?
My guess was a little high, whoops! But 65% is still a lot! And with so much time spent in your home, it’s understandable that you might want to check that the indoor air is clean enough for you and your loved ones to be breathing in.
“Which of these is a potential outcome of long-term exposure to indoor air pollution?”
“Coma”? “Hair loss”? “Heart disease”?
I can’t lie, this question caught me. None of the long-term effects listed seemed to make much sense. I can’t say that I understand why a coma would be a potential outcome from long-term indoor air pollution, except for perhaps because of the lack of oxygen that is able to flow through the body due to the excess amounts of pollutants that cause blockage in the central nervous system. Lung cancer is another very serious health effect that people who are exposed to high levels of air pollutants can experience.
“What type of home air filter is the most effective at blocking pollutants?”
“Fiberglass”? “Electrostatic”? “Pleated”?
I had no idea about this one. According to the brief explanation, fiberglass air filters are the most cost-efficient, but electrostatic filters combine the physical strengths of a pleated filter with the ability to draw in more particles by using an electric charge (1).
“What is the MERV rating of an air filter?”
“Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value”? “Micro-Electric Range Value”? “Maximum Effectiveness Recorded Value”?
This, again, was another guess (but a good one apparently). Developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioner Engineers, MERV is a set standard that rates the effectiveness of an air filter (3). Its values can differ from levels of 1 to 16, depending on the air quality of the space. According to the American Lung Association, there is a recommended minimum MERV rating of 10 in a space (1).
“Although hazardous, where can PCB still be found?” (Even though it was banned from production in America in 1970)
“Wire coatings”? “Carpets”? “Insulation”?
I had thought insulation might be a valid answer, but the correct one was wire coatings because PCB, more formally known as polychlorinated biphenyl, is still found in a few household sources like sealants and wood floor finishes. Before being banned in the U.S., PCBs were widely used in industrial production because of the chemical properties. However, being a type of organic pollutant, the chemicals posed serious threats to environment and human health. One report published in May of 2016 states that, in large amounts, PCBs can cause high levels of toxicity, cause greater cancer risks, and are a dangerous threat to both human and wildlife health(4).
“Which other banned source of indoor air pollution remains in many homes in their insulation and floor tiles?”
“Asbestos”? “Fluorine”? “Formaldehyde”?
Admittedly, I did think that perhaps the answer might be formaldehyde again, but asbestos was instead the correct answer here. For many years, asbestos was a very popular building material, especially for insulation purposes. Traces of it can still be found in a wide variety of manufactured products like certain types of packaging, coatings, heat-resistant fabrics, and so forth(5). Removing it, though the best course of action when considering the health effects its cause, can be a strain on a person — both physically and on their wallet.
“What types of household products often contain harmful formaldehyde?”
“Pressed wood”? “Plastics”? “Glass”?
Pressed wood is common in many household objects — often used for subflooring, inexpensive furniture, shelving, and traces can even be found in some paints. They are considered sheet materials, meaning that wood can be found in the form of strips, veneers, chips, strands, or fibers, and are glued together with a commonly formaldehyde- based resin (6). High levels of exposure in animals has been shown to cause nasal cancers and a few human studies have indicated links to other forms of cancer (6).
“Where does radon typically originate from?”
“Underneath the home”? “The house’s water supply”? “The local air”?
Radon is a radioactive gas that can be most commonly found in the groundwater that have high levels of uranium in underlying rocks and sediment (7). Seeing as how common it is for households to access this water in the home, whether it be for cleaning, cooking, or drinking purposes, it is understandable that radon would be such a high concern for researchers.
“Which of these is considered a biological contaminant?”
“Pollen”? “Tobacco smoke”? “Pesticides”?
Biological contaminants are defined as any sort of contamination in an environment with microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, mold, animal desecration, and small insects like cockroaches (8). Pollen falls under this category seeing as it is a pollutant that originates from plants.
“Which of these is a harmful pollutant released by combustion?”
“Carbon monoxide”? “Chlorine”? “Nitrous oxide”?
There are several ways that people heat their homes. But using solid fuels like wood or coal is risky. It’s important to ensure proper ventilation so that the harmful gases produced from these sources, like carbon monoxide, can escape and not contaminate the indoor air (1).
“How much of the average person’s exposure to pesticides occurs indoors”?
“30%”? “80%”? “55%”?
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this statistic. Mostly it just surprised me. According to the brief explanation, pesticides are among the most serious air pollutants that affect the quality of indoor air and up to 12 different pesticides have been measured inside a home (1).
“How does the air quality of a commercial aircraft compare with that of the average home?”
“Significantly worse”? “Much better”? “About the same”?
This was shocking! But after considering it further, I found that it does make sense. In recent years, there has been a heavy push for air crafts to function in a way that considers the importance of healthy air quality. For example, commercial jets are known to employ high quality air filtration and ventilation systems, in some cases removing up to 63% of contaminants (1). So even though it might seem like a drastic claim, there is more knowledge about the harmful pollutants that make up our atmosphere than there is about indoor pollutants that are in our homes.
“What problems plagued many of the trailer homes supplied by FEMA to Hurricane Katrina victims?”
“High levels of formaldehyde”? “PCB contamination”? “Exposed fiberglass”?
Three years following Hurricane Katrina, nearly 500 trailer homes that had been provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency had to be replaced because the problems caused by high levels of formaldehyde that were found. The walls and cabinets of these 120,000 some trailers were reportedly made from particleboard that contained formaldehyde (9). In May 2006, the Sierra Club tested 31 trailers in only Louisiana and Mississippi — finding that only two of these trailers had formaldehyde levels lower than the safety limit that was set by the American Lung Association and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (9).
“How many known poisons are found in secondhand smoke?”
“24”? “200”? “97”?
This seemed like a drastic number, but according to the National Cancer Institute, there are more than 7,000 chemicals that have been identified in secondhand smoke — at least 250 of these known to be harmful including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia (10). There are also at least 69 identified to cause cancer like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, ethylene oxide, and several more (10). This source also pointed out that secondhand smoke is associated with disease and premature death in adults and young children. In the United States alone, secondhand smoke is believed to cause an approximated 46,000 cases deaths related to heart disease each year (10).
“How do combustion gases cause harm?”
“By preventing oxygen from flowing through your body”? “By reducing the immune system’s effectiveness”? “By increasing the risk of cancer”?
Combustion gases are associated with a series of symptoms like dizziness or fatigue. But inhaling high levels of these gases can prevent oxygen from going through the body, causing one to become completely unconscious and potentially even die (1).
“Under what circumstances might opening windows and doors actually worsen a home’s indoor air quality?”
“If you live in a very humid area”? “If you have a radon pollution problem”? “When it is particularly warm outside”?
Excess moisture in a space can cause mold to grow, which is considered another air quality pollutant. Inhaling or touching this mold can cause symptoms similar to hay fever like sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and rashes on the skin (11). If someone in the space did suffer from asthma, mold is also known to trigger asthma attacks in these people. On average, researchers suggest that the humidity in a household should be monitored and kept between a rate of 30% to 50% (1).
“What did Consumer Reports discover following tests of ionizing air cleaners?”
“That most are ineffective”? “That they can actually harm the indoor air quality of raising ozone levels”? “That only the very expensive one’s work and that they may not be worth the cost”?
A Consumer Reports from a 2005 investigation found that several air purifier models release severely high amounts of ozone (12). These levels pose serious threats to those suffering from asthma and can lead to chest pain and poor breathing in the entirety of our global population.
This short 20-question quiz offers an introduction to the subject of indoor air pollution. It is safe to say that a majority of people don’t have as clear of understanding of this type of pollution as they might water pollution or outdoor air pollution. But the quality of our indoor air is so important, especially when we consider the amount of time we spend in our homes. It is so crucial then for us to actively control pollutants that can make up our indoor air. If we don’t, we put ourselves and our loved ones at serious risk for health complications — both immediate effects like coughing, headaches, or fatigue to the long-term respiratory issues, or high risk for heart disease or cancer. This quick assessment both showed me how little I know about indoor air pollution, and how important of an issue that it is. Researchers have been looking at areas with these high pollutant ratings, and cases with documented poor indoor air quality like the trailer homes of victims of Hurricane Katrina. The stress for better air quality in households has led to the development of air filters that can help monitor the quality of the air and help to remove unwanted pollutants. It is clear that there’s been a significant amount of expert participation on this subject. Indoor air pollution has been found to sometimes be significantly worse than pollutants that can be found outdoors. Because of this, it’s important for homeowners to be aware of the dangerous chemicals that can be trapped inside our spaces for long periods of time if not properly treated and removed.
Bibliography
The Ultimate Indoor Air Pollution Quiz. https://quizzes.howstuffworks.com/quiz/indoor-air-pollution-quiz (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 1 (Take the quiz here!)
Formaldehyde’s Impact on Indoor Air Quality. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/formaldehydes-impact-indoor-air-quality (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 2
Springer, D. Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News. October 11, 2010. 3
Dai, Q.; Min, X.; Weng, M. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association2016, 66(10), 941–950. 4
Asbestos’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/asbestos-impact-indoor-air-quality (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 5
National Industrial Chemicals Notification. Formaldehyde in pressed wood products. https://www.nicnas.gov.au/chemical-information/factsheets/chemical-name/formaldehyde-in-pressed-wood-products (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 6
Kreuzer, M. Radon. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK138712/ (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 7
Biological Pollutants’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/biological-pollutants-impact-indoor-air-quality (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 8
Keim, B. FEMA Katrina Trailer Formaldehyde Study: Too Little, Too Late. https://www.wired.com/2007/12/fema-katrina-tr/ (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 9
Secondhand Smoke and Cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/second-hand-smoke-fact-sheet (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 10
Care for Your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/care-your-air-guide-indoor-air-quality (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 11
Ionic Air Purifier Dangers. https://www.livestrong.com/article/143592-ionic-air-purifier-dangers/ (accessed Nov 11, 2018). 12
