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Most Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors
including many who spend most of their working hours in an office environment. Studies
conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and others show that indoor environments sometimes can have levels of
pollutants that are actually higher than levels found outside.
Pollutants in our indoor environment can increase
the risk of illness. Several
studies by EPA, independent and state panels have consistently ranked
indoor air pollution as an important environmental health problem. While
most buildings do not have severe indoor air quality problems, even well-run
buildings can sometimes experience episodes of poor indoor air quality.
Individuals with respiratory impairments have more
health risks associated with air quality both indoors and out, but
poor air quality affects everyone’s
health. Respiratory impairment is a generic term that refers to
a number of medical conditions that can affect the respiratory system
and may result in limitations such as labored breathing or asthma attacks,
fatigue and difficulty with mobility, heightened sensitivity to ordinary
substances and chemicals, and compromised immunity to infection. Some
of the medical conditions that may result in respiratory impairments
include:
- Allergies,
- Asthma,
- Chemical Sensitivity (MSC),
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),
- Cystic Fibrosis,
- Environmental Illness (EI),
- Fragrance Sensitivity,
- Lung Cancer,
- Pulmonary Sarcoidosis,
- Tuberculosis,
- Emphysema,
- Pulmonary Hypertension,
- Latex Allergy, and
- AIDS Related Lung Disease.
The air inside your home can be more harmful to your
family’s
health than the air outdoors. It is not always easy to tell if
your home has poor air quality. If someone in your home has health
problems or is ill, polluted air can make them feel worse. Poor
indoor air can be caused by many things. Some things that lead
to harmful indoor air include:
- Excess moisture or excess dryness.
- Mold.
- Carbon monoxide.
- Pesticides.
- Radon.
- Tobacco smoke.
- Poor ventilation (windows do not open).
- Incense, artificially scented air fresheners, and candles.
- Chemical, harsh, and artificially perfumed cleaning products.
- Dust and dust mites.
- Roach and rodent droppings.
- Pets, pet dander, and pet fur.
- Asbestos, formaldehyde, and lead.
- Airtight houses that do not allow fresh air to enter.
- Sanding, painting, welding, and staining.
- Uncontrolled rain water and melting snow.
- New furniture and carpeting.
How to Correct Problems in Your Home:
- Do not smoke in your home or car.
- Pay attention to housekeeping. Take
care of dust, food and spills right away to keep bugs and pests away.
- Store food in tight containers and empty garbage often.
- Open windows or use fans to let in fresh air when outdoor air quality
is good.
- Keep pets out of bedrooms and living areas.
- Make your own non-toxic cleaning products or purchase chemical free
cleaners.
- Change furnace filters often.
- Open windows when painting, sanding, or welding.
- Prevent moisture from entering your attic and basement areas by using
downspouts to direct water away from your house and repairing leaky
roofs, walls, doors and windows.
- Refrain from using incense, artificially scented
candles, and artificial fragrances and air fresheners.
- Use indoor and outdoor pesticides sparingly and clean shoes before
entering your home to prevent bringing in chemicals used outdoors.
- Fix plumbing leaks and drips.
- Eliminate pests (especially rodents and roaches).
- Vent clothes dryer to the outdoors.
- Cut down on steam in your home. Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust
fans that are vented to the outside or open a window.
- Carefully follow manufacturer’s instructions
when using space heaters and stoves. If not vented to outside, open
windows when using.
- Ask the salesman to unroll new carpet and let it air out for at least
one day.
- Let new furniture air out for a few days.
For more detailed information please see HUD’s Help Yourself
to a Healthy Home below.
Resources:
An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/biologic.html
The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/insidest.html
Air Quality Affects Health of Individuals with COPD http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070831093920.htm
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Help
Yourself to a Healthy Home
http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/helpyourself/
Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit – How
To
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html
Mold Basics
http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldbasics.html
Radon
http://www.epa.gov/radon/
Indoor Air Quality and Asthma
Indoor Environmental
Asthma Triggers – Secondhand
Smoke
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/shs.html
Indoor
Environmental Asthma Triggers – Dust
Mites http://www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/dustmites.html
Indoor Environmental Asthma Triggers – Cockroaches
and Pests
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/pests.html
Indoor
Environmental Asthma Triggers – Pets
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/pets.html
Business
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, indoor
air quality is a major concern to business, building managers, tenants,
and employees because it can impact the health comfort, well being and
productivity of building occupants.
Indoor air quality is not a simple, easily defined concept like a desk
or a leaky faucet. It is a constantly changing interaction of complex
factors that affect the types, levels, and importance of pollutants in
indoor environments. These factors include: sources of pollutants or
odors; design, maintenance and operation of building ventilation systems;
moisture and humidity; and occupant perceptions and susceptibilities.
In addition, there are many other factors that affect comfort or perception
of indoor air quality.
Controlling indoor air quality involves integrating three main strategies.
First, manage the sources of pollutants either by removing them from
the building or isolating them from people through physical barriers,
air pressure relationships, by controlling the timing of their use, or
by creating policies that prohibit their use. Second, dilute pollutants
and remove them from the building through ventilation. Third, use filtration
to clean the air of pollutants.
:
Some respiratory impairments are aggravated by environmental
triggers.The
Job Accommodation Network (JAN) recommends ways to accommodate employees
with respiratory impairments by suggesting that it may be helpful to:
- Maintain a clean and healthy work environment.
- Provide air purification.
- Condition, heat, dehumidify, or add moisture to the air as appropriate.
- Provide additional rest breaks for the extra time needed to get fresh
air or take medication.
- Develop clear policies to create a smoke and fragrance-free work
environment.
- Consider an alternative work arrangement such as work from home.
- Allow for alternative work arrangements when construction is taking
place.
- Use alternative pest management practices.
- Implement a flexible leave policy.
An Office Building Occupant’s Guide to Indoor
Air Quality http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/occupgd.html
Various publications from the Job Accommodation Network publications
funded under contract by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of
the U.S. Department of Labor include:
The National Foundation for the Chemically Hypersensitive
http://www.mcsrelief.com
The National Air Filtration Association
http://www.nafahq.org/
MSC Referral & Resources, Inc.
http://www.mcsrr.org/whoweare.html
Human Ecology Action League, Inc.
http://members.aol.com/HEALNatnl/Index.html
Indoor Environmental Quality
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ieqfs.html
Ventilation and Air Quality in Offices
http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/ventilat.html
Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM)
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/i-beam_html/ibeam.htm
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