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The healthy home
How to avoid air pollution in the home
This article was provided by Dr Desiree Mesaros, a Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania's Discipline of Medicine.
Indoor air quality
How have our homes changed?
Sources of pollutants
Types of pollutants
A tip from Aurora
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Indoor air quality
Research undertaken by the World Health Organisation has shown that indoor air pollution is between eight and ten times as great a threat as outdoor hazards. Outdoor pollution comes and goes, depending on the weather and many other factors, or else our contact with it varies as we move around, but the pollution in the house, office or school is always there.
 Individuals in industrialised nations spend between 89-95% of their time indoors, therefore it has become clear that the indoor environment is important when evaluating pollutant exposures. Indoor air quality is the best, most accessible indicator for evaluating the health aspects of an interior environment. Though interiors influence us via a range of physical and psychological factors, the air breathed within a building has a major effect, as it contains chemical components and traces from both the building itself, and its surrounding air, as well as from its occupants and their activities.
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 How have our homes changed?
Only two generations ago the home was a much simpler environment and indoor air quality not a concern. A few basic building materials and a small range of finishes and fabric types made up a list of components that might be included. Overall, materials were made of a more natural composition. In addition to this, the buildings were usually uninsulated or weather sealed, essentially making the home more ‘leaky’. This natural infiltration of fresh air had the capability of adequately diluting built up contaminants.
With the energy crisis of the mid 1970s, and the increased cost of all forms of energy, came both the development of the energy efficient house, and a subsequent reduction in air quality standards. Buildings became well-sealed and heavily insulated, with small windows and controlled ventilation. As a result, contaminants can build up to potentially hazardous concentrations and air quality is greatly affected. Overall, this combination of changes has made the home an unhealthy place and a potentially ‘toxic’ environment.
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Sources of pollutants
The number of different people and professionals involved in the design and construction of an average building provides much scope for poor decision making, leading ultimately to unhealthy conditions and reduced air quality. A catalogue of errors and poor decisions may mean that problems are ‘built in’ to the structure, only to be increased by incorrect maintenance and operation.
The use of chemicals in the production of building materials and fabrics has increased more than five-fold (particularly with plastics and polymers used in finishes, fabric treatments, synthetic materials, paints, waxes and adhesives) over the last 20 years.
At the same time the number of household cleaning products available for cleaning, sanitising, polishing and deodorising has increased from a few hundred to many thousands. The problem is that these items contain chemicals to which many people are uncomfortably sensitive, and which will be clearly irritating or dangerous to some, leading to poorer air quality and negative reactions.
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Types of pollutants
| NATURE OF POLLUTANT |
TYPE OF POLLUTANT |
SOURCES |
| PHYSICAL |
Particulate matter
(PM10 & PM2.5) |
Combustion products (e.g. tobacco smoke) |
|
Asbestos |
Construction materials |
|
Man made mineral fibres |
Construction materials (e.g. insulation) |
|
Radon |
Soil and building materials |
| CHEMICAL |
Inorganic:
|
| Inorganic and organic combined |
Combustion products (e.g. gas and wood fuel) |
| Carbon dioxide |
Combustion products, tobacco smoke |
| Carbon monoxide |
Combustion products (e.g. gas and wood fuel) |
| Nitrogen dioxide |
Combustion products (e.g. kerosene heaters) |
Sulphur dioxide
Ozone |
UV lighting, photocopiers, laser printers |
Organic:
|
| Volatile organic compounds |
Materials, consumer products and fuels |
| Formaldehyde |
Tobacco smoke, glues, materials, consumer products |
| Pesticides |
Treatment of buildings (e.g. for termites) |
| Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons |
Combustion products and industrial processes |
| Polychlorinated biphenyls |
Building materials (e.g. as a plasticiser) |
| Inorganic and organic combined: |
| Environmental tobacco smoke |
Wherever smoking occurs indoors or near air conditioning inlets |
| BIOLOGICAL |
House dust mites |
House dust |
|
Dander |
House dust, mattress dust, cats and dogs |
|
Fungi |
House dust, building materials, outdoor air |
|
Bacteria |
Air conditioners, humidifiers, hot water systems |
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A tip from Aurora
For your own comfort, and for the sake of the environment, it is important in a climate such as Tasmania to make your home as warm, insulated and draught-free as possible. But remember what that means for the air quality around you and give your home a good airing as often as you can.
 The most efficient way to ventilate your home is to open doors or windows on the side of the house that a breeze is coming through, then open doors or windows on the opposite side of the residence. Keep the doors open with a door wedge to stop any slamming caused by the draught. To thoroughly improve your home’s air quality, make the air take the longest path between inlet and outlet.
Finally, never forget that of all the forms of heating available, electric heating is the cleanest and healthiest.
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