Effects of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Ordinarily, buildings are not designed this way. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the average American spends 93% of their life indoors. (Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2001) Yet the places that we spend the most time in are also some of the worst for our health “concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.”(Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2001)

Indoor air is a critical factor to human health. More than half of the air inhaled is at the homes. Indoor air quality plays a huge role in one’s health. Poor ventilation is one of the main causes of deaths in developing countries. In developed countries, IAQ (Indoor Air quality) is a main cause of allergies, other hypersensitivity reactions, air way infections and cancer.

shown that indoor air pollution has serious consequences for health, especially in women and children.

Air pollution is a major issue in our general public nowadays. We run over it inside, when individuals have been smoking, and outside, where engine vehicle fumes contaminates the air. For quite a long time researchers have been cautioning us that contaminated air is a danger to our wellbeing. It appears these notice are not being taken intensely enough. In all actuality air contamination is deteriorating, particularly in populated societies. We should consequently make immediate move to advance the nature of air we relax. The minute you venture out of the house and are out and about you can really see the air getting contaminated; a billow of smoke from the fumes of a transport, auto, or an engine vehicle; smoke surging from a manufacturing plant stack, streak delivered by warm power plants, and speeding autos making dust ascend from the streets. Common events, for example, the emission of a spring of gushing lava and even somebody smoking a cigarette can likewise bring about air contamination. Contamination is the disease of the world 's air with materials that deter with human wellbeing, the component of life, or the common execution of biological systems which is the living life forms and their physical surroundings. Although some ecological contamination is an outcome of common causes like volcanic emissions, most is brought about by human activities. Air contamination, one of numerous sorts of contamination, happens inside homes, schools, and workplaces; in urban

According to a 2005 study, air pollution may be estimated to be responsible for 3% of adult cardiopulmonary disease mortality; 5% of trachea and bronchus mortality; and in children 1% of mortality from acute respiratory infections in urban areas throughout the world.(Cohen et al., 2005)

The problems of indoor air quality in schools could be more serious than in other categories of buildings, due to a higher occupant density and insufficient outside air supply (also ventilation), worsened by often poor construction of school buildings (1). Generally a student is involved in a classroom for about 1300 hours in one year and hence poor indoor environment of an educational building can have a negative effect on a student (3).

Especially if anyone in your home is living with allergies or asthma, indoor pollution can pose a major health threat, despite the fact that you look at your home as a safe place from the dangers of the world. Even for people with no existing

A growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. The US’s Toxic Substances Strategy Committee stated that the majority of cancers (80-90%) are triggered by exposure to substances in the environment (Landrigan et al., 2002).

The major concern associated with polluted air is its destructive health effects. It contributes largely to heart diseases, respiratory infections, lung cancer, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The most deaths caused by air pollution happen as a result of ischaemic heart disease and stroke. The results of a research suggest that there is a correlation between the increased number of cardiovascular disease result deaths and the increasing levels of pollution in recent years. Studies also show that in urban areas people suffer more from mucus hypersecretion, lower levels of lung function, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The studies also detected the relation between the air pollution and cancer. The long term exposure to PM2.5, air particles, increases the mortality from lung cancer and cardiovascular mortality rates. In addition, Danish studies reported that there is an evidence of relation to the air pollution to the other than lung types of cancer, like cervical cancer and brain cancer. The negative effect on human health also affects the central nervous system. The studies confirmed that an early exposure of children to the high levels of

Nearly 3 billion people in the developing world are exposed to indoor air pollution (IAP) through smoke from traditional cook stoves and open fires used for cooking and heating purposes (Cleancookstoves.org, 2014). Women as head of household are often in charge of preparing and cooking meals, and as such are exposed to the smoke from these duties multiple times daily over the life course. Use of these open fires and inefficient cook stoves that burn solid fuels (wood, dung, agriculture) and coal not only poses gender-specific health hazards, but also have salient consequences for quality of life, education, income generation and environmental sustainability. IAP itself is a complex mixture of particles in smoke from cooking that overwhelms poorly ventilated households, which breach the acceptable levels for air polluting particles 100-fold (Who.int, 2014). Once respired, these particles lodge deep within the lungs and cannot be dislodged, leading on to cause a range of non-communicable diseases, most notably: acute and chronic respiratory/lung disease, COPD, lung cancer and bronchitis, as well as accounting for 4.3 million premature deaths (Who.int, 2014). It is through the combustion of solid fuels and biomass that these particles are released into the air, and as such those in living in resource constrained settings are highly vulnerable to lung diseases from household pollution, as they do not have access to clean energy and fuels.

With the growth of number of factories, transportation and various exhaust gases today, a level of air pollution has significantly increased in the environment. The smog enveloping the city is the most visible and obvious sign of urban pollution. However, even invisible harmful particles can have a big impact on the quality of airspace. In general, any substance released into the environment and having an adverse effect, is an air pollution. Hazardous substances present in the air, not only affect the environment but to a greater extent on the person who breathes it.

Air pollution isn't just outside - the air inside buildings can also be polluted and affect your health. It can be a from minor upper respiratory irritation to chronic respiratory and heart disease, lung cancer, mild respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults. Aggravating pre-existing heart and lung disease, or asthmatic attacks are easier to effect those who are more exposed and past the beginning stages. In addition, short- and long-term exposures have also been categorized with premature mortality and reduced life expectancy.

To eliminate dust mites, pollens and polluting particles from our daily atmosphere, one solution exists, and it is the air purifier. In addition to its invisibility, all the complexity of this pollution lies in the large number of pollutants of various types. The sources of indoor air pollution are multiple: some building materials, furniture, air, lifestyle of occupants (smoking, etc.), combustion appliances, insufficient ventilation, biocontaminants (house dust mites, etc.), allergens, human activity (cooking, etc.), cleaning products, equipment, etc.

Indoor air pollution can cause headaches and nausea; and worsen the health of those with allergies, asthma, and chronic respiratory conditions. The long term consequences of indoor pollution are frighteningly clear, and may include cancer, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases and other illnesses. Minuteman Heating & AC offers professional heating and air conditioning service in Arlington, TX, including clean air

In general, the air pollution sources are categorized into mobile sources and stationary sources. Stationary sources are mostly industrial complexes such as factories and electric generating plants. Mobile sources are vehicles, on- road, off-road. The quality of the indoor air also plays a significant role as far as health is concerned. However, the awareness among the public in this aspect is increasing, and they have started realizing the issues that arise with poor indoor air quality (IAQ). This is applicable both to workplace and homes.