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Home Improvement

2007-04-01 16:27:00

How important is clean air...really?

ANSWER: In just a few words, you've asked questions that will take a bit to answer. Let me begin. Air pollution affects everyone. You can't hide from it, even inside your own home. Here are some facts with their respective sources I was able to find: • The Environmental Protection Agency ranks poor indoor air quality among the top five environmental risks to public health. Interestingly, five out of 10 Americans are not aware of this fact. (Source: American Lung Association and 3M survey, 2006) • Levels of air pollution inside the home can be two to five times higher (and occasionally 100 times higher) than outdoor levels. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency, 2005) • Over half of the United States population lives in areas which have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution. (Source: American Lung Association's State of the Air 2006 Report) • It's estimated that 81 million Americans live in areas with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution and 66 million live in areas with chronically unhealthful levels of particle pollution. (Source: American Lung Association's State of the Air 2005 Report) • Air pollution found in large and midsize U.S. cities increases the risk of premature death from lung cancer and heart disease. (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005) • Air pollution contributes to lung disease, which claims close to 341,500 lives in America every year and is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. (Source: American Lung Association, 2004) • It is estimated that 11.5 million Americans had an asthma attack in 2002. More than a third of them (at least 3.5 million) were children under the age of 18. (Source: American Lung Association, Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality, 2003) • Asthma, which can be triggered by either indoor or outdoor air pollution, annually accounts for an estimated three million lost workdays for adults and 10.1 million lost school days in children. Asthma costs our nation $12.7 billion in health care costs annually. (Source: American Lung Association, Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality, 2003) • Approximately 160 million Americans are breathing unhealthy air - children and seniors are the age groups most at risk: - 29 million of these Americans are under the age of 14. - 15 million are over the age of 65. (Source: American Lung Association's State of the Air 2005 Report) The Environmental Protection Agency has identified indoor air quality as one of the top five most urgent environmental risks to public health. Yet surveys found that many of those questioned are not aware of the potential dangers associated with poor indoor air; and steps homeowners can take to improve air quality in the home. • More than 50 percent of Americans are not aware that poor indoor air quality is one of the top five most urgent environmental risks to public health. And nearly 25 percent of Americans are not concerned about the air quality in their homes and the impact it can have on their family's health. • Less than 20 percent of Americans believe that the air inside their homes is more polluted than the air outdoors. However, the Environmental Protection Agency states that levels of air pollution inside the home can be two to five times higher - and occasionally up to 100 times higher - than outdoor levels. • More than 70 percent of Americans have forced air heating and/or central air in their homes. Yet nearly 50 percent do not change the filter in their heating/air conditioning unit every 2 to 3 months as recommended. And 10 percent have never replaced the filter in their heating/air conditioning unit. • Only about 11 percent of Americans purchase high efficiency furnace filters, despite the fact that high efficiency filters can be more effective than standard fiberglass filters in capturing pollen, pet dander, smoke and other potentially harmful micro particles. • More than 50 percent of Americans are not aware that forced air heating and air conditioning units should be inspected annually by a professional. And more than 30 percent of Americans have never had their forced air heating or air conditioning units inspected. • Nearly 75 percent of Americans live with someone who has allergies, asthma, emphysema or another respiratory illness. • Only 27 percent of Americans have carbon monoxide detectors in their homes. The hypothesis is that poor indoor air quality may be promoting and aggravating allergy, asthma and other chronic illnesses. Diagnosis of allergy, asthma and other chronic illnesses has been increasing steadily over the past 20 years. Statistics indicate a steady decline of indoor air quality as the use of energy efficient building materials has grown, effectively sealing buildings tighter than ever before. Dust, allergens and other foreign particulate (dust, ash, soot) brought into the building are constantly re-circulating through the heating and air conditioning system. Airborne biological contaminants fall into three general categories: • Mold - A multi cellular organism taking the form of a fungus. This is the largest of the three categories at between 2 and 20 microns in size. Mold forms "spores" or seeds and is allergenic, perhaps the dominant cause of allergies in the United States. • Bacteria - Smaller in size at approximately .5 to 5 microns. Airborne bacteria can come form human shedding and from dead or decaying house plants. Some genera produce spores, some do not. Bacteria are generally not allergenic. Gram-negative bacteria contain "endotoxin" which can cause respiratory diseases such as Hypersensitivity pneumonia. • Viruses - The smallest particles at between .02 to .2 microns. These are parasitic particles that can infect the cells of a biological organism. Viruses consist of genetic material and a protective protein shell. The sources are humans and animals. These are not living organisms and therefore cannot be killed, but they can be captured through effective air filtration. Trapping ultra fine particles and allergens is critical in preventing lung irritation, due to the inability of the nose and mouth to filter at this level. Some of the most common and most harmful particles and allergens fall into this size range: bacteria, viruses, combustion from cooking and cleaning products, and even cigarette smoke toxins. As bad as all of this might sound, there are solutions that can be 99.98% effective in removing particulate down to .1 micron. We will talk about these processes next month.