To: The Weatherization Department
This is the beginning of a series on Indoor Air Quality and air-to-air heat exchangers. If you have suggested topics or information, please make contact.
The current generation spends approximately 90% of its time indoors,
according to a recent article in The Washington Post. Of the more than 70
million Americans who work indoors ... nearly a third are exposed to poor
air and many breathe in the carcinogenic fumes of second-hand smoke. So
toxic have some buildings become that many environmental and health policy
experts now consider indoor air quality to be a bigger problem than outdoor
air.
That same article continues, A recent study by the Worldwatch Institute,
an international environmental group, estimates that the medical and productivity
costs of unhealthy indoor air alone ... may run to the tens of billions
of dollars each year.
Ventilation systems aimed at energy conservation have turned many offices
into incubators for potentially harmful dusts, pollutants and organic compounds
that can seep out from furniture, carpets and paint and accumulate at concentrations
hundreds of times higher than those outdoors.
Some researchers also note that forced air circulation can enhance the spread
of airborne illnesses such as the common cold and flu.
Safe At Home
by Rita Coenen, R.N.
The modern home contains more chemicals than the typical chemistry lab
in 1900. Unfortunately, the results have not all been life enhancing. Many
people are finding they are now sensitive to products that they could use
before. Recent EPA studies show that the air inside the average home is
2 to 5 times more polluted than the air outside.
Commenting on a new report on the apparent relationship between birth defects
and
environmental pollution, Dr. James Hanson, Director of the University of
Iowa's Institute for Health, Behavior and Environmental Policy, "..there
may be some agents out there that large numbers of people are exposed to
-- and maybe not in terribly high doses -- that may have an effect on reproductive
outcomes".
How can you educate yourself about the dangers you are exposed to? Here
are some suggestions:
First, become an aware consumer. There are a number of sources of information
about toxins in our homes. Understand that most labels only list the active
ingredients in the product. Sometimes, the inert ingredients which may not
be listed are the more dangerous ones. Understand the warning labels. Those
marked "DANGER- POISON" with a skull & crossbones could kill
an adult if only a tiny amount is ingested. Those marked "WARNING"
could kill an adult if about a teaspoon is ingested. Those marked "CAUTION"
will not kill until an amount from 1 ounce to 1 pint is ingested. It is
also important to understand that because of their smaller body size and
higher breathing rates, children can be as much as 10 times more sensitive
to these chemicals.
Second, dispose of all the cleaning and personal care products and pesticides
that you don't use. You know, the ones which are stuck in the back of the
cupboard. No matter how well they are sealed, the vapors of some products
escape from their containers. (As an example, think about what you smell
when you walk through the cleaning and laundry products section at the supermarket.)
Third, store the cleaning products and pesticides that you are frequently
using outside your main living area (e.g. in your garage).
Lou and Rita Coenen teach household wellness to individuals and groups
in the Atlanta area. For more information about their FREE Household Wellness
Classes, they can be contacted at 404-664-7985.
Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and
he'll believe you.
Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
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