Words: 1763
The process of correcting problems first comes from obtaining knowledge of that particular problem, I chose to write this paper on indoor air pollution because often times when people think of air pollution, usually they think of it as being outdoors, and not many people actually know the health dangers of indoor IR pollution, but the truth Of the matter is air in your house and office work place carries many dangerous pollutants. What exactly is indoor air pollution?
This is a good question that many people with health issues, and allergies should be asking themselves and seeking the answer to this question, and according to the glossary of statistical terms Indoor air pollution refers to chemical, biological and physical contamination of indoor air. (Glossary of Environment Statistics, Studies in Methods, Series F, No. 67, United Nations, New York, 1997) Indoor air pollution consists of toxic asses or particles that can harm any humans health, seen or unseen, with or without smell.
Many people tend to carry on with their normal everyday life, not really noticing that they are the cause of many of these pollutants. The indoor air is considered polluted when things exist in the home or office work place such as mold, tobacco smoke, pesticides, carbon monoxide and lead, just to name a few of the causes. Research study shows that nearly 2 million people die prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air pollution. Indoor Air Pollution and Health September 2011) Nearly fifty percent of ammonia deaths among children under five are due to particulate matter inhaled from indoor air pollution, (Indoor Air Pollution and Health September 201 1) and more than 1 million people a year die from chronic obstructive respiratory disease (CORD) that develop due to exposure to such indoor air pollution. It is refreshing to many people to know that people do not just have to live with this quiet case that causes health issues.
It has been proven that some risks that are caused by indoor air pollution are unavoidable, however, some risk that are caused by indoor air pollution people choose to gust live with, simply because it is easier to do nothing about the problem or that the idea of getting involved causes too much energy and time, but some of the most deadly and seriously harmful risks are the ones that people might choose to avoid if they had the opportunity to decide otherwise.
Indoor air pollution is one risk that people can do something about, by educating their selves on the many different ways of making their living environments a better and healthier place to dwell. According to the Environmental Protection Agency people spend most of their time indoors surrounded by resources of indoor air pollution, (U. S. EPA) consumer products, gas appliances, building materials, cigarette smoke, and furniture can all contribute to the problem.
Yet, the toxic emissions from many of these sources are not controlled or are only partially controlled by federal, state, or local laws. In a 1987 study, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U. S. ERA) ranked indoor air pollution fourth in cancer risk among the thirteen top environmental problems analyzed. One of the many effective ways of keeping the air in American homes healthy is to eliminate the things from heir homes that causes indoor air pollution, things such as cigarette smoke, excess moisture and chemicals.
Another important helpful tool to keeping indoor air in your home healthy is to ventilate your home properly, this will help protect and improve air quality. (the daily green 2011) It is very important to pull dangerous pollutants out of the house, this can be done by doing things like running the exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen, opening your windows to allow fresh air to enter, and making sure you have a good exhaust system in place for appliances and stoves.
Plants will also help averse indoor air pollution, plants work by cleaning indoor air and neutralizing pollution. (Gloria Gilbert 2005) Plants can significantly reduce pollutants such as formaldehyde, because plants produce oxygen, if plants are placed in problem areas, such as a bedroom or kitchen with cabinets and furniture made of formaldehyde-releasing particleboard or pressed wood, plants will add moisture and filter toxins from indoor air.
An example of some plants that will be great for helping get rid of toxins and bad air quality in your home or office work place are, Aloe Vera plants, English ivy plants, Chrysanthemum plants, Spider plants, and Lilies. Purchasing gadgets and devices to help control indoor air pollution are always good investments to make. When people think of their home often times their thoughts are not focused on the fact that the inside of their homes are harmful to them, people often think of the fact that their homes are their escape from the harmfulness of the things out side of their home.
People will purchase other appliances for their home with no hesitation, such as microwaves and stoves, but before they purchase items such as humidifiers, it is mostly because they eve had to make a visit to the doctor’s office because of health issues. Having knowledge of indoor air pollution comes from the result of an incident, for example I suffer mostly year round with many allergies, and breathing issues but, had no idea that these problems came from my own home, the more learn the causes of old and new symptoms that I experience, the more I am learning how to help make my home a more healthier place to live.
I have learned that Doctors will not use the words “indoor air pollution” they will simply tell you “here is what might be causing your symptoms”. Live that it is the responsibility of all human kind to know and research many facts about things they can do to improve their health because of indoor air pollution. Many people fail to realize many of their own health issues are caused by none other than themselves. Each year, second hand smoke sends children aged 18 months or younger to the hospital. American Lung Association; How to purify the air in your home) Older adults and people with lung and cardiovascular diseases are also at higher risks of respiratory problems from cigarette smoke exposure. It was a very wise decision to remove smoking from restaurants; forever people should adopt the same concept by not allowing smoking in their homes as well. (American Lung Association; How to purify the air in your home) The Surgeon General states that “there is no safe level of secondhand smoke”. Ask smokers to take it outside to protect the health of you and your family.
There are many cases where people are in situations where the indoor air pollution is out of their control, my family and I recently went on a trip to the Bahamas, and the hotel we were in had a Casino in the middle of it, and all guest had to go through the Casino to get to and from their rooms, ND all other activities within the hotel, and I remember dreading that because I literally could not breath, the cigarette smoke was So thick and strong all I could think of was how bad that situation was for our health.
As I was researching information about indoor air pollution, read many articles about colorless and odorless gases that lurks inside homes and they can be very harmful to your health, such as Formaldehyde, Lead in paint, Carbon Monoxide and Radon, began to question how can people protect themselves from something that they are not aware of that exist within their homes.
Each one of these toxins causes harm to human health, in many cases immediate effects from indoor air pollution may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures, this is why it is very important not to ignore symptoms of health issues, many people will choose not to go see a doctor because of cold symptoms, but it is important to remember that a simple cold should only last for a certain period of time.
Because it is understood that different people will have different reactions to different pollutants, individuals with heightened sensitivities may react to a particular indoor air laity problem while others might display no ill effects. (The Inside Story; A Guide to Indoor Air Quality, April 1995) An indoor air pollutant or problem can trigger different reactions in different people. In conclusion indoor air pollution causes many harmful risks to humans and animals; I did not locate any helpful benefits to having indoor air pollution.
Researchers have developed that indoor air may contain over 900 chemicals, particles, and biological materials that cause potential health effects. (SHEER 2004) Knowing ways of controlling your own personal indoor air pollution are available through research. People can follow simple help options such as buying appliances and furniture that are pollutant free, and purchasing live plants that can help to control indoor air quality are ways that people can control their air quality in their home.
Not only does bad indoor air quality affect people’s health it affects their life style as well, having to take time off from work, or not being able to make special events, are some annoying bad results from people who suffer from indoor air pollution in their home. Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental health risks. (EPA 4024-09-002, Revised August 2009) There are several known ways of dressing and dealing with indoor air pollution, one is to control or eliminate the items that are purchased that carries high levels of pollutants; it is always a good idea to ask questions before making a purchase.
Second it is important to ventilate a home with clean outdoor air, open the windows of your home, however please understand that the ventilation method may, however, be limited by weather conditions or undesirable levels of contaminants in outdoor air. If you feel that these measures are insufficient or undesirable, another open option would be to purchase an air cleaning device; this method proves to be very useful.
While air cleaning devices may help to control the levels of airborne allergens, particles, or, in some cases, gaseous pollutants in a home, they may not decrease adverse health effects from indoor air pollutants.