Isn't it time we talked about indoor air quality?

by Jamie Hailstone, Forbes Contributor

...As important as it is to improve outdoor air quality, particularly after so many heatwaves in cities around the world this summer, there is another pressing issue, which for many years has been overlooked - the air we breathe indoors.

Indoor air quality can be just as important, particularly when you consider just how much time we have all spent inside recently.

And there are a lot of items and issues that can pollute your home, or your office, including dust, pollen and fumes from everyday items.

A recent report by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder highlighted the risk that chemicals used in everyday items, like paint, pesticides and cleaning products can have on indoor air quality.

According to the study, air pollution caused by “anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols” has caused between 340,000 and 900,000 premature deaths, which is 10 times more than previously estimated.

“When we think about trying to do things to reduce smog in urban areas, like Los Angeles, we always talk about the car,” said Dr. Benjamin Nault, who co-authored the study.

“We can see what's coming out cars. But when we're inside, we do not see what is slowly coming off the carpets or the cleaning products we use in our household.”

Dr. Nault admitted indoor air quality has been a “very under-explored area”. Read More

Source: Forbes