Science - AIR

Good indoor air quality while we work, sleep and enjoy our lives is more important than you might think. The UK government has named air pollution as the largest single environmental risk. Contaminants in the air can cause and worsen disease in everyone, but especially in those who are already vulnerable.

Everyday we spend the majority of time in an indoors environment. Some studies suggest it is as high as 90% of our life indoors (EPA 1989).

The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): A Resource for Assessing Exposure to Environmental Pollutants, by Neil E. Klepeis and others, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2001.

This means humans (and pets) indoors are exposed to a range of pollutants used in products (made with synthetic chemicals) that make our daily lives easier. Products which have increased in use over the past two decades.

We know from increasing numbers of scientific studies that the production and use of man-made chemicals mean the world’s ecosystem and human health are negatively impacted.

You might think the air we breathe indoors is essentially the same as the outdoors air.

In fact, due to organic chemical reactions from products in our homes, concentrations of some pollutants are often two to five times higher indoors than that outdoors (EPA 1987). And this was shown to be the case whether your home is in a rural or highly industrial area.

The biggest group of such pollutants are volatile organic compounds, VOCs, chemicals that readily vaporise at room temperature, releasing potentially harmful gases into the air. They are invisible gases emitted from furniture, paints, textiles, cleaning products, adhesives, insulation and so on.

VOCs range from harmless to harmful, and they encompass a wide range of chemicals, including formaldehyde, polyurethane foam, phthalates, acetone, and benzene. While some harmful VOCs have noticeable odours, others do not smell, making them difficult to detect without proper monitoring.

VOCS can be found in many common household items

  • paints, paint strippers and other solvents

  • wood preservatives

  • aerosol sprays, including personal care products e.g, deodorants

  • cleansers and disinfectants

  • moth repellents and air fresheners

  • stored fuels and automotive products

  • hobby supplies, including glues, adhesives and permanent markers

  • dry-cleaned clothing

  • mattresses and some textiles

  • building materials and furnishings

  • office equipment e.g. copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper

Being exposed to VOCs indoors on a continual basis can pose significant health risks to humans and animals, particularly babies and older people. Some people, such as those with respiratory, cardiac or allergy issues, will be more vulnerable to breathing indoor VOCs, especially as VOCs can react to produce secondary products harmful to health, e.g. fine particulate matter.

Symptoms of VOC exposure

  • Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat

  • Headaches

  • Dizziness

  • Fatigue and brain fog

  • Anxiety, depression and low motivation

  • Breathlessness

  • Can lead to longer term health issues such as respiratory diseases, heart disease, cancer, allergy issues and memory problems.

WHATSINMY? is an independent laboratory offering the latest analytical equipment, capable of identifying and quantifying more hazardous components in your indoor air than ever before.

Here at WHATSINMY? we have a team of professional chemists and experts with a proven track record in exploring scientific questions and formulating hypotheses. For the first time, this complex scientific technology and chemical know-how is available, so you can find out more about what is in your world and how it might relate to what matters to you.

You can now detect important and harmful organic chemical contaminants in your everyday environment and take informed action.

Mould

Similarly, living indoors with any amount of mould can be serious for your health, especially if you have allergies, are immune-suppressed or live with a pre-existing respiratory condition e.g. asthma, COPD or bronchiectasis.  It can lead you to become breathless or more susceptible to picking up respiratory infections.

https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/can-damp-and-mould-affect-my-health/