How much time did you spend outside today? One hour? Two hours? If you're like most Americans, odds are that it's closer to the former. That equates to approximately 23 hours indoors. Whether sleeping at home, sitting in a car during the daily commute, or traversing the states in an airplane, we spend a significant amount of our lives indoors. Yet, more often than not, we tend to emphasize the quality of the outdoor air we breathe, paying less attention to what we're exposed to throughout the majority of our daily lives. And there is increasing evidence that even in the most industrialized cities, indoor air quality is more seriously polluted compared to the air outdoors.
Indoor environments have changed significantly in just two generations. Since the 1950s, we have eliminated harmful chemicals such as lead and mercury from use in our homes but we have added many others. Take, for example, your bed's mattress. Chances are it was sprayed with a chemical known as polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE, to help keep you safe in the event of a fire. Unfortunately, these brominated flame retardants also have a tendency to accumulate posing health risks including liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity.
PBDE is just one of the many chemicals that pollutes the indoor air environment. Terpenes, a large class of hydrocarbons, also degrade the air we breathe and they are present in all of those scented products we use. They offer that lovely pine, citrus, lavender, and fresh laundry smell but at a cost. While harmless by themselves,they react with ozone to form byproducts that are irritating to the eyes and upper-respiratory system.
Think that you're better off with that vinyl hardwood flooring instead of the carpet that traps all those dust particles? Think again. Vinyl flooring contains a staggering amount - as much as 40% by weight - of phthalate plasticizers to help prevent it from cracking. As you might expect, there's mounting evidence of the harmful effects of such plasticizers.
It wasn't until 1976 that the U.S. first began regulation of chemicals like those mentioned above. With the passing of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a chemical that is known to be harmful to health is now required to undergo toxicity testing. This is, however, somewhat of a Catch-22 in that a new chemical's risks are not necessarily known before introduction to market. Of the approximately 3300 chemicals produced in quantities greater than 1 million pounds per year in the U.S., only 25% have adequate toxicity information.
Now that you're sufficiently frightened about your indoor air quality, here are a few simple tips to help you reduce the potential health risks:
- Be aware of what you're bringing into your home. Start by reading the labels and being an informed consumer.
- Ventilate appropriately. When a paint can tells you to "use only in well-ventilated areas," do it!
- When you cook, use the range hood. Even on an electric stove the equipment and ingredients you use may be releasing harmful chemicals.
- Pay attention to the recommended amounts on cleaning labels -- more isn't always better.
- Your nose is one of the best indicators of harmful chemicals in your home. Pay attention when it tells you something is bad.
For even more tips, check out the indoor air quality house interactive over at the EPA's website.
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