Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor Air pollution

Indoor pollution 2-5 times greater than outdoor pollution
Well insulated buildings in warm climates allow buildup
People spend 70-98% time indoors
Sick building syndrome
dizziness, nausea, headaches, fatigue
New buildings sick more often than older buildings
Offgassing

Insert Fig 20-13

4 Most Dangerous Indoor Pollutants

Cigarette smoke
formaldehyde (from particle board, carpet, paneling,
furniture)
radon-222 gas (natural decay of uranium releases gas
in ground)
Very small fine and ultrafine particles

Formaldehyde
Colorless, extremely irritating gas used to manufacture
common household materials
20-40 million Americans suffer from chronic breathing
problems, dizziness, headaches, rashes, sinus & eye
irritation and nausea from daily exposure to low levels
Sources: building materials, plastics, furniture, adhesives in
carpeting and wallpaper, drapes, wrinkle free coating on
clothing

Formaldehyde
1 ounce dose at 37% formaldehyde = lethal
allows no more than 16 ppb formaldehyde in the air in new
buildings constructed for that agency.
Homes will often measure 0.076 ppm when brand new and
0.045 ppm after 30 days.

Radon-222
Colorless, odorless, tasteless, radioactive
Comes from the decay of uranium-238
common in granite, phosphate, uranium, shale soils & rocks
when rocks breakdown gas is released, normally filters through
soil & diluted in atmosphere
problem if seeps into buildings; can potentially increase the risk
cancer
Basements!
Radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer after smoking!

Ultrafine Particles
Smaller than 100 nanometers, carbon based or metallic
Outdoor sources: volcanic lava, ocean spray, and smoke
Indoor sources: laser printers, fax machines, photocopiers, the peeling of
citrus fruits, cooking, tobacco smoke, penetration of contaminated outdoor air,
chimney cracks and vacuum cleaners

Not effectively captured by most air pollution control equipment

Small enough to penetrate body defenses
Bring other cancer/toxic substances into body
Can cause chronic irritation that can trigger asthma attacks,
aggravate lung disease and cause lung cancer
interfere with bloods uptake of oxygen and release of CO2, which strains the
heart and increases the risk of death from heart disease

Asbestos
Initially next best thingwas used extensively
due to extreme resistance to heat
firefighters uniforms, building walls, ceilings, SCHOOLS etc

Microscopic fibers decay-cannot be broken down

by body when inhaled
lodges in lung and saws lung tissue over time lung cancer
172,000 Americans have died prematurely due to asbestos exposure
Mesothelioma

Major health risk today concerning asbestos:

Among miners and workers in developing countries
Remodeling, Tear-out, Demolition workers
90% of these deaths can be prevented by:
Wearing a mask
Wetting asbestos
Changing clothes before and after handling

Ways Body Protects Us From Air

Pollution

Hairs in nose
Sticky mucus in lining of
upper respiratory tract
Sneezing and coughing
Cilia in upper respiratory tract
BUT prolonged exposure can overload our defenses.

Air pollution health concerns

Air pollution can lead to:
lung cancer
asthma
chronic bronchitis (often in children of smokers)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders
emphysema- loss of lung elasticity cant pull in air

Smoking makes all exposure worse-concentrated

radiation of lungs breaks down natural defenses

Air quality legislation

Clean Air Acts -1970 (1st major environmental law in US) 1977, 1990
EPA established NAAQS (national ambient air quality standards)
addresses acceptable levels of each pollutant

Focuses on pollution clean-up rather than prevention

Allows for SO2 emissions trading
Enables the 110 most polluting power plants in 21 states to buy and sell
SO2 pollution rights

Cap and Trade Emissions trading

Each year a coal burning plant is given a certain number of
emmission permits (called: allowances)
Enacted as per the Acid Rain program of the Clean Air Act (1990)
SO2 emissions were reduced by 50% from 1980 levels by 2007
experts argue that the cap-and-trade system of SO2 emissions reduction has reduced the
cost of controlling acid rain by as much as 80% versus source-by-source reduction

Coal plants that emit less than limit have a surplus of credits
and can sell to other utilities, transfer to another plant, or
bank for the future
Problem: overallocation setting the bar too low by setting the
cap too high. Allows for banking of credits