Be Concerned About Air Pollution!!

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, “On average, each of us breathes over 3,000 gallons of air each day…..breathing polluted air can make you sick“

Symptoms of poor indoor air quality?

When indoor air quality is poor, people often report one or more of the following symptoms: People generally notice their symptoms decrease after several hours in a specific environment and often feel better after they have left the offending dwelling or building for a weekend or a vacation.

Many of these symptoms may also be caused by other health conditions including common colds or the flu, and are not necessarily due to poor IAQ. This fact can make targeting and resolving IAQ problems more difficult.

Air Pollution and Your Health¹

Breathing polluted air can make your eyes and nose burn. It can irritate your throat and make breathing difficult. In fact, pollutants like tiny airborne particles…… can trigger respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma. Today, nearly 30 million adults and children in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma. Asthma sufferers can be severely affected by air pollution. Air pollution can also aggravate health problems for the elderly and others with heart or respiratory diseases.

Particle Pollution¹

Particle pollution, also known as particulate matter (PM), includes the very fine dust, soot, smoke, and droplets that are formed from chemical reactions, and produced when fuels such as coal, wood, or oil are burned. For example, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases from motor vehicles, electric power generation, and industrial facilities react with sunlight and water vapor to form particles. Particles may also come from fireplaces, wood stoves, unpaved roads, crushing and grinding operations, and may be blown into the air by the wind.

EPA scientists and other health experts are concerned about particle pollution because very small or ultra fine particles can get deep into the lungs. These ultra fine particles, by themselves, or in combination with other air pollutants, can cause increased emergency room visits and hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses, and tens of thousands of deaths each year. They can aggravate asthma, cause acute respiratory symptoms such as coughing, reduce lung function resulting in shortness of breath, and cause chronic bronchitis.
The elderly, children, and asthmatics are particularly susceptible to health problems caused by breathing fine particles. Individuals with pre-existing heart or lung disease are also at an increased risk of health problems due to particle pollution.

Reducing Toxic Air Pollutants¹

Toxic air pollutants, are known to cause or are suspected of causing cancer, birth defects, reproduction problems, and other serious illnesses. Exposure to certain levels of some toxic air pollutants can cause difficulty in breathing, nausea or other illnesses. Exposure to certain toxic pollutants can even cause death.

Ways to Reduce Air Pollution¹

We make choices everyday that can help reduce air pollution. Below are a few ideas that you can use to help clean our air. These are suggestions from the web site of the US Environmental Protection Agency augmented by information from other sources.