I've been interested in indoor air quality for many years.
Just like everyone else, I’d enter my home, my school, or work as automatically as breathing. I noticed that for those who suffer from allergic reactions to outdoor pollen, they considered being indoors as a sanctuary, a chance to get away from those things that can trigger their allergies. Until a few years ago, I was not aware that the air inside a building is typically more polluted than the air outdoors.
Focusing on risk has become a part of me. As a risk manager for a large company I was responsible for helping us reduce or eliminate unsafe conditions and make sure that we could get back in business quickly if we experienced a disaster. To protect the health of our employees we were careful about maintaining the building’s ventilation systems.
How I found out about IAQ – indoor air quality. While serving my community as the Deputy Mayor, I met with a former head of DEP for my state and asked him what were the real health risks that we faced as citizens. He said that most people might respond that living near a nuclear power plant was high risk. While this is perceived as a high risk, it is actually a low risk. The real risk to our health is something that we usually overlook – indoor air quality. Wow, for me that was an ‘aha’ moment and something that has stayed with me.
Here I'm in a casino which is glitzy, but not so healthy since smoking is allowed.
Now I focus on getting the word out on healthier indoor air. When we think about being healthy we automatically think about eating well, doing exercise, and reducing stress. But we need to add breathing healthy indoor air into the equation. What products we choose to bring into our home greatly impacts our health. These include furnishings, flooring, paint, cleaning products, and fragrances. We’re also impacted by issues around us such as air filtration, humidity, radon, mold, and dust mites.
Now it’s your turn to weigh in. What are your frustrations or concerns regarding indoor air quality? What concerns you the most? Why? What would you like to know more about? What have you tried that didn’t seem to work? Have you suffered any health problems due to indoor air quality issues?
