By: Paloma González Quijano
We know that education is the basis and engine of development and change, but sometimes we do not apply it to everyday issues and we focus on more complex or even foreign issues. Indoor air quality is one such issue, which, although it affects us all, most people are unaware of how it impacts their health, performance and even mood.
How do we make the invisible, visible? How do we get people interested and informed about something that, although so relevant to their day-to-day lives, they cannot see? Something you hear a lot in the HVAC industry is that, if you get a glass of dirty water, you don’t drink it, but if you get to a place with poor air quality (sometimes you can identify it because the air feels heavy or smells ugly or weird) you don’t say anything.
The health threat from exposure to air pollutants in our homes is serious. We spend almost 90% of our time indoors, where concentrations of harmful substances can be two to five times higher than outdoors. Changes in our behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased the amount of time we spend indoors, and many of these changes have been sustained. It is estimated that alterations in external climatic conditions due to climate change will generate additional negative effects on air quality inside our homes, affecting human health. These effects include increased indoor heat stress, the presence of mold, exposure to ozone and wildfire smoke.
Recent research indicates that the connection between poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and health problems is becoming increasingly evident. Exposure to indoor air pollution can contribute to respiratory problems, hospital visits, absences from school and work, as well as serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
More vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory problems face more severe risks, as they are likely to spend more time indoors. Low-income households are particularly at risk, as they have a disproportionately high likelihood of being exposed to indoor contaminants, given that housing conditions tend to be smaller, crowded, older, and closer to external sources of contamination. In addition, the health risk may be higher in homes using gas stoves, where nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels can be 50 to 400 times higher than in homes with electric stoves.
In addition, productivity is reduced in facilities suffering from poor air quality. Direct effects on workers include reduced concentration levels, higher error rates and increased health-related absenteeism. Indirect effects include reduced productivity, difficulties with employee recruitment and retention, and higher recruitment and training costs for your operation.
More guidance on how to maintain healthy IAQ is crucial to properly inform building occupants about indoor air quality risks, especially for vulnerable groups already facing increased risk of health impacts due to climate change. That is why at Air Community we have the mission to make this information available to as many people as possible, so that they have the tools to demand better air quality and thus improve their quality of life.
References:
https://rmi.org/the-need-for-us-indoor-air-quality-guidelines/
