|
|
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):
An Interview with Dr. Joe Ponessa, Indoor Air Specialist The environment doesn’t stop at your front door: there is an indoor environment, within your building, and it could be polluted. We spend about ninety percent of our time indoors; therefore, if there is something wrong inside the building, we are exposed to it more than we are exposed to any outdoor pollution. Dr. Joe Ponessa is the associate extension specialist here at Rutgers. His interest in building science led him to become an expert on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). He believes that people should be a bit more aware about what is going on in the house so we can be prepared to deal with it. Indoor air pollution can come in a number of forms. Moisture comes from poorly maintained humidifiers and air conditioners, or inadequate ventilation. Molds, mildew, and dust mites come from moisture and animal dander. Sources of combustion wastes are inadequately vented gas heaters, stoves, and ovens. Radon is a radioactive gas from decaying uranium. Household products include volatile organic compounds from paints, solvents, air fresheners, hobby supplies, dry cleaned clothing, aerosol sprays, adhesives, and fabric additives used in carpeting and furniture. Homes more than twenty years old are likely to have asbestos, coming from damaged insulation, fireproofing, acoustical material, and floor tiles. Some sources for lead include lead-based paint dust. Environmental tobacco smoke produces particulates, combustion products, and formaldehyde. Remodeling can provide the disturbance that releases such materials as asbestos, lead, formaldehyde and other hazardous materials. Dr. Ponessa advises that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors should be standard equipment in every home. You can also get buildings inspected and tested for these indoor air pollutants. Some of these hazards can be avoided just by common sense, such as venting fumes and taking care of water leaks. All of these do not really do any damage to a building, but they still can irritate or even kill. Some of the things in buildings, such as some of the organic compounds in the air, are known carcinogens. Most of these are produced in very low concentration, but the effects of consistent low doses are still unknown. We have less knowledge of what happens when many of these compounds act together. One way to tell if your building has polluted air is if you have symptoms of air pollution, such as nausea, scratchy throat, headache, dizziness, when you are in the building but you feel better outside. This is especially true when it happens to several people. One can usually smell when there is a pollutant. Use common sense, but do not be too worried about IAQ.
MAJOR INDOOR AIR POLLUTANTS
Back to Indoor Environment |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
Please
send comments and corrections to: Priscilla Hayes, Environmental Coordinator, Cook College/NJAES C/O Department Of Agricultural, Food And Resource Economics Rutgers University--Cook College 55 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520 Telephone: (732) 932-9155, ext.233 Fax: (732) 932-8887 Email: hayes@aesop.rutgers.edu |
|||||||||||||||||
| Supported with funding from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. | ||||||||||||||||||
