Red Hot Tips Point: The Dangers of Indoor Air Pollution!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Here is a pre-recession, pre-cars-for-clunkers-government-stimulus-program joke about Detroit as the US city of car makers: “Detroit is one city that knows how to deal with air pollution. It pumps its air into the tires of the cars it manufactures and quietly ships it out of town.” Air pollution is a deadly reality in almost every city around the world.

According to some news reports a few years ago, Tokyo policemen return regularly to headquarters to breathe oxygen. There were also some vending machines, even hip bars and clubs that dispense oxygen to pedestrians and customers. Across the world, the smoke and smudge over Los Angeles could be seen by astronauts from space. Fast forward it a bit, and the most recent Olympics which was held in China made an uproar in the international committee. This is not because of dubious awarding of medals but because some athletes refused to participate, citing the health reasons due to the thick smog that covered most of the competition venues.

Most people think that everything is unlimited. On the contrary, everything has its limits—from the payday advances one applies for to the air he or she breathes. Surprisingly, some still believe the sky is unlimited and a vast natural resource. They think the huge piece of space up there will not affect the earth. But the earth is a closed system. The waste disposal process that we have produced clearly has limits and is finite. It is important to realize that the winds that ventilate the earth are only six miles high. Above this level, the air rapidly thins out to almost nothing by the 15 mile level. There is a limited six mile umbrella that covers the world. Unfortunately, more and more people are filling every inch of air space with dangerous pollutants that are harmful for them and the succeeding generations.

More shocking to realize is that other than outdoor air pollution, there is also indoor air pollution that people have to deal with. This could be classified as a silent, invisible enemy because most people don’t know what hit them when they get ill due to harmful indoor air pollutants. The causes of indoor air pollution in urban residential homes can be from natural sources such as house dust mites. Another cause of indoor air pollution can be man-made or anthropogenic, such as cigarette smoke. While natural causes may be more common, it’s the man-made causes that pose the greater threat to a household’s health and well-being.

Dust mites are microscopic and almost invisible insects that exist everywhere inside homes. In homes with cigarette smokers, on the other hand, the danger from second-hand smoke far outweighs that from dust mites. Cigarette smoke contains dioxins among its 4,000 chemicals. Forty of which are known carcinogens. Long term exposure to dioxins can lead to an increased risk of cancerous tumors. Thus, cigarette smoke is one of the most dangerous sources of indoor pollutants, especially for children.

Constant cleaning is the best defense against dust mites. Stopping the habit of smoking cigarettes is the best way to eliminate dangerous indoor air pollution. Better start doing these things now.