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The impacts of indoor Air circulation and pollution on your health

By Thadeus Obadha Odenyo

The air quality in our domestic settings determines the quality of life that we enjoy and experience. This is due to the many hours that we spend indoors, especially at night. Air quality is determined by the occurrence and concentration of particulate matter (PM) and radioactive substances. Establishing the quantity of liquid, gaseous and solid particles floating in our domestic ambiance is not easy. However, from the outlook, we can tell that a room has PM by smelling as some particles have an odor. Nonetheless, this may not be the case with odorless particles.

Particulate toxicants

 The frequency of encounter and exposure to pm and other air pollutants is contingent on whether one is in the city or in a rural setting. With cities providing opportunities for intense exposure to a cocktail of gaseous and particulate toxicants. At the same time, locations that are proximate to quarrying works and industrial activities are prone to more severe air pollution. Noteworthy, the exposure to indoor air pollutants is more intense at night since the windows are closed and people are asleep.  Accordingly, it is important to exercise appropriate health behavior in terms of opening windows, running air cleaners and filters to ensure maximum indoor air turnover. In industrial areas it may be risky to open windows as this may only invite noxious air pollutants. Given the competing priorities of industrialization versus human health, it is time to institute mitigation measures that preserve human health through innovation.

Climate change

 As the impacts of climate change come to bear, there is increased risk of respiratory distress and environmental degradation. These further compounds the air pollution situation on the planet. Effort to prevent severe indoor air pollution triggered health effects cannot be universal as poverty levels vary from country to country. Nonetheless, there are subtle cost-effective measures that individuals can employ to prevent severe health consequences of indoor air pollution. for instance, In the Low and Middle Income Countries, planting trees offer the most appealing solution, as the cost of air filters and expellers is prohibitive. In the High-Income-Countries, the use of non-green technology may only increase the greenhouse gases further worsening the global climate situation.

 

In many African traditional settings, houses are designed without many windows or none at all. At the same time some of the houses have earthen walls and floors. As such, the presence of organic and inorganic air pollutants cannot be overlooked.  Therefore, the imperatives of healthy house designs must be embraced.

Conclusion

 In conclusion, air quality can determine the health status of individuals residing in given residential settings. It is obvious that poorly aerated residential structures pose a pathogenic threat to the well-being of the residents. Moreso, the impacts of air pollution are more harmful to expectant mothers and under-fives. Similarly, given their age, the elderly have a weak immune system making them more susceptible to indoor air pollution. The long-term effects of chronic exposure to harmful particulate toxicants are known therefore warranting action to ward off such perilous eventualities. This article is a call to action. The respective private and public citizens as well as governments must play their roles as the situation is getting more desperate. The current generation has no time to imagine, it is time to act, now.    

 

 Recommended Further Reading

https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/publications/books/housing/cha05.htm

 

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