BE AWARE TOWARDS INDOOR POLLUTANTS

Do you know we have to breathe in over 10000 litres of air in a day( more than 4 million litre in a year) to remain alive. We cannot stop breathing even if one can feel the air to be polluted. Several harmful and noxious substances can contaminated the air we breathe. Generally, much is said and written about outdoor air pollution, most of which is due to vehicular and industrial exhausts. The fact is that most of us spend over 90% of our time indoors, it is important to recognise that the air we breathe in at home or in office or where we working can be polluted. It can be a cause of ill health. Air pollutants that are generally present in very low concentrations can assume significant in closed ill- ventilated places. The indoor air pollution. The indoor air pollution can lead to allergic reactions and cause irritation to the skin, the eyes and the nose. But as is logical to assume, the burnt of insult by pollutants is borne by the lungs. It can worsen the existing respiratory illness like asthma and bronchitis.

There can be several sources of indoor pollution. 1. Most important source of indoor air pollution is the allergens. House dust mites (HDM) are very small insects not visible to the naked eye and are the commonest source of allergy in the house. They are everywhere and develop in a warm and moist atmosphere. They breed very fast and very difficult to get rid off. Modern house present ample breeding space for them in the form of carpets, mattresses, pillow etc. 2. Pets are very important part of life for some of us. But they can plenty of allergens to our indoor atmosphere. Cats are infamous for doing this. Fine articles from feline fur can remain stuck to the padding and carpets for a long time even after the removal of the animals and lead to the worsening of asthma and skin allergies. Fortunately, owning to religious and social customs cats are not very popular pets in India. Dogs, however, are quite popular and can be as troublesome. Pets should be kept out of the bedrooms and washed periodically. To remove the fur particles one has to use vacuum cleaner as the ordinary broom and the mop are not effective. 3. Tobacco smoke is one of the most important air pollution in closed place.”Passive smoking” or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) pollution can lead to all the harful effects of tobacco seen in the smokers in their non smoking companions. ETS as a health hazard has been indisputable proven and is also getting social recognition now. One can occasionally see signs displaying the all important message.” Your smoking is injurious to my health” in offices and homes. The children of smoking parents are among the worst affected person. 4. Other important pollutants are toxic chemicals like cleansing agent, pesticides, paints, solvent, and inferior quality personal care products, especially aerosol. Asbestos is a hazardous product that can cause cancer in humans.

Indoor air pollution is the degradation of indoor air quality by harmful chemicals and other materials; it can be up to 10 times worse than outdoor air pollution. This is because contained areas enable potential pollutants to build up more than open spaces. Statistics suggest that in developing countries, health impacts of indoor air pollution far outweigh those of outdoor air pollution. Usually indoor air quality problems only cause discomfort. Most people feel better as soon as they remove the source of the pollution. However, some pollutants can cause diseases that show up much later, such as respiratory diseases or cancer.Making sure that your building is well-ventilated .

Getting rid of pollutants can improve the quality of your indoor air.Public awareness: One of the most important steps in prevention of indoor air pollution is education, viz., spreading awareness among people about the issue and the serious threat it poses to their health and wellbeing. The education should help people in finding different ways of reducing exposures with better kitchen management and protection of children at home. People should also be educated about the use of alternative cleaner sources of energy to replace direct combustion of biomass fuel. The stakeholders must include not only public, but also politicians and administrators to ensure their commitment and increase their awareness about health effects of indoor air pollution.

Modification of design of cooking stove: The stoves should be modified from traditional smoky and leaky cooking stoves to the ones which are fuel efficient, smokeless and have an exit (e.g., chimney) for indoor pollutants. A good example is the one designed by the National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative, of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under a Special Project on Cookstove during 2009-2010, with the primary aim of enhancing the availability of clean and efficient energy for the energy deficient and poorer sections of the country.

Improvement in ventilation: During construction of a house, importance should be given to adequate ventilation; for poorly ventilated houses, measures such as a window above the cooking stove and cross ventilation though doors should be instituted.

Intersectoral coordination and global initiative: Indoor air pollution can only be controlled with coordinated and committed efforts between different sectors concerned with health, energy, environment, housing, and rural development.

It is important to realise that the air we breathe at home may not be clean always and we must try to eliminate the source of pollution. We should give due consideration to ventilation.