Humans as Contributors to Indoor Air Pollution

Health Problems
Ways in which humans can be harmful to the indoor air environment

Health Problems

Because people spend as much as 90 percent of their time inside, they are very much at risk of the health problems associated with poor indoor air quality (IAQ), including:¹

• Headaches

• Nausea

• Nasal/sinus congestion

• Runny nose

• Sneezing

• Chest congestion (wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness)

• Eye problems (dry, itching, tearing, or sore eyes, blurry vision, burning eyes, problems wearing contact lenses)

• Throat problems (throat irritation, sore throat, hoarseness, dry throat)

• Fatigue (unusual tiredness, sleepiness, or drowsiness)

• Chills and fever

• Muscle pain (aching muscles or joints, pain or stiffness in upper back, pain or stiffness in lower back, pain or numbness in shoulder and/or neck, pain or numbness in hands or wrists)

• Neurological symptoms, such as difficulty remembering, difficulty concentrating, and/ or feeling depressed, tense or nervous

• Dizziness

• Dry skin

• Allergies

• Asthma

• Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)

• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Even though people get hurt by poor indoor air quality, they are also the ones who cause it. Unlike cattle and termites, humans do not directly emit toxic gases that contribute to indoor air pollution (cattle and termites give off methane which is a flammable gas). Through the process of breathing, we do give off carbon dioxide; but this is not usually a health threat unless it is in very high concentrations as would be seen in confined spaces such as in an enclosed submarine with inadequate ventilation or air scrubbers. Though humans give off odors which some might find unpleasant, these are not toxic. Ventilation has historically been used to minimize these odors in a building used by many people.

Ways Humans Can Be Harmful to the Indoor Air Environment

• Decisions: Making the right or wrong decisions can make all the difference. This begins as early as the design of the building and its construction. Problems at these early stages can have long-lasting consequences. For example:

  • Was the ventilation system chosen adequate and appropriate for the type of home or building?

  • What type of building materials went into construction?

  • Is the home or building adequately sealed to prevent moisture problems?

  • What types of furnishings are going into the building?

Once buildings and homes are built, decisions still need to be made as to how well they are kept up and maintained. For example many building-related illnesses, such as Legionnaires' Disease, have been caused by inadequate inspection and disinfecting of cooling towers and the ventilation system.

• Activities: The activities that we conduct inside our homes and buildings can contribute to indoor air pollution. For example, in an office environment just using laser printers and photocopying machines can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone and particulates into the air. Activities like housekeeping can contribute to poor indoor air quality because of the cleaning chemicals used and because of the dust that is stirred up or goes through vacuum cleaner bags. Indoor hobbies may also involve substances that cause indoor air pollution.

• Infections: We are at the greatest risk of getting bacterial or viral infections from other people. Many times these infections are spread from person to person in the air through breathing air into which an infected person as sneezed, breathed, or coughed.

Reference

1. Wallace LA. Sick building syndrome. In: Bardana EJ, Montanaro A. (Eds). Indoor Air Pollution and Health. Marcel Dekker. New York. 1997:83-103.