... in our homes and workplaces can affect our health through invisible hazards.
Air sustains life. It's a resource that we can't do without. But while it has the ability to maintain life, air also harbours gases, dust, fumes or odours that are potentially dangerous to the health and comfort of humans, plants and animals. And considering that we spend a lot of time indoors, the air quality within our homes and workplaces, in particular, has a deep impact on our health.
According to Dr Mohsen Aboulnaga, a professor in architecture and sustainable design and an expert on eco-friendly green buildings, "To demonstrate the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) on the health of building occupants and on the economy, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that the US spends $140 billion (about Dh514 billion) in direct medical care attributable to poor IAQ. Considering the intensive volume of the cooling load in the Gulf and particularly in the UAE due to air-conditioning usage, IAQ has become a vital issue to ensure a healthy environment."
Indoor air quality is imperative, believes Dr Vikas Nehru an ENT surgeon at the Behoul Speciality Hospital in Dubai. "Individuals displaying environment-associated symptoms are more likely to have been exposed to airborne substances originating not outdoors, but indoors. Studies from the US and Europe show that people in industrialised nations spend more than 90 per cent of their time indoors. For infants, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and most urban residents of any age, the proportion is probably higher. In addition, the concentrations of many pollutants indoors exceed those found outdoors. The locations of highest concern are those involving prolonged and continuing exposure - the home, school and workplace."
Dr Nehru says that the air we breathe can affect our health through a number of invisible health hazards: tobacco smoke, combustion products (stoves, space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces) animal dander, mold, dust mites and other biological agents, VOCs or volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde, pesticides, solvents, cleaning agents) airborne lead and mercury vapour and, in particular, asbestos and radon, which spell long term risks. "The lung is the most common site of injury by airborne pollutants. Acute effects, however, may also include non-respiratory signs and symptoms, which may depend upon toxicological characteristics of the substances and host-related factors."
According to Dr Aboulnaga, poorly designed and badly maintained cooling and air-conditioning equipment can affect indoor air quality. "Air-conditioning systems in buildings can be a viable source of building-related illness (BRI) or sick building syndrome (SBS)."
Dr Nehru says that some symptoms of SBS may be related to microbial contamination in buildings. "The term ?sick building syndrome,' first employed in the 1970s, describes a situation in which reported symptoms among a population of building occupants can be temporally associated with their presence in that building. Typically, though not always, the structure is an office building. Complaints include eye and/or nasopharyngeal irritation, rhinitis or nasal congestion, inability to concentrate, and general malaise-complaints, lethargy or fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea and sensitivity to odours."
According to Dr Nehru, there has been extensive speculation about the cause or causes of SBS. Poor design, maintenance, and/or operation of the structure's ventilation system may be at fault. A poorly ventilated system itself can be a source of irritants. Another theory suggests that very low levels of specific pollutants, may be present and may act synergistically, or at least in combination, to cause health effects. Humidity may also be a factor."
The only way to contain such problems is to provide adequate ventilation and fresh air to help improve the quality of the air inside a building. "By adopting ASHRAE (American Society of Air Conditioning Engineers) Standard 62-04, which recommends IAQ in terms of providing 20 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of fresh air per person, we would ensure better and healthier spaces," says Dr Aboulnaga.
Dr Aboulnaga also stresses the importance of adopting green building standards for construction to benefit occupants. He says that not only would these standards prove ecologically beneficial whilst fulfilling the cooling needs of residential or commercial buildings, they would also improve indoor air quality by ensuring adequate ventilation, reducing harmful microbial growth and using low VOC content materials and substances (paint, carpet, adhesives and additives), which could affect occupants' health.
Whether it's respiratory diseases, allergies or dry skin, health risks linked to poor indoor quality air cannot be ignored, however they can be avoided. Sound principles of construction, eco-friendly materials, efficient and properly maintained air-conditioning and ventilation systems are a good start to ensuring that the building or room you occupy and the air you breathe don't make you sick.
