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~ About Indoor Air Quality ~ |
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 Clean air is
essential to good health. Unfortunately foreign matter commonly called
pollutants or contaminants are adding a whole host of ingredients, which
alone and in concert, give rise to a variety of serious health risks.
Everyday we typically inhale the equivalent of two
heaping tablespoons of airborne particles that our bodies must process
and eliminate. The smallest of these particles can be inhaled and end
up settling deep inside the lungs, causing the greatest harm.
Inhaling particles also appears to disrupt the body's
ability to regulate the pumping of blood. As particulate counts rise on
any given day, a critical indicator called ‘heart rate variability’
can decrease and upset the heart’s beat-to-beat variations. It has
been estimated that annually in the United States approximately 64,000
people die prematurely from heart and lung disease due to particulate
air pollution.
The issue of gases and air pollution is a wide-ranging
and very complex subject. There are thousands of chemicals and chemical
compounds that can contaminate the air we breathe. Examples of gasses
we are most familiar with are ozone, carbon monoxide, benzene and radon.
When we take a breath contaminants enter the lungs
where they are allowed to pass into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream
they are disbursed throughout the entire body where they can bring about
a reaction or negatively impact a person’s health by damaging certain
parts of the anatomy.
The effects of air pollution on human health can vary
greatly and can give birth to a multitude of health problems. Every contaminant
poses its own set of problems. A person’s age, their relative state
of well-being, as well as the type and the amount of exposure are all
factors in a complex equation.
 In the broadest terms the effects can range from itchy
eyes and nose, headaches, raspy throat, fatigue, wheezing, long-term acute
changes in lung function, respiratory illnesses, impairment of the immune
system or a shortened life expectancy.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that the cleaner
the air, the healthier it is for people to breath.
Read Dr. Israel's comments
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