A Healthy Home Environment by

[Guest guest]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107-7/focus-abs.html

Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Number 7, July 1999

A Healthy Home Environment by

Over the past seven years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has

consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five risks to public

health. One of the most dangerous indoor air pollutants is carbon monoxide

(CO). CO can be lethal, but perhaps more important, many people suffer ill

health from chronic, often undetected exposure to low levels of this gas,

resulting in fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Another

dangerous pollutant is volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which come from

sources including building products, cleaning agents, and paints. One VOC,

formaldehyde, can act as an irritant to the conjunctiva and upper and lower

respiratory tract. Formaldehyde is also known to cause nasal cancer in test

animals.

Other household pollutants include pesticides and heavy metals contained in

house dust; biological pollutants such as pollen, pet dander, bacteria,

mold, and fungi; chlorine, which appears in public water supplies as a

chlorination by-product; radon gas; lead; and asbestos.

People who have the luxury of building their own home can employ a wide

variety of measures to minimize their potential exposure to indoor

environmental hazards. Fortunately for those who live in homes that are not

custom-built, there are a number of strategies available to improve indoor

air quality.

(if you have a subscription you can read the entire article, otherwise check

with your local library) Mr. 's recommendation for Canadians is to

clean air ducts in homes every 4-5 years. I don't know what factors are

applied to come up with the frequency, but I would think this is not a

maintenance issue you should put off for too long.