Nidae KashmirThe majority of people spend winter days indoors, so even though the indoor air quality may seem to be better than the outdoor air quality , it can be up to five times worse, experts said on Tuesday.
This is because Delhi-NCR suffers from massive air pollution after Diwali every year, leaving people with respiratory illnesses gasping for fresh air.
According to a report in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine, statistics suggest that in developing countries, health impacts of indoor air pollution far outweigh those of outdoor air pollution. Around 4.2 million people die prematurely due to indoor air pollution, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Although indoor and outdoor air pollution are sometimes considered to be two distinct problems, outdoor pollutants like pollen, mould spores, and vehicle exhaust fumes can also penetrate our indoor environments.
According to Dr Vipul Gupta, Chief – Neurointerventional Surgery and Co-Chief Stroke Unit at Artemis Hospital in Gurugram told IANS, it is believed that indoor air pollution is worse than outdoor air pollution as it is in a contained area which enables the potential pollutants to harm us even more.
“The harmful dust, dirt and gases present inside buildings are linked to several health concerns like cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases and/or development of several infections,” added Dr Gupta.
Once inside, they can react with indoor pollutants, creating a complex cocktail of dirty air. Gases or particles discharged into the air, including those from building materials, tobacco smoke, and wood-burning stoves, are known to be the primary cause of indoor air pollution.
“Likewise, indoor pollutants, such as smoke from burning wood or cooking fumes, can exit buildings through ventilation. For example, air fresheners and deodorants may contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and benzene, while cleaning products can contain benzene and household fumes and odours,” Ginger Lee, Senior Electronics Engineer, at consumer electronics company Dyson told IANS.
In addition to releasing formaldehyde and flame retardants into the air, furniture and carpets can also do so, and culinary appliances like stoves and ovens can release a variety of chemicals that degrade indoor air quality.
“As modern homes generally have better sealing, these pollutants can become trapped and are unable to escape,” said Lee.
Lee said that their purifiers make the invisible visible, helping users to understand the types of pollution they are exposed to on a daily basis and giving peace of mind that these pollutants are being captured and that they are breathing clean air indoors.
The HEPA+Carbon filter removes 99.99 per cent of pollutants, including allergens, germs, pollen, mould spores, toxic gases, and other pollutants as small as 0.1 microns, are eliminated.
However, Dr Gupta advised people to ensure ventilation as it will freshen the air present inside the room and will help in removing the polluted air.
“Along with ventilation, decluttering or cleaning your rooms/households every now and then is important for never letting dust settle and trap pollutants inside. Indoor plants are also a great way to prevent indoor air pollution as they will purify the air quality present inside,” he noted.
