You’re as much at risk from pollution INSIDE your house as out
Toxic air has been linked to dementia and birth defects. And, most shocking of all...
IN OUR homes, in the streets, in towns and cities, we are surrounded by an invisible peril: pollution. Toxic chemicals in the air cause about 40,000 Britons to die each year, according to studies by the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Evidence also shows that air pollution causes more than six million sick days and costs an annual £22.6 billion in terms of illhealth and disability, such as heart disease and lung conditions including asthma.
It is also ravaging our brains. Just last week, British researchers warned that air pollution could be responsible for 60,000 cases of dementia in the UK. Scientists from St George’s University and King’s College London found that people living in areas polluted by traffic and industry are 40 per cent more likely to develop the condition.
Meanwhile, another shock report last week revealed that tiny soot particles breathed in by pregnant women could be found in the womb, where they could harm growing babies. Although they could not prove yet that the particles would enter the foetus itself, researchers from Queen Mary University of London noted: ‘Our evidence suggests that this is possible.’
Indeed, it would explain why previous studies have linked air pollution to lower birth weight, higher rates of infant mortality and childhood breathing difficulties.
And in the UK we are particularly under threat. More than 40 cities exceed recommended World Health Organisation air-quality levels, and studies show that our indoor air is seven times more polluted compared to homes in Scandinavia.
So how can we defend ourselves against something that we rarely see, yet which surrounds us constantly? Something that seems to seep from every aspect of modern life – from the chemicals used to coat furniture and carpets, from cars and clothes, from farmlands and factories… to even something an innocuous as a scented candle.
Science shows that small simple changes in our everyday habits can significantly cut the levels of pollutants to which we and our children are exposed.
We cannot stop it, but we can lower it to far less dangerous levels. We can even bolster our bodies against it. Here’s how…
DANGER OF AIRTIGHT HOMES
IT MAY seem smart to draught-proof our homes as much as possible, but airtight dwellings seal in toxic fumes. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are blamed by numerous studies for triggering asthma in children and worsening it in adults, and raising the risk of heart disease.
VOCs can act as powerful irritants. Breathing them can inflame the eyes, nose and throat, cause difficulty breathing and nausea and damage the central nervous system. Carpets, vinyl flooring, cleaning products, cosmetics, hairsprays, paint, heating and cooking fuel all cloud household air with VOCs.
Research by Reading University shows the problem is worst in homes built in the past 20 years, thanks to ‘green’ rules that require energy-efficient impermeable glazing and insulation. Such homes do not breathe, and nor do older ones boosted to meet new standards.
The Reading research forecasts that toxic household air may cause an 80 per cent jump in the number of people with asthma within three decades. And while we tend to worry most about fumes from traffic and factories, we spend up to 90 per cent of our time indoors, warns Professor Stephen Holgate, who is leading the Royal College of Paedi- atrics’ Indoor Air Quality Working Group. He says the best way for us to ventilate our homes is to open windows on the side of the home that is away from roads and other pollution sources. Do it at night, he advises, when outside pollution levels are often at their lowest.
He also recommends wooden floors rather than carpets. And avoid hanging laundry on airers and radiators. This creates a third of the moisture in homes, which fosters allergens such as mould spores and dust mites. High humidity also raises the concentration of VOCs.
Using home air purifiers fitted with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can significantly reduce levels of dust and allergens in the home, although they won’t remove toxic gases or VOCs.
TAKE CARE WHEN COOKING
WHEN cooking, always use the stove ventilation. Natural gas used in cooking emits nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, all of which are harmful gasses. Ingredients themselves can be major polluters. A meal as innocent as steak au poivre with herbs can release harmful chemicals, accord- ing to research published last year in the journal Scientific Reports.
The fried pepper and herbs release VOCs called terpenes, which can irritate the skin and l ungs. As Professor Jonathan Grigg, a paediatric respiratory consultant and a leading expert on pollution harm, explains: ‘Using the extractor fan is probably the most useful thing that you can do, given that cooking is such a major source of indoor pollutants.’
Our homes often harbour another hidden source of debilitating air pollution – fragments of lead paint. DIY fans should be extra-cautious and use masks, air filters and ventilation when stripping paint in houses built before the 1970s. Young children and pregnant women are most at risk from lead poisoning, which can cause seizures, comas or even death.
THE PLASTIC PERIL
OUR home air is increasingly filled with microplastics – tiny filaments that can be inhaled.
Health experts at the World Economic Forum warn these may induce respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer. The effects on health have not yet been studied fully, but experts fear these tiny particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, carrying toxic chemicals and acting as irritants that may cause chronic inflammation and may precipitate lung disease and the formation of blood clots.
Children are most vulnerable as they are still developing – and babies crawling on floors are in particular danger of breathing in plastic filaments in dust.
The biggest, most avoidable indoor source of microplastics is synthetic clothing, such as acrylic,
monitors. They discovered that if volunteers wore a pollution mask, their blood pressure was lower and their heart activity was healthier. David Newby, the BHF professor of cardiology who led the study, says that masks ‘might have a role if it’s a really bad pollution day and you have to go outdoors’.