Research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has compiled more evidence that poor indoor air quality is a significant health concern in American homes.

Two previously unknown pollutants were uncovered: a gas called acrolein caused by various common combustion practices such as cooking and candle burning, and Particulate Matter 2.5, or small particles less that 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

As the article reporting on this research begins, "For decades, no one worried much about the air quality inside people's homes unless there was secondhand smoke or radon present.

Then scientists... made the discovery that the aggregate health consequences of poor indoor air quality are as significant as those from all traffic accidents or infectious diseases in the United States."

The paper was published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2012, describing a new method for estimating the chronic health impact of indoor air pollutants.

Their term for the total effect of indoor air pollutants is 'aggregate,' but you can also think about it as the cumulative effect of how multiple chemical sources combine to produce unhealthy living environments.

In any case, this research is yet another reason to look carefully at the products you bring into your home—what their material composition means for your health.

Meanwhile, Berkeley Lab scientists are hard at work turning their findings into science-based solutions, including better air quality standards for residential buildings, and easier ways for us to detect toxic pollutants.

Here, you can read the article.

Thank you to Jennifer Logue, Berkeley Lab's lead author on the paper.

Image note: Check here for a look at the size distribution in micrometres of various types of atmospheric particulate matter.

(originally posted 04.12.2012)