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AIR POLLUTION SOURCES IN THE HOME
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Source: Environmental Protection Agency, The Inside Story: A Guide
to Indoor Air Quality (Washington, D.C, 1988), 2.
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The air we breathe indoors, whether at home, in our cars, or at work, may represent a bigger threat to
human health than outdoor air pollution. With people spending up to 90 percent of their time indoors, the quantity and severity of health problems related to
indoor air quality has potentially increased over the past ten years.* The severity of indoor air pollution is
aggravated by the fact that new buildings are being built more tightly to save money spent on heating and cooling. At the same time, people are using more and
more irritating products such as hair sprays, pesticides, and cleaning detergents.
In a December 1989 report, the EPA compared the risks
of 20 different environmental problems and found that indoor air pollution posed the greatest health risk, though it had the least amount of federal money dedicated to it.* A recent report evaluating environmental health risks in Texas found indoor air pollution to be the most serious human health risk,
closely followed by high particulate matter and ozone levels.* Among the most serious indoor air pollutants in Texas are radon, pesticides, lead, asbestos, microorganisms, potentially leading to so-called "sick building syndrome."
The American Lung Association has estimated that indoor air pollution costs businesses over $100 billion a year,
because of death, sick days, direct medical costs, loss of productivity, and damage to materials and equipment. The
EPA projects that 3,500 to 6,500 premature deaths per year are the result of the effects of indoor air pollutants.* The
causes of these deaths include cancer and coronary heart disease caused by exposure to radon, paints, solvents, and secondhand tobacco smoke.
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FYI
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During FY 1997, the Texas Department of Health's Indoor Air Quality Branch received
more than 5,300 requests for information; conducted 66 on-site investigations as a result of indoor air quality complaints from schools, buildings, and residences;
and performed more than 300 on-site investigations overall, including private residences. For more information, call the Occupational Health Division at the
Department of Health at 512-834-6600
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(Source: Indoor Air Quality Branch, Texas Department of Health,
Austin.)
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In 1989 EPA Administrator William K. Reilly asked an independent team of
scientists known as the Science Advisory Board to assess and compare different environmental risks using recent scientific data. The group found that
indoor air quality problems from environmental (secondhand) tobacco smoke, radon, and six VOCs often found indoors in solvents, paints and gasoline
products represented one of four problems posing "relatively high human health risks." *
Despite these problems, indoor air quality is not regulated, except as it relates
to workplace air concentration standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In Texas the Department of Health's Indoor Air
Quality Branch is responsible for responding to indoor air quality complaints, providing on-site investigations, educating the public about indoor air quality
health problems, and suggesting methods to alleviate indoor air quality problems.
In 1995 the Texas legislature, responding to concerns about air quality in
public schools, passed HB 2850, which charged the Texas Department of Health with writing voluntary guidelines for air
quality in public schools. These voluntary guidelines, which went into effect May 10, 1998, establish general practices of
maintaining fresh air in schools, establish protocols for routine building maintenance and operation, and suggest construction and renovation designs, among other issues.* In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed HB 2008, which
broadened the voluntary air quality guidelines to all governmet buildings. In 2002, TDH approved rules to establish
these guidelines, which now cover both public schools and other government buildings*.
Finally, in response to the growing problem of molds in schools, homes and office buildings, the Texas Legislature
passed HB 329, which requires the TDH to license mold assessors and remediators and to establish and enforce
minimum performance standards and work practices for conducting mold assessment and remediation. Rules for this license procedures and standards will be finalized in 2004.
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