Australia's Call to curb indoor pollution

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http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s704171.htm

Call to curb indoor pollution

Friday, 18 October 2002

Indoors more polluted than outdoors?

Experts have called for governments in Australia to " get their act together "

and start regulating indoor air pollution.

According to a new report by the Clean Air Society of Australia & New

Zealand, http://www.casanz.org.au/ the health of millions of people is

suffering due to indoor air pollution.

" People are dying because of the air they breathe indoors, " said CASANZ

President, Mr Len Ferrari. " In in 2000, there were five deaths

caused by carbon monoxide poisoning associated with gas heaters. It's time

for governments in Australia to get their act together. "

Outdoor air pollution is currently regulated by national standards enforced

by the National Environment Protection Council. However according to CASANZ,

people regularly inhale indoor air which is polluted significantly above

these standards.

" Why don't we have comparable standards to govern indoor air? " asks Mr

Ferrari. " That's where Australians spend 90 per cent of their time and where

the air is commonly much worse. "

The CASANZ report states the major problems are nitrogen dioxide, carbon

monoxide, formaldehyde, environmental tobacco smoke, house dust mites,

moulds and fungi.

Pollution sources in the home are as diverse as gas stoves, flueless gas

heaters, new furnishings, particleboard floors, cigarette smokers and air

conditioning ducts.

" Pollutant levels are frequently much higher inside than would be tolerated

outside, " said Mr Ferrari. " For example, volatile organics can occur at up

to 10 times the recommended levels in houses and caravans and 100 times the

safe level in cars. "

According to Mr Ferrari, the World Health Organization has said outdoor

pollution standards should apply indoors. Canada and many European countries

already have enforceable indoor air pollution standards.

Speaking at the launch of the CASANZ report at Parliament House yesterday,

Federal Minister for Environment, Dr Kemp announced $350,000 in extra

funding for new research into indoor air pollution.

Mr Ferrari said CASANZ welcomed the Minister's funding initiatives but would

like to see a national body made responsible for regulating air quality

standards.

While the NHMRC has guidelines for indoor air quality

http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/publications/pdfcover/aircover.htm it has

no power to enforce the guidelines, he said.

Enforcement of standards would target the source of pollution.

" It's always nice to have more research, but we know enough now to take

action. "

Ventilation

CASANZ argues that one of the simplest ways to reduce levels of indoor air

pollution in the home is to increase ventilation. However, the trend towards

" Energy Smart " housing http://www.energysmart.com.au/ has led to a

tendency to seal up houses.

" We used to have floor boards and vents but now we have concrete and

particle board flooring, " said Mr Ferrari. " If we make a house twice as

airtight, we double the pollutants. "

" We think energy efficient house design is a good idea, but there are other

ways to achieve this besides reducing ventilation. "

A spokesperson from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority which

promotes " Energy Smart " housing told ABC Science Online that energy

efficient design should not create unhealthy air.

" We're not recommending that people have airlocked houses, " she said. " We're

interested in intelligent design to minimise the amount of artificial

cooling and heating. "

In summer, this would mean good cross-flow ventilation, while in winter

people would rely on insulation and zoning the house.

" Zoning is where you group rooms with similar uses together so you can heat

just the sections of the house you're using, " said the SEDA spokesperson.

The CASANZ report http://www.fasts.org/ lists 21 indoor air pollutants and

their sources, with an action recommended for each. It is published by the

Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies.

The CSIRO has estimated indoor air pollution costs Australia $12 billion a

year.

Salleh - ABC Science Online

More Info?

Australia's fresh approach to indoor air quality - News in Science 2/7/1999

Indoor plants improve office air - News in Science 28/8/2002

Beware the airbag - News in Science 31/3/2000

Even your dishwasher could give you cancer - News in Science 9/7/1999

Environment Australia information on Indoor Air