Re: Is a fresh air intake safe for me?

[Guest guest]

Dear Semco:

Do you have any idea whether you are reacting to a gaseous or particulate

component of the red tide?

I ask these because it is easier to protect yourself against air contaminants

that are in particulate form as opposed to gaseous form.

While ultimately the indoor air in your home will be replaced by the air outside

of it, you do have the option of having a fresh air intake that filters this

outdoor air. If this outdoor air intake has a fan to overcome the pressure drop

of the filter and also pressurize the home against infiltration, you should be

able to create a safe haven from this source of outdoor air pollution.

Best wishes,

W. Bearg, PE, CIH

--

LIFE ENERGY ASSOCIATES

20 Darton Street

Concord, MA 01742-5710

www.LifeEnergyAssoc.com

-------------- Original message ----------------------

> I live at the beach and at least once a year, we have red tide. I am also a

> sever asthmatic and

> chemically sensitive. When we have red tide, I can barely breath outside at

> all.

>

> Should I install a fresh air intake in my new house considering the above

> circumstances?

>

> Thank you.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you Jeffery. The precautions you suggested are being taken. So, sounds

like I am good to go! YEAH~

>

> Subject: Re: Is a fresh air intake safe for me?

> To: iequality

> Date: Saturday, December 20, 2008, 8:56 AM

> Semco,

>

> The asthma exacerbations of red tide are well known (see

> below) and

> due to toxins that are aerosolized (the water from droplets

> containing

> toxic algae evaporate) so the toxins are in particles that

> can be

> filtered out.

>

> The toxins are high molecular weight and not volatile at

> all so vapors

> (gases) are not the issue.

>

> When outdoors during red tide, you should wear an N95 mask;

> if this

> doesn't help, go to a P-100 half-face respirator.

>

> Any outdoor air you bring in should be filtered.

>

> If you slightly pressurize the house with HEPA filtered

> air, this

> should eliminate or minimize infiltration. (You might also

> have to

> dehumidify the air before bring it in.)

>

> Or you can wear the mask indoors!

>

> May

> May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> Tyngsborough, MA

> www.mayindoorair.com

> www.myhouseiskillingme.com

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------

> http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/1/187

>

> Aerosolized Red-Tide Toxins (Brevetoxins) and Asthma*

> Lora E. Fleming, MD, PhD, MPH, MSc; Barbara Kirkpatrick,

> EdD; Lorraine

> C. Backer, PhD, MPH; Judy A. Bean, PhD; Adam Wanner, MD,

> FCCP;

> Reich, MS; Zaias, DVM, PhD; Yung Sung Cheng, PhD;

>

> Pierce, PhD; Jerome Naar, PhD; M. Abraham, PhD and

> G.

> Baden, PhD

>

> Abstract

>

> Background: With the increasing incidence of asthma, there

> is

> increasing concern over environmental exposures that may

> trigger

> asthma exacerbations. Blooms of the marine microalgae,

> ia brevis,

> cause red tides (or harmful algal blooms) annually

> throughout the Gulf

> of Mexico. K brevis produces highly potent natural

> polyether toxins,

> called brevetoxins, which are sodium channel blockers, and

> possibly

> histamine activators. In experimental animals, brevetoxins

> cause

> significant bronchoconstriction. In humans, a significant

> increase in

> self-reported respiratory symptoms has been described after

>

> recreational and occupational exposures to Florida red-tide

> aerosols,

> particularly among individuals with asthma.

>

> Methods: Before and after 1 h spent on beaches with and

> without an

> active K brevis red-tide exposure, 97 persons 12 years of

> age with

> physician-diagnosed asthma were evaluated by questionnaire

> and

> spirometry. Concomitant environmental monitoring, water and

> air

> sampling, and personal monitoring for brevetoxins were

> performed.

>

> Results: Participants were significantly more likely to

> report

> respiratory symptoms after K brevis red-tide aerosol

> exposure than

> before exposure. Participants demonstrated small, but

> statistically

> significant, decreases in FEV1, midexpiratory phase of

> forced

> expiratory flow, and peak expiratory flow after exposure,

> particularly

> among those participants regularly using asthma

> medications. No

> significant differences were detected when there was no

> Florida red

> tide (ie, during nonexposure periods).

>

> Conclusions: This study demonstrated objectively measurable

> adverse

> changes in lung function from exposure to aerosolized

> Florida red-tide

> toxins in asthmatic subjects, particularly among those

> requiring

> regular therapy with asthma medications. Future studies

> will assess

> these susceptible subpopulations in more depth, as well as

> the

> possible long-term effects of these toxins.

>

>

> Key Words: asthma • brevetoxins • harmful algal blooms

> • ia

> brevis • red tides • sensitive populations •

> spirometry

>

> Is a fresh air intake safe for me?

> Posted by: " semco_semco_semco "

> semco_semco_semco@... semco_semco_semco

> Date: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:16 am ((PST))

>

> I live at the beach and at least once a year, we have red

> tide. I am

> also a sever asthmatic and chemically sensitive. When we

> have red

> tide, I can barely breath outside at all.

>

> Should I install a fresh air intake in my new house

> considering the

> above circumstances?

>

> Thank you.

[Guest guest]

I'm a homeowner with a family each of whose members have

sensitivities, who has struggled with this question for over a

decade, not an expert. That said:

1. If you do put in an air inlet, make sure it can be turned off,

quickly and completely.

2. This is all about finding a filter which will remove virtually all

of what you're sensitive to, not just in the moment, and not only if

you do a multi hundred dollar filter replacement every few days

in " bad season " , but consistently.

We have been struggling with the air intake of my son's college

apartment in Palo Alto. We use an IQAir filter (NFI - just a repeat

customer) with the air intake kit. Have tried the multigas as the

air intake without much success, using a combination HEPA with a

little bit of carbon filtering now, but we're getting a fine black

powder accumulating in the inlet duct and on the prefilter which

releases something into the air that gives him trouble -- and that's

maybe 9 square inches of discoloration on a square foot of filter.

We're finding we have to replace that $68 prefilter every 6 weeks or

so as well as cleaning the inlet ductwork to keep him even sort of

OK. This means the black dust is giving something off that migrates

through the filter.

I'm probably going to ship the next filter replacement to a lab for

someone to answer the " animal, vegetable, or mineral " question on the

black dust.

On the other hand, we're using an air inlet with a fan actively

moving air in the unit because we prefer air we can control to what

would otherwise normally infiltrate through the walls, floor, attic,

around plumbing, etc. And that's the choice you face: air you have

control of vs air filtered by slow migration through walls (which

tends to allow all the particulates to settle out).

Good luck,

Steve Chalmers

stevec@...

>

> I live at the beach and at least once a year, we have red tide. I

am also a sever asthmatic and

> chemically sensitive. When we have red tide, I can barely breath

outside at all.

>

> Should I install a fresh air intake in my new house considering the

above circumstances?

>

> Thank you.

>