In search of indoor air pollution

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In search of indoor air pollution

Newhouse News Service

Friday, March 29, 2002

Call it the case of the homicidal electrical outlet.

Sure, outlets are dangerous - they're loaded with electricity. But what else

lurks there?

Home inspection expert C. May tells of a woman with life-threatening

allergies who nearly stopped breathing on several occasions while she was at

home. The mysterious incidents of anaphylactic shock always occurred while

she was bathing her child in the bathtub.

In desperation, the homeowner called May, president of a home-inspection

company in Cambridge. This case proved a tough one, but May finally

discovered that when he bumped against one wall, mold spores would puff out

of the electrical socket, triggering the woman's allergic reaction.

``They didn't use the proper board around the tub, and water was leaking

behind the wall for years,'' he said. ``Black mold was hiding behind the

drywall.''

May, in his book, ``My House Is Killing Me!'' (s Hopkins University

Press, $16.95, 338 pages), tells how to be your own detective, solving the

mystery of sneezes and wheezes brought on by indoor air pollution.

The hazards of indoor air pollution are drawing more and more attention from

doctors and public health officials as the prevalence of asthma has

skyrocketed. Between 1982 and 1996 asthma rates zoomed up 60 percent,

according to the latest figures from the American Lung Association.

Inner-city residents and African-Americans seem to be the hardest hit, but

experts can't agree why.

The asthma epidemic has focused attention on air quality - and in particular

on the air indoors, where people spend most of their time. And that has

sparked interest in books such as May's, as well as the Master Home

Environmentalist Program, organized by the American Lung Association.

The program is designed to help people figure out how their homes might be

making them sick and help them take action to stop it.

Cheung, a structural engineer from Beaverton, Ore., is one of 19

volunteers taking 35 hours of training to help them recognize indoor

air-pollution problems in a program sponsored by the Lung Association in his

state.

Homeowners and apartment dwellers can call the program and ask a trained

volunteer to take a look around their dwelling to see if they can find any

hazards. Cheung said he volunteered to both serve the community and to learn

about possible hazards in his own home. The classes won't turn the

volunteers into experts, he said.

``But if we can identify the hazards, we can tell the homeowner, `You should

call a professional.' ''

Waltz, an asthma prevention specialist with the Oregon Asthma

Program, is helping teach the classes and is a member of the Master Home

Environmentalist steering committee.

``We're not talking about tearing down walls or real expensive things like

that,'' he said. ``We're talking about low-cost things to improve health -

putting on a mattress cover to shield one from dust mites, for instance.''

Other low-tech solutions include controlling insect pests. Cockroach

droppings are a well-known asthma trigger, Waltz said.

May says allergy sufferers can avoid a lot of grief if they look carefully

at a house or apartment before they buy or rent. Look for mold and moisture

problems, he says. Sometimes a musty odor will tip you off. Look out for

room deodorizers and be wary of cookies baking in the kitchen. That might

mean the seller is trying to mask an odor that could be a clue to trouble,

he says.

Also, make sure furnace filters are easy to replace.

Not all indoor air pollution cases are hideously complex. Experts say you

can make a big dent in your home's problems by taking a few simple measures.

Dr. Emil Bardana, professor in allergy and clinical immunology at Oregon

Health & Science University, says you don't usually need to read a book or

take a special course to figure out why your allergies act up at home.

``The big things are usually two-by-fours hitting you in the side of the

head,'' says Bardana, who has written and lectured about indoor air quality.

``Your husband smokes two packs a day, you have a dog or a cat. It's usually

simple stuff, not rocket science.''

And the cures normally are straightforward - if not always easy. Get rid of

the dog or cat. Ban smoking in the house. Bardana says the first step in

figuring out why you have a chronic stuffy nose or difficulty breathing is

to see your doctor. Your physician can help you decide whether your symptoms

are caused by dust mites or by bacteria or viruses.