Indoor Air Quality and Its Pollutants

Air is an essential requirement for us to live. Its absence is simply called a vacuum and results in instant death for its inhabitants. While its presence ensures life sustenance for all the inhabitants of the Earth. But at some point, its mere presence is not enough. It needs to be in its purest form to ensure healthy survival. Thus, the existence of pollutants results in diseases and health problems.

The outdoor environment is the Earth’s atmosphere, while the indoor environment is created along with the building construction.

Indoor Environment

This is the condition of air quality, temperature, non living objects, people, and facilities in a building. As buildings are made completely insulated from the outside world, this environment is custom tailored as per the need. To create such an environment different devices, systems, and materials are used. Mechanical shop drawings ease achieving this condition. All of these come together and add value to the building. This is how the final environment is formed.

Among them include the air and regulation of its quality for the degree of breathing.

What is Air Quality?

Air is a mixture of gasses that constitutes a number of different gasses. But with the wheel of time, a number of gasses and solid particles have joined the original air constituents. These are called pollutants. While air quality simply means the presence and absence of these pollutants. The less the amount of these means better the air quality.

These pollutants can be harmless or harmful. Water vapor is almost harmless in the air both outdoors and indoors in small quantities. While in the high amount, it results in increased temperature. On the other hand, sulfur dioxide is harmful even in a small amount.

Air in the Indoors and Pollutants

The air indoors is regulated through different devices and systems. These work to maintain the favorable concentration to make life livable. This includes catching and eliminating harmful components. Also, increasing and adding needed components.

Some of the harmful pollutants in the indoor environment are:

Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Carbon gasses can be problematic. Animals exhale carbon dioxide as part of their breathing. Therefore, its quantity is present all the time. But as the quantity increases, it turns into carbon monoxide. This can be deadly.

Tobacco smoke as the result of smoking. This is capable of damaging the health of everyone close by. This needs to be eliminated to counter its effects. Air needs to be free of it completely to keep it safe for inhabitants. 

Dirt just makes its way to the air in various ways. This can cause problems with breathing particularly for those with allergies. Dirt is cleaned to keep the air quality good and healthy.

Similar pet dander can too make its way to the air and affect it. This also comes with allergies problems in certain people. That is why it needs to be removed to keep the air fit for breathing.

Another thing that damages natural origin is mold. It can create discomfort for the inhabitants and damage the physical appearance of the place.

Certain metallic oxides such as lead oxide can result due to experiments or electrical devices. This can be poisonous to breathing. Hence, the air needs to be cleared of these.

Ozone too can be generated by electrical circuits and other problems. This can cause various health problems such as coughing, headaches, and others.

And various other compounds such as various volatile organic compounds are included in pollutants of indoor air.

Conclusion

Air quality is an important indicator of good health and living conditions. This particularly applies to indoor environments as they are tailored. To tailor its various devices and systems are installed. These formulate the required conditions. To install them, MEP shop drawings can be really helpful. Some of the important pollutants that can badly affect the air quality indoors are discussed in the article.