Your home’s air poisoned by cleaning products

Not even inside our homes are we safe from atmospheric pollution if we do not take the proper precautions. Some culinary practices and housecleaning work -especially if we dust or use chemicals- increase pollution levels in cities already considered highly contaminated. This is the main conclusion of a study led by researchers from the University of Colorado in the United States, whose preliminary results presented last month at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The main concern is the pollution generated inside the homes, which due to various ventilation issues stay in the kitchen and the rooms. The most important pollutants are chemical products, volatile organic compounds (VOC) in shampoos, perfumes and cleaning products. In addition to polluting our homes, these products escape to the outside and form fine particles and ozone, an even greater source of global atmospheric contamination added to that caused by cars and trucks. During the last few years, studies conducted rounded up a long list of air pollutants inside homes, offices and others. The preliminary study presented now, exposes new data in this field of environmental health. The data detailed the research collected in the project HomeChem, that took place in 2018. The project installed sensors and cameras to monitor the air quality of a model house on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. In the course of a month, members carried out a series of household chores. The official results of this experiment have not yet been officially published but details advanced this weekend in Washington show that it is evident that the houses must be well ventilated while people cook and clean, because even simple tasks such as boiling water on a stove. contributes to high levels of air pollutants and particles in suspension, with negative impacts on health. Experts in interiors and exteriors are collaborating to obtain a more complete image of the quality of the air, explained Joost de Gouw, one of the experts that participates in this investigation. Last year, a team from the University of Colorado at Boulder, led by Brian C. McDonald, published in the journal Science, the results derived from a study that compared pollution levels from transportation in the United States. According to that study, emissions from vehicles decreased, while levels of chemicals inside homes had increased. Read the rest below at the source link