by Dr. Sam Benjamin Polluted environments - both indoor and outdoor - are some of the greatest threats to your health - including what you breathe, eat, drink, apply to your skin and hair, and expose your bodies to. Pollution is greater inside your home than outside, with pollutants you may never stop to think about - such as internal gas sources, volatile organic compounds in furniture and carpets, body sprays, air fresheners, and more. The good news is something you can do to protect yourself and your family. Become environmentally savvy. It could save your life.

Your home may be hazardous to your health. The World Health Organization says indoor air pollution is one of the top ten killers in the world - for both you and for the poverty-stricken in Asia and Africa. In fact, your home has more pollutants than the home of your Third World cousin who cooks indoors with dung, wood, or coal.


Some pollutants you unknowingly bring into the home with your weekly shopping. Others came with your home when you purchased it.



Cleaning products including chlorine bleach. Don't use chlorine-based products to clean your house - simple soap and water is just fine around your kitchen. You can't "sterilize" your homes and that wouldn't be a good thing, anyway. Many germs actually are not bad for you.

Hairsprays and other aerosols which produce volatile organic air emissions that contribute to air pollution. The same is true for many detergents, polishes, lawn and garden products, personal care products, and automotive specialty products.

Deodorants which often contain aluminum and can be carcinogenic. Consider using organic deodorants.

Air fresheners which may increase indoor air pollution by adding toxic chemicals to the air. Use less-toxic alternatives such as a small cup filled with vinegar and left on a counter.

Perfumes and body sprays which can add toxic chemicals to your skin.

Wax candles which are toxic because they are a petroleum product. Use soy candles instead. Be sure the wick is cotton or silk. Avoid foreign-made candles because many of the foreign producers shun safety laws and use wicks that have highly toxic zinc, nickel or lead in them. Check the wick to be sure that no thin metal is inside.

Secondhand cigarette smoke which contains more than 50 cancer-causing agents and affects young children with an increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Secondhand smoke is blamed for an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 35,000 coronary heart disease deaths a year. Each year, secondhand smoke causes an estimated 8,000 to 26,000 new cases of childhood asthma, an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in infants less than 18 months (7,500 to15,000 of whom will be hospitalized). Approximately 60 percent of non-smokers in the United States have some effect from exposure to secondhand smoke. When combined with radon, tobacco smoke further increases one's chance of developing lung cancer. Make your environment a smoke-free environment.

Food which includes pollution from the air or the soil, such as lead, mercury, or arsenic. Fertilizers can contain toxic materials. And farmers may add dangerous chemicals to the food to preserve them until they get to your grocery cart. So, wash fruits and vegetables with cleansers that you can buy in most health food stores. Prices of organic products are dropping making them more accessible to everyone, so buy as much organic produce as possible.

Dry cleaning solvents which can stay on your clothes. Take the clothes out of the plastic bags and air them out before putting them in the closet.

Pesticides which include insecticides and herbicides, are not safe regardless of what the exterminator claims. A mixture of water and soap flakes works as well as any pest spray to reduce an ant colony. Avoid the use of pesticides, if possible. If you must use pesticides, keep your kids out of the home as long as possible after they have been applied. Buy only the amount needed and follow the instructions on the package carefully. Whenever possible, use natural pest-control methods rather than chemical pesticides. Reduce run-off by maintaining ample grass cover and shrubs.

Carpets which can include chemicals known to cause childhood asthma and leukemia.

Paint and paint strippers Used for you do home improvements. Use latex and water-based paints. It may be best to live elsewhere for at least several days (with family or friends) after painting. Try to leave windows open. Do trades with others in your neighborhood - ie, "You stay with me when you paint, and I'll stay with you when I paint." Because of the danger of lead for children, keep your kids away from surfaces covered with lead-based paint and renovations of older buildings.

Biological pollutants which includes animal dander, molds, dust mites, and bacteria. Dust mites are a major allergen and cause everything from minor allergic reactions like a runny nose to a serious asthma attack. Because they are microscopic, we can't see them and don't even know they're there unless we're allergic to them. Dust mites live in mattresses, blankets, couches, stuffed chairs, carpet, stuffed toys, and old clothing. They hang out where people and animals spend time, because they feed on the dead skin that falls off our bodies. The weight of your mattress and pillows after two years is 10 percent dust mites. I recommend changing mattresses every five years, if possible. Avoid all synthetic product mattresses and pillows as they release toxic fumes (you will not detect them). I buy cheap pillows and toss them every year.


Do you live in an old home? Despite its charm, your home could have building materials and furnishings that are deteriorating. Or if your home is new, it could be tightly sealed and have a buildup of pollutants in the air. Look around your house for any pressed wood, a major source of formaldehyde, a serious air pollutant.

Some pollutants that may already exist in your home include:

Insulation with asbestos.

Stoves and furnaces that aren't vented correctly.

Combustion products which include kerosene or gas space heaters, wood stoves, gas fireplaces, furnaces, and more.

Reduce your exposure by:

• Following manufacturer's directions and instructions.
  
  
• Buying pilotless ignition gas stoves, where the pilot light doesn't burn continuously
  
  
• Using an exhaust fan over a gas stove, and a stove hood with a fan vented to the outdoors, keeping gas burners properly adjusted, asking your gas company to adjust the burner so that the flame tip is blue.
  
  
• Making sure the flue is open when using a gas fireplace.
  
  
• Making sure your woodstove is certified to meet EPA emission standards, using only aged or dried wood, keeping the door tightly closed, and following manufacturer's directions for making and putting out fires.
  
  
• Having a yearly inspection of furnaces, flues, and chimneys
  
  
• Changing air filters according to manufacturer's recommendations or every month or two during times of use.
  
  
• Never heating your house using a gas stove and never burning pressure-treated wood indoors
  
  

Radon which you measure by buying a test kit. A reading above four picocuries per liter could indicate a problem.



Open your doors and windows to let out some of the air pollutants whenever possible, except on high-pollution-alert days.

Use clean-burning household fuel like propane.

Keep an English Ivy plant to help clean air of allergens, such as mold.

Use HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters and electrostatic inline/induct filters, which can help clean some of the particulates out of the air. However, they can't remove toxic chemicals. Ionizers do take particles out of the air but are not any more efficient than HEPA filters or electrostatic filters in removing allergens. Avoid ozone filters and air purifiers, which may actually decrease the available oxygen in a room. Inhaled ozone may make asthma worse. It may hurt lung tissue and cause throat irritation, shortness of breath, and coughing. Personal filters hung from your neck or chest are absolutely useless.

If you have gas in your home, be sure to have at least one carbon monoxide (CO) detector because CO can be a silent killer. This is especially important in homes with gas fireplaces. Keep the key switch out of sight and out of reach of children who can turn on the gas but not ignite the fireplace.



Take some time today to evaluate your indoor air. What you do today may improve your family's lung health and reduce your chances of being a victim of air pollution. If you're lucky, indoor pollutants will make your nose run or your allergies flare up. That's when you notice them and will do something about them. It's the pollutants that you can't see and can't smell that can cause long-term medical issues.



"Sources of Indoor Air Pollution - Formaldehyde," http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html, and "Sources of Indoor Air Pollution - Organic Gases," www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html, Environmental Protection Agency fact sheets

"Common Indoor Air Pollutants" by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/indoor.htm

"Secondhand smoke" fact sheet by the Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/factsheets/secondhand_smoke_factsheet.htm

USGS Arsenic Studies Group of the U.S. Department of the Interior - U.S. Geological Survey wwwbrr.cr.usgs.gov/Arsenic/index.htm

"Fragrance Chemicals as Toxic Substances," by Citizens for A Safe Learning Environment, www.chebucto.ns.ca/education/CASLE/fragrance.html

"English Ivy: A Fix for Allergies? Researchers Say the Plant Might Be as Useful as an Inexpensive Air Cleaner," www.webmd.com/content/article/114/111404

"Dust Mites: Everything You Might Not Want To Know!!!," Environment, Health and Safety Online, http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/dustmites.php