Types of Indoor Air Pollutants

Modern society is filled with technology and conveniences that sometimes confine people to small or enclosed spaces. Both the home and the workplace can expose us to uncomfortable and even dangerous environmental pollutants that contribute to lung disease, asthma, respiratory tract infections and lung cancer. If any of these small spaces has inadequate ventilation, pollutants may multiply, thus enhancing negative effects. Identifying the different types of indoor air pollutants is the first step in avoiding their effects.

Categories

• Although there are numerous indoor air pollutants that spread through the home, the office, schools and other public structures, they typically fall into three basic categories. Particles, gaseous and odor-causing pollutants, and biological contaminants are the most common indoor air pollutant categories. It's within these that individual contaminants are first identified and then classified.

Particles

• The problem with indoor air pollutants is that most are invisible to the eye. This is especially true in the case of particle pollutants. Because the eye detects only particles that are about 30 microns in size, approximately 99 percent of indoor pollutants are almost undetectable. These particles float about the air in which we live and breathe and are stirred up by vacuuming, dusting and even walking. Common particle pollutants include lint, dust, smoke and fibers.

Gases

• Gaseous air pollutants like carbon monoxide can be especially dangerous. Typically, this type of contamination occurs from the process of combustion. Exposure to these combustible gases can cause respiratory distress, long-term lung damage and, in some cases, death. Pollutant sources that produce carbon monoxide include cooking stoves and other heat sources that use gasoline, kerosene, oil, wood or charcoal. Other types of gaseous pollutants include fumes from paint, adhesive, cleaning products and pesticides.

Biologicals

• Biological contamination comes from most anything that is derived from living tissue. Common types of biological pollutants are mold, dust mites, bacteria, pollen, pet dander, cat saliva and cockroaches. Other things that have the potential to become dangerous biological pollutants are dried urine from pests and rodents, human colds or viruses and central air-conditioning systems that can breed mold and mildew. These latter types of biological contaminants can easily become airborne and spread throughout an entire building.

Radon

• Radon is another potentially lethal type of indoor air pollutant. Radon, which is a naturally occurring element formed by the disintegration of radium, enters homes and other buildings in a variety of ways such as through floor drains, other kinds of drains and cracks in walls or foundations. According to the American Lung Association, radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer and may be responsible for thousands of deaths from lung cancer in the United States each year.