How to Build Awareness of Indoor Air Pollution

Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, is a contributing factor to lung disease. "Lung disease claims close to 335,000 lives in America every year and is the third leading cause of death in the United States," according to the American Lung Association. Indoor air pollution is just as prevalent as outdoor air pollution; in some homes and businesses indoor pollution, could even be two to five times more harmful. Indoor air pollution can contribute to many illnesses, including cancers, cardiovascular disease, asthma and other illnesses, according to the Surgeon General. While outdoor air pollution is regulated by the EPA, indoor air pollution is being tackled by "A Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes" by the Surgeon General. It is imperative that awareness of indoor air pollution is spread since it can have such an impact on health.

Things You'll Need

• Brochures
• Business cards
• Stickers
• Booklets
• Coloring books
• Posters

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Instructions

• 1

  Create and publish easy to understand fact sheets, presentations and videos with accurate information via the Internet on indoor air pollution, indoor air pollution sources, and methods to reduce indoor air pollution. Accurate information on indoor air pollution and methods to reduce or eliminate indoor air pollution should be derived from sources, including government websites or organizations and research. Cite information, facts, research, statistics and other data on indoor air pollution as close to the original source as possible; this means that a quote from a doctor is better than quoting a reporter or writer discussing what the doctor said.

• 2

  Design commercials on indoor air pollution to reach the general public and children who consume large doses of television. For commercials targeted toward adults, include common and uncommon sources of indoor air pollution, the negative health effects on adults and children exposed to indoor air pollution, potential symptoms of exposure to indoor air pollution, methods to reduce indoor air pollution and resources such websites or a toll-free telephone number that can be accessed for more information regarding indoor air pollution. For commercials targeted at children, the information on indoor air pollution will need to be presented in cartoon form or a very simplified form. Explain common sources of air pollution in a home or school building to children, show the effects of exposure to air pollution, illustrate simple things that children can do to reduce air pollution in their home (for instance, cleaning their blinds/curtains and bedding regularly and keeping their floors in their rooms clean to prevent dust build up) and also suggesting that children talk to their parents about how to reduce air pollution in their home as a family.

• 3

  Create, test, implement and design a simple model for spreading awareness of indoor air pollution in a community or neighborhood. Publish clear information on the steps used to spread awareness on a well designed website to allow easy replication of the model in communities all over the U.S. A simple model could be an action plan and marketing materials that worked well for another cause, for instance "just say no" to drugs model--inventing a saying, talking to students at local schools, giving the students kid-friendly materials and address adults and parents through community or school skits. The action plan should be kept to less than 12 steps, there may be some steps to address adults and other steps to address children. The steps to spread awareness of indoor air pollution could be posted in newspapers, community letters, on bulletin boards at community centers, posted on websites and distributed in brochures to allow other community organizations, leaders and teachers to get involved.
  Once an effective model to build awareness of indoor air pollution is found, this can be replicated in other similar communities or environments so that each town, city or state does not have to reinvent the wheel.

• 4

  Add a component regarding air pollution into the public education curriculum to reach the masses and train up future generations to understand more than past generations. Component ideas could include adding a state educational standard in the science section regarding air pollution awareness for specific grade levels or all grade level; adding a state educational standard in the health education section of education standards; adding a book to the curriculum in elementary grades that addresses indoor air pollution explaining facts on indoor air pollution and methods to reduce indoor air pollution; having adopted textbooks add a chapter addressing indoor air pollution to new editions; funding and hiring an educator for a state or several school districts to work on integrating indoor air pollution educational materials into already adopted curriculum as well as assisting teachers with the implementation and teaching or assisting teachers with the implementation and measuring the effectiveness through research; funding a group of educators to create materials that meet state standards on indoor awareness for teachers, whether nationwide, statewide or district wide application.

• 5

  Approach popular child cartoons and television shows to request that they address indoor pollution in an episode. Many already address outdoor pollution and littering. Some cartoons or television show producers, editors, writers and illustrators might be willing to create coloring pages, worksheets, word scrambles, coloring books and puzzles to address indoor air pollution facts, reduction methods and prevention methods that can be used by parents or teachers in conjunction with the episode that can be downloaded or printed online through their websites.

• 6

  Create a task force or overseeing body to measure effectiveness and continue to distribute more information on indoor air pollution facts, causes, and methods to reduce or eliminate indoor air pollution as well as create more learning materials that the general population and children can understand. Learning materials need to be created in English as well as other languages commonly spoken that can vary by demographics.