If you think you are safe from pollution when you are indoors, think again. We spend almost 90 per cent of our times inside, and we are exposed to gases and volatile compounds that are released from furniture and cooking.
Due to these gases, teamed up with poor ventilation, the air quality in our homes, schools and offices are degrading. The poor quality air can then interfere with our productivity at work and also result in low scores and more absentees in school. In extreme cases, it can result in “sick building syndrome”, where a person develops symptoms like headache, sore throat and nausea from being in a particular building.
Air quality and energy efficiency goes hand-in-hand. In 1983, WHO noted that well-sealed buildings having windows that could not be opened were linked to the “sick building syndrome.” This research was conducted after a lot of people started feeling sick in buildings in the 1970s, reported BBC.
Chemist Charlene Bayer investigated the reasons behind this syndrome. She studied the structure and layout of many buildings and discovered many design flaws. Office washrooms that were placed next to the hydraulic elevators were equipped with the automatic deodorisers that were popular in the 80s and 90s. When the elevator moved, a vacuum was created which drew in the deodorised chemicals and they were released onto the floor in which the lift opened.
“It distributed this stuff on every floor. And it got high enough that sensitive people started responding to it,” she noted. “That was very, very early on when we were trying to convince people that indoor air [quality as a field] really had a reason to exist.”
“Buildings are very dynamic,” Bayer further explained. “That’s something people don’t understand.” Buildings have the exhalations of hundreds of people, the viruses from people, fertilisers being used for indoor plants, the dust off shoes and several other pollutants. In summers, the walls swell with humidity and in winters, they shrink. Buildings are not just a structure of steel and cement, but shifting ecosystems where we spend the majority of our lives.
Despite increased awareness about degrading quality of indoor air quality, there is not much being done to remedy the situation. Green building schemes are a good alternative, which have certain design goals like using environment-friendly materials and being energy efficient while building the structures.
Many designers ensure that the building is energy efficient and don’t bother to verify if it automatically translates to better indoor air quality. The link of green designs to health and productivity should be studied to measure the difference it is making.
Joseph Allen, consultant said that one doesn’t need a new building to get good indoor air quality. “With just a little bit of care, they can turn into high-performing spaces,” he says of older buildings. Running the mechanical ventilation system more or opening windows when there is good air quality outside is good is an alternative.
“Pay attention to the economic implication of improvements in health and work performance,” he said. “They are large, compared to what it takes to improve buildings. If you can improve worker performance by just a few percent, that’s a lot of money… The potential for economic benefits should not be overlooked.”
