The Indoor Air Quality Pollution Blog Helps You
Find,  Identify & Get Rid of Indoor Pollutants
that Cause Unhealthy & Bad Indoor Air Quality
in Homes, Offices, Workplaces, Stores,
Hospitals, Government Buildings, & Schools
by Phillip Fry, Mold Expert, Blogmaster

►Air pollution tied to stroke and memory loss  Feb. 13, 2012
►Drinking Water Shortages, Polluted Drinking Water, Environmental Degradation,
and  Floods Will Hurt U.S. National Security Jan. 31, 2012
►Study finds link between air pollution and increase in DNA damage Dec. 19, 2011
►Smoke-Free Workplaces Reduce Heart Attacks Nov. 16, 2011

►Air freshener danger Nov. 9, 2011
►Inefficient developing world stoves contribute to 2 million deaths a year 
Oct. 13, 2011

►Pregnant Mothers at Risk from Air Pollution  Oct 7, 2011

►Indoor Pollution from Coal Stoves Stunts Children’s Growth  Feb. 8, 2011

►Over 2 million people die annually from indoor and outdoor air
 
pollution according to the World Health Organization Sept. 26, 2011

Why Indoor Pollution is So Dangerous, posted March 22, 2011. Health studies in the United States and Europe indicate that people in highly-developed nations spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors. For infants, the elderly, persons with chronic diseases, and most city residents of any age, the proportion is higher. Because the concentrations of many unhealthy pollutants indoors exceed pollutant levels outdoors, such indoor living poses serious health threats to building occupants.  The indoor pollutant locations of highest concern are those involving prolonged, continuing exposure at home, in school, and in the workplace. Common indoor biological pollutants include animal dander (scales or parts of hair, feathers, and skin), dust mites, cockroach parts, mold growth, bacteria and viruses, and pollen.

Mold is Like Cancer, posted March 21, 2011. Toxic black mold and household mold problems are two of the major causes of bad indoor air quality pollution. Toxic black mold can grow hidden in any number of indoor places, such as behind those beautifully painted walls in the home or office, carpeting, kitchen, bathroom and pantry cabinets, walls, ceilings and inside heating cooling equipment and ducts even in the best clean and maintained buildings in the presence of a roof leak, plumbing leak, or high indoor humidity (above 70% some or all of the time).  When molds are growing in your home, it is like cancer---spreading all over your home through its airborne mold spores and mold cross-contaminating your entire house. Mold sucks out the strength of your home and then makes your entire dwelling dangerous to live in due to toxic mold contamination.

Ongoing indoor exposure to mold spores and mold growth can easily lead to severe mold health problems. Two episodes of the popular television show 48 Hours, hosted by CBS newsman Dan Rather, featured the devastating effects of toxic mold problem on the health of occupants. One of the 48 Hours featured the deadly mold Stachybotrys, which destroys brain tissue, memory function, and the ability to think in a way similar to the impact of advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. Toxic mold inhalation has been found to cause allergenic reactions, serious breathing difficulties, memory and hearing loss, dizziness, flu-like symptoms, bleeding in the lungs, and many other serious health problems, such as are listed on this blog at Mold Symptoms.

Indoor Air Quality in Offices Causes Employee Health Problems: 10 Ways Your Job Is Killing You
by Dimitri Vervitsiotis, October 21, 2011, CNBC

In 1984, the World Health Organization released a report finding that many newly constructed office buildings had flaws in their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These defects affected indoor air quality so severely that they caused conditions such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue, among others, in workers. 

Many of the office buildings in the study still stand, with the same ventilation problems they had 30 years ago. Newer buildings are being designed with better ventilation, but until their designs become the norm it's probable that health issues related to indoor air quality will continue.

How To Do Your Own Mold Inspection and Testing

What Causes Indoor Air Quality Problems?

Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes. Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home. High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.  Read detailed explanation of what causes indoor air quality problems.

Mold Symptoms and Health Problem
      The top mold health symptoms are the following, in alphabetical order. A mold victim may experience one or more symptoms, separately or simultaneously---

a allergies
a asthma
a bleeding lungs
a  breathing difficulties
a cancer
a central nervous system effects
a colds, recurring and with decreased resistance to infection
a  coughing and resulting sore lungs/chest from excessive coughing
a coughing up blood
a dandruff problems [chronic] that don't go away despite use of
       anti-dandruff shampoos
a  dermatitis  and skin rashes
a  diarrhea
a eye and vision problems
a  fatigue [chronic, excessive, or continued] and/or general malaise
a feeling lost or "disconnected" from what's happening around you
a flu symptoms
a hair loss
a  headaches
a hemorrhagic pneumonitis
a  hives
a hypersensitivity pneumonitis (extrinsic allergic alveolitis,
      farmers lung disease)
a irritability
a  itching of the nose, mouth, eyes, throat, skin, or any area
a kidney failure
a  learning difficulties or mental functioning problems or
      personality changes
a memory loss or memory difficulties/Alzheimers-like symptoms
a open skin sores and lacerations
a organic dust toxic syndrome
a peripheral nervous system effects
a  redness of the sclera (white of your eyes)
a  runny nose (rhinitis), clear, thin, watery mucus from your nose may
      appear suddenly, or thick, green slime coming out of nose (from
      sinus cavities)
a seizures
a sinus congestion, sinus problems, and chronic sinusitis
a  skin redness
a sleep disorders
a  sneezing
a sneezing fits (more than three sneezes in a row, happening often)
a sore throat
a tremors [shaking]
a verbal dysfunction [trouble in speaking]
a vertigo
a vomiting

For more in depth information on indoor air quality, please visit these pages:

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