Watch out for indoor pollutants

Friday, November 1, 2002

Dear Marti:

I read that the air in our homes is more polluted than the air outside. Is that true? Why?

  - Deborah

Dear Deborah,

No offense to any of us neat freaks (OK, I'll be honest, YOU neat freaks) out there, but unfortunately that is true of the average home. According to recent studies by the EPA, the air inside homes and buildings is on average two to five times more polluted than the air in even the most industrial cities. But instead of smelling like a belching smokestack or the back end of a diesel truck, the polluted air in our homes and buildings tends to have more of a "pine fresh" scent.

There are many causes of indoor air pollution, including radon, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and biological pollutants, but the most common culprits are household products and pesticides.

The chemicals in household products and pesticides found indoors can cause dizziness, headaches, irritation to eyes, nose, and throat, nausea, and even cancer. According to "Everyday Exposure to Toxic Pollutants," an article in the February 1998 Scientific American, an estimated 3,000 cases of cancer each year in the United States are thought to be caused by long-term use of household products and pesticides.

Let's start with cleaners. While we enjoy the convenience of spraying on foam and wiping off oven scum (well, who wouldn't enjoy that), deodorizing our toilets and coloring the toilet bowl water with a fresh blue hue, and using an air freshener to bring the fragrance of a European rose garden into our homes (is that really what a European rose garden smells like?), we're also releasing harmful chemicals into our home's air.

So much for a fresh, clean home. Then you've got varnishes, paints, glues, etc., which also release harmful chemicals. Let's not forget the personal care products. Hairspray, nail polish, polish remover, and hair dyes contain volatile organic compounds that evaporate easily into the air. Even while they're innocently sitting in storage, compounds from all these products can be polluting the air you breathe.

Now on to pesticides. In addition to indoor ant poison and roach-be-gone sprays, many of us are exposed to outdoor pesticides inside our homes. Carpets act as reservoirs for the pesticides we track in from outdoors, retaining these chemicals for years even though they would break down within days outside. That's a good thing to remember the next time junior crawls across the floor.

The good news is it isn't necessary to live in toxic waste. You can have a safe AND clean home. Here's how: Reduce health threats posed by household products at the source by using natural, non-toxic methods of cleaning and pest control.

Read labels to avoid buying toxic products. Beware the following words: poison, toxic, corrosive, volatile, flammable, combustible, explosive, caution, warning or danger. Choose water-based products over solvent-based ones. Avoid aerosols whenever possible, as well as products containing chlorinated compounds, petroleum distillates, phenols or formaldehyde. Buy non-toxic alternatives instead. These exist for everything from cleaners to paints to varnishes. We're lucky they're more available in this community than in many places.

Avoid tracking in outdoor pesticides by not wearing outdoor shoes inside. If you find yourself with unused or unwanted toxic products such as automotive supplies, paints, solvents, etc., dispose of them responsibly through the Boulder County Household Hazardous Waste facility. Call (303) 441-4800 for details.

For more information on indoor air quality, check out the EPA's Web site at www.epa.gov/iaq/ and the American Lung Association's site at www.lungusa.org/air/indoor_factsheet99.html . For non-toxic cleaning recipes for household cleaners, laundry detergents, stain removers, furniture polishes, pesticides and more, visit www.ecocycle.org , or give us a call at (303) 444-6634. "Clean and Green," a book by Annie Berthold-Bond, gives great household recipes for cleaning everything from your floor to your car. "Home Safe Home," by Debra Lynn Dadd, offers more than 400 tips for limiting exposure to toxic chemicals, including advice on label-reading, do-it-yourself "safe solutions" and mail-order resources for safe products.

Send your eco-questions to marti@ecocycle.org.