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Air Contaminants
Resources
- Growing Smarter, Living Healthier: A Guide to Smart Growth and Active Aging is available to be down-loaded. You may also order a copy on line.
- Fact sheets on Environmental Health
- Posters, Brochures and Other
- Special Topics
- Power Point: Presentations
- EPA Reports
- EPA Reports by Topic
- EPA's Programs
- Links
- Other Resources
This information will help you learn more about the research that is being done to date to further the Aging Initiative including a summary of EPA projects or supported projects and various fact sheets and reports developed by EPA.
| Indoor Air | Outdoor Air | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| General | Technical | General | Technical |
Indoor Air
Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health but many do not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant health effects. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels.
- Organic Gases (Volatile Organic Compounds - VOCs) - Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.
EPA's Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in rural or highly industrial areas. Additional TEAM studies indicate that while people are using products containing organic chemicals, they can expose themselves and others to very high pollutant levels, and elevated concentrations can persist in the air long after the activity is completed.
General
- A
Citizen's Guide to Radon: The Guide to Protecting Yourself and
Your Family From Radon
- Carbon Monoxide
- CO - How Carbon Monoxide Affects the Way We Live and Breathe
- Sources of Indoor Air Pollution - Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- The Inside
Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
- Molds
- Mold Resources
- A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home
- Asthma Triggers - Molds
- Mold
Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings
- Second Hand Smoke - EPA has published a major assessment of the respiratory health risks of passive smoking (Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders; EPA/600/6-90/006F). The report concludes that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) -- commonly known as secondhand smoke -- is responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in nonsmoking adults and impairs the respiratory health of hundreds of thousands of children.
- What
You Should Know About Appliances and Indoor Air Pollution
Prepared by the US EPA in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Lung Association.
Technical
Outdoor Air
General
- Ozone:
Good Up High, Bad Nearby
- The
Sun, UV, and You: A Guide to Sunwise Behavior
[PDF, 16 pp., 380 KB]
- Particulate
Matter - Particulate matter, or PM, is the
term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt,
soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Particles can be
suspended in the air for long periods of time. Some particles
are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke. Others
are so small that individually they can only be detected with
an electron microscope.
Some particles are directly emitted into the air. They come from a variety of sources such as cars, trucks, buses, factories, construction sites, tilled fields, unpaved roads, stone crushing, and burning of wood.
Other Particulate Matter Links:
Technical