Did you know that Canada has no clear legal standards for indoor air quality in homes? Yet most people spend at least 90% of their time indoors, and indoor air is often more contaminated than outdoor air.
What are some indoor air pollutants?
There are three main groups of indoor air pollutants:
- Biological – eg. mites, bacteria, mould. Bacteria can grow when filters or steam- or mist-producing devices (e.g., humidifiers, shower heads) aren’t kept clean. Mould grows when water infiltrates building materials such as drywall.
- Physical – e.g. dust, small particles, asbestos (especially if friable or flaking)
- Chemical – e.g. combustion products (i.e., wood or cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide), household products (i.e. paint strippers and cleaning products), and ozone (i.e., from electronics like printers, copiers and fax machines). As well, chemicals like formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds and plastics may “off-gas” from paints, floor finishes, glues, recently dry-cleaned clothing, room deodorizers, and household furnishings.
Some contaminants enter homes from outdoors, such as radon from soil, vapours from contaminated subsurface groundwater or soil, air emissions from nearby roads and industries, and particles carried in on clothes and shoes. A study published in January’s Pediatrics warns of the hazards of third-hand smoke, namely chemicals that cling to smokers’ hair and clothes and to surfaces like furniture and carpets. Infants and children can breathe or ingest these particles when crawling or playing on the floor.
Poor air circulation in a house can exacerbate poor IAQ.
So what?
Contaminants in indoor air may lead to nonspecific respiratory and neurologic symptoms (e.g., rhinitis, otitis media, respiratory infections, headaches), as well as allergies, asthma, heart disease and, in extreme cases, some types of cancer.
How much is too much?
Canadian provinces do have some regulations on indoor air quality to protect workers when they are at work. These occupational exposure limits are designed for healthy adults working a 40 or so hour week, and are usually a compromise between health-based limits and available control technology. Occupational limits are not designed to protect children, seniors, and other vulnerable people, nor for homes, hospitals, and other locations that are occupied 24/7. Nor do occupational limits cover all contaminants.
Ministry of the Environment standards are much more stringent than occupational standards, but they usually don’t apply to indoor air.
Health Canada has recommendations (not laws) for indoor air exposure limits for some contaminants. Unfortunately, they aren’t always based on current science. The comprehensive Health Canada Guideline, Exposure Guidelines for Residential Indoor Air Quality, was last revised in 1989. Acceptable exposure ranges are provided for carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. Occasionally, Health Canada issues new (2007) IAQ guidelines for individual contaminants, usually at much lower levels. For example, the 2007 guideline for radon is one-quarter of that recommended in 1989.
There are recent Residential IAQ guidelines for moulds (2007) and formaldehydes (2006). Health Canada recognizes that mould exposure may be hazardous, but did not set exposure limits, due to the number of species and strains as well as significant variability in human response to moulds.
What can we do about it?
Most people have lots of options to improve IAQ. For example:
- Don’t wear outside shoes indoors (they carry particles of dirt, bacteria, etc.)
- Don’t smoke inside
- Ensure good ventilation
- Keep indoor spaces clean
- Keep ventilation equipment and mist-producing devices clean
- Change to greener cleaning products
- Don’t use smelly chemicals, such as paint removers, indoors.
- Keep smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors in working order
- Grow green plants (to remove toxins)
- Use an air cleaner with a HEPA/ carbon filter
- Vacuum with a HEPA filter
- Change filters regularly
- Wait a few days before bringing recently dry-cleaned clothes into the house; alternatively, switch to eco-friendly dry-cleaners
- Remove any visible mould with bleach
- Tape up or remove flaking asbestos
In more serious cases:
- Increase air changes, perhaps with heat recovery
- Remove dust catchers like carpets
- Change to greener furniture/fabrics/draperies
- In some areas, it may be wise to test basement radon levels (check with your local Medical Officer of Health to find out whether this is a concern in your municipality)
How much you decide to do may depend on whether IAQ is causing a problem, such as respiratory symptoms or headache. You may want to take more care to protect vulnerable individuals, such as young children, the elderly and those with impaired immune systems.
There are many unknowns about indoor contaminants, especially the health risks of chronic exposure to low concentrations of a variety of chemicals. We also know little about the health impact of new technologies, such as nanoparticles.
Someday, labelling requirements for consumer products may require manufacturers to warn of IAQ hazards- but that’s a long way off.
Resources
Radon in buildings
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/radon.html
Dales et al. Quality of indoor residential air & health (CMAJ 2008; 179(2):147-52)
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/179/2/147
Health Canada Indoor Air Quality guidelines
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/air/index-eng.php
IAQ guidelines for radon – 2007
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2007/20070609/html/notice-e.html
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
[. . .] Toronto lawyer Dianne Saxe, one of Canada’s foremost environmental law practitioners, has posted a short but thoughtful blog entry on indoor air quality in homes [. . .]
Dianne’s article on ‘Indoor Air Quality’ is spot on in both detail and important facts!
Being a business owner in Ottawa that deals exclusively in high-quality room air purification equipment, our biggest challenge is public education. Most people are not even aware of the short and long term dangers on their health as a result of living in a poor indoor air environment, let alone what to do about it.
I was pleased to see someone acknowledging the fact that Government air quality standards (for what few regulated pollutants there are) are usually set for the “average person” and do not necessarily protect the respiratory health of senior citizens. Research has shown that concentrations of pollutants deemed safe for adults can actually be extremely dangerous to the elderly because of many different factors that I discuss on my website.
In addition, young children are more likely to be affected by exposure to indoor airborne chemicals and toxins because their bodies are smaller and they have higher respiratory rates than adults do. Pound for pound, their exposure level is far higher and may be above what is deemed legally acceptable for an adult.
Once again, I was very impressed with the concise information provided.
Robert Mayr – Modern Alchemy Air Purifiers
Robert,
Thank you so much for your kind comments. We’re delighted to be of help.
Dianne
Dear Ms Saxe.
I read your piece on air quality with great interest, and learned a lot about the subject, thanks to you.
Just one thing. How do I go about actually having the air checked in my condo unit, and get professional advice as to if there is a problem with the building (9 years old), or just specific to my unit. And what, if anything to be done . Thank You for the great service you provide.
Leslie, There are many professional environmental consultants that offer indoor air quality testing, such as Pinchin, CRA and RWDI. Professional Engineers Ontario may be able to provide you with additional names.
Best wishes and thank you for your kind words.
Hello,
Is there any recourse regarding a restaurant cooking with wood smoke which exhausts about 25 feet from a condo? Balcony is unusable and smoke coming into the condo gives coughing and headaches.
The owner extended the exhaust system and it is in compliance according to Toronto Building Standards who finally got back to me.
However, not being able to open windows or use my balcony severely restricts the enjoyment of my home. The condo Board of Directors told me they consider it a non-issue, Public Health said they don't deal with these things and Dept. of Environment sent back a form email.
Can anything else be done?
Jeanne
You may be able to sue the restaurant for creating a nuisance
Dianne Saxe Sent from my iPhone
Thanks for your reply, Diane.
Yes, I figured this was the next step. The restaurant opened after the condo was built so we are sort of captive here short of moving.
Good day Dianne.
I am living in a condo. Trough the heating/ac shaft there is cigarette smoke filling my unit when ever the person(s) smoking in their unit, above or below me. I am a none smoker (quit some 35 years ago), and do not wish to get heart disease, or cancer from second hand smoke. Can the Board order the offender to stop and disease smoking inside the unit,, or have a ventilation installed to the outside. Can I take legal action for compliance? Thank You kindly.
One big thing to control mould is to keep relative humidity below 50% – if there's no moisture, there's no mould.
Also, there are home air quality testing kits out there. I don't know of a place to get them offhand, or how effective they would be, but that would be a cost effective first step as opposed to a professional assessment.
As for brands of air purifiers, most of the concerns I've read in the comments will be easily handled by most brands. Just make sure it moves enough air.
Hello Dianne, I live in a condo & the owners below me scattered many many large mothballs in their unit in March, mostly in their laudrey room which has a shared ventilation wall with air holes in each unit. The vapors migrated to my unit and are dreadful and making me ill. Management/board helped initially, with various consultants but mothball odor is extremely difficult to eliminate. The first engineer said odors are like leaks…difficult to pinpoint the actural route and they keep finding a new road in. There were cleaners, venting and hepa filters used in the unit below. Then they had an enviornmental consultant here who took a snap shot air sample of both units, said my home was very low on dust, had good ventilation as my windows wide open and said he could not smell mothballs. But the smell seldom comes out until the sun hits my west windows and triggers the molecules into activity. I keep my windows open regardless of the weather, and frequently opened my apt door to the hall untill my cat was too overwhelmed for me to continue. The board then had some holes in both laudry rooms sealed, although I can see some more areas of concern in my unit. And the mothball smell is increasing again. I have the area cleaned 3 times daily with rubbing alcohol, have charcoal and baking soda scattered throughout the area, all to manage the off gassing. But there can still be 1 or 2 significant episodes daily, and the behavior of these episodes remains the same as they always have. eg. increase temperature, humidity, and high winds when you can hear the air circulation in the venting wall. I beleve there is continued leakage from the unit below.
All my emails to the borard/management are met with silence.
Mothballs are composes of either naphthalene or dichlorobenzene which are pestisides and are carsenogenic. All the research I have done says if you are breathing in the vapors, you are breathing toxins. I have an autoemmune/neurological disorder and have increase of symptoms in addition to the regular side effects of inhaling these toxic fumes, all of which the board is fully aware of. Some days I can taste mothballs and I think that is because I have inhaled the vapors for an extended time. Friends actually leave my home because of the vapor makes them ill. I have considered moving but the financial loss would be significant, and I am too unwell for a move right now. I'm stuck here because my neurological issue causes a lot of fatigue and weakness, and I am lying down a lot.
I think, the board have discontinued their efforts with the air quality report backing them up….but that is just a guess. I have asked the board for results of their test findings, and asked to speak directly with them, and even at a board meeting. Twice I have asked them to come to my home to experience the vapor. I have asked for my apt to be returned to the same standard of air quality everyone else has in the condo. I have asked that the people responsible for this issue be given written direction never to use mothballs again. (I will add that another neighbor who is elderly and timid, lives directly across from this unit has had mothball odor in her unit for 5 years and although she has verbally complained, the board say they have never had anything in writing). I am so willing to work with them in collaboration. There has never been a response. I have learned this is common practice for this board…..to not respond to complaints.
What more can I do? Is the boards conduct appropriate? Any ideas or direction for help would be appriciated.
Thank you.
Dear Kathleen,
Unfortunately, we cannot give legal advice through a website.
But we do wish you well, and hope that you find a solution to your problem.
Dianne