Air Quality: Is There An Issue?
Humans can survive
few weeks without food,
few days without water and only few minutes without air.
Daily intake of an average adult is:
1 - 1.2 kg food; 2 - 2.5 l water; and
15,000 - 18,000 l air.
Most of us are very careful when selecting what to eat and
drink, but
DO WE CARE WHAT WE BREATHE?
Whether we admit it or not, the truth is that our health is affected
significantly by the quality of the air we breathe. For this reason even
minor improvements in air quality are beneficial for everyone and especially for
some groups of the population including children, elderly, people with
respiratory problems and those with cardiovascular diseases.
Improving the quality of the air we breathe improves our
health and wellbeing.
Amazingly it costs us much less than treating the
adverse health effects caused by exposure to polluted air, even when
exposure is at
levels which are below current standards.
Since Australians spend approx. 95% of their time indoors
#, indoor air quality should be a major public
health concern. According to CSIRO^
poor indoor air quality in Australia costs us $ 12 billion per year due
to ill-health and lost productivity, and it can be largely prevented.
Only just recently indoor air pollution is recognised as a
main air quality issue and generally it still is not addressed as it should be.
At society's level reducing air pollution means less costs for treating
adverse
health effects.
At employers' level reducing air pollution means less sick leave days and
better
productivity.
At individual's level reducing air pollution means improved personal
health and
wellbeing.
So, should we wait while scientists establish the concrete link between specific
pollutant and certain
adverse health effects, as well as the exact mechanism by which those
adverse health effects occur? Or, since decades can pass in studying the
wide range of pollutants in their myriad
combinations, should we act now by applying the precautionary principle of
Prudent Avoidance?
Implementing our air purifier improves the quality of indoor air by significantly reducing the
number of particles polluting the air indoors. This may improve people's health
and wellbeing, may reduce sick leave days and may improve productivity of the
staff.
