Many people are surprised to learn that in contemporary life, daily chemical exposure is unavoidable. One of the most prevalent yet overlooked sources is indoor air pollution…much of which comes from materials that release chemicals under ambient or greater pressure conditions, an occurrence known as offgassing. “Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously”. (EPA, 2006 )

Just how polluted can indoor air be? “In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities”. (EPA, 1995) “Indoor levels of pollutants may be 2-5 times higher and occasionally more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels”. (EPA, 2006)

More to come.....

• additional information, as well as free downloadable booklets prepared by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), can be found here.
• see Society's Chemical Oblivion for general chemical information