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Indoor Air Quality and Purification
Context:
The privileged in society often spend their days in controlled environments—homes, offices, gyms, and air-conditioned vehicles—where air quality can be managed.
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- Outdoor exposure, for most, is limited to commutes or errands, and a well-fitted N95 mask is typically the only reliable way to minimise harmful pollution during these brief excursions.
- However, for the majority of Indians, outdoor air pollution is unavoidable.
- Street vendors, delivery workers, labourers, and those living in poorly sealed homes face prolonged exposure to harmful pollutants daily.
- Lacking the resources to create controlled indoor environments, these individuals bear a disproportionate burden of air pollution.
Improving Indoor Air Quality:
- For those who can afford it, improving indoor air quality is crucial, particularly by managing exposure to PM2.5, the fine particulate matter linked to respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases.
- In cities across North India and other parts of the country, PM2.5 levels often exceed the World Health Organisation’s safe limits throughout the year, making it vital for those with the means to manage indoor air quality.
- The first step is to limit outdoor pollutants from entering the home.
- Keeping windows and doors closed and sealing gaps around these openings can significantly reduce the infiltration of polluted air.
- Using air purifiers, especially in spaces like bedrooms where people spend a lot of time, helps minimise exposure.
- Closing off other rooms to reduce the air volume the purifier needs to clean can further improve its effectiveness.
- This need for enclosed spaces, however, underscores the inefficacy of outdoor air purifiers, like smog towers.
- While they may seem like a solution, they fail to address the broader problem due to the vast volume of outdoor air, making their impact negligible.
- For those in unsealed homes, where outdoor pollutants easily infiltrate, even indoor air purification has its limits.
Sources of Indoor Air Pollution:
- While outdoor air pollution gets much of the attention, indoor air pollution is also a significant concern.
- Activities like cooking, particularly with solid fuels, release harmful fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and other dangerous gases.
- Kitchens are often the most polluted areas in a home, and poor ventilation, even with modern cooking stoves, can cause harmful pollutants to accumulate.
- This issue is gendered, as women typically spend more time in the kitchen and are, therefore, disproportionately affected by indoor air pollution due to entrenched societal norms.
- Burning incense or candles also worsens indoor air quality by releasing fine particles and volatile organic compounds, further contributing to pollution within the home.
Monitoring Air Pollution:
- While many buildings, gyms, and workplaces claim to have air filtration systems, these claims are often unverifiable without independent monitoring.
- Using low-cost air quality sensors to measure PM2.5 levels indoors can help determine whether additional filtration is necessary.
- For homes without centralised filtration systems, especially in areas with persistently poor outdoor air quality, investing in an air purifier is usually essential.
- Relying on visibility or media reports as indicators of air quality can be misleading.
- It is far more accurate to consult data from nearby air quality monitors, reinforcing the need to manage indoor air quality effectively.
How Air Purifiers Work:
- An air purifier typically combines a fan with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter designed to trap PM2.5 particles.
- Many modern purifiers include sensors that automatically adjust fan speed based on air quality, enhancing efficiency.
- For those on a budget, a DIY air purifier using a HEPA filter and a fan can also be effective.
- HEPA filters are essential for trapping fine particulate matter like PM2.5, while activated carbon filters, although not necessary for particulate matter, help capture gaseous pollutants.
- The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is a key metric that indicates how quickly an air purifier can filter the air in a given space. A higher CADR rating is particularly important for larger rooms.
- It’s crucial to avoid purifiers that generate ozone, as this can worsen indoor air quality.
- While stratospheric ozone protects against UV radiation, ground-level ozone, created through chemical reactions, can introduce more pollutants into the indoor air.
- For vehicles, using the air conditioner in recirculation mode with the windows closed minimises the intake of outdoor air, creating a cleaner environment inside the car.
- However, this also highlights an irony: the car’s AC system, while protecting its occupants from polluted outdoor air, can contribute to the very pollution it shields them from.
Ethical Implications of Air Purification:
- While air purifiers can reduce health risks for those who can afford them, such solutions are inherently inequitable.
- This selective insulation of the privileged can diminish the urgency for systemic changes to improve air quality and perpetuate the problem.
- Measures to reduce exposure are individualistic and temporary, only addressing the symptoms rather than the root causes of pollution.
- Worse, these solutions risk worsening existing inequalities, as they are often out of reach for those who suffer most from air pollution.
- Ultimately, the real solution lies in improving outdoor air quality—something that requires collective action and a concerted effort from policymakers and society as a whole.
