The animated image below was created by Mark Parrington and was originally publish on his Twitter account on June 6th, 2023.
I believe it is an eye opening animation as it reveals how easy air pollution travels across states and countries. We call this pollution Cross-Border Air Pollution.
It was brought to my attention by Dr. Howook Chang that most media are talking about wildfires, what the color of the sunset looks like, and that people shouldn’t go outside. However, no one is talking about the fact that smoke can infiltrate houses quite easily. Wildfire smoke can join you during dinner or while you are sleeping.
Air quality matters more indoors where we spend most of our time. So here is a series of things to keep in mind in order to breathe healthy air.
First of all, measure the air quality indoors and outdoors. The reason we need to measure both environments is that we need to benchmark the conditions and take decisions based on the data we have collected. Pollutants can easily come inside the house during ambient pollution events, whether is a wildfire, traffic, or a dust storm (e.g. Sahara Dust). Windows, doors, HVAC systems, or simply not good insulation are some of the main entrances of pollution indoors.
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I wanted some time to pass before I write my thoughts on Dyson’s new product called “Zone”.
For those who don’t know who Dyson is, Dyson is a company known for its innovative and unique products (mainly vacuum cleaners) and it has recently released a new product that combines two seemingly unrelated items: headphones and air purifiers. The Dyson Zone headphones are a pair of noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones with air purification technology built in. I don’t want to focus on the headphone but on the purification capabilities for individuals.
1st Point: We live in a society where individualism becomes stronger and stronger over time and instead of fixing the air pollution for all we are thinking about how to protect only ourselves, not even our kids or family. The device is not capable of stopping pollutants from getting into the wearer’s body and a n95 mask is more effective because it seals better.
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Air pollution is an environmental problem that affects everyone in the world, regardless of their socio-economic status. Rich or poor, we all share the same air, and when it is polluted, it affects us all. Whether it is the air of a city or a rural area, air pollution is a problem that cannot be ignored.
Air pollution occurs when harmful pollutants are released into the atmosphere. These pollutants can come from a variety of sources, including factories, cars, wood stoves, and even forest fires. Air pollutants can be in the form of gases, such as nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, or particles, such as soot, black carbon, and dust.
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Let’s forget at the moment that combustion vehicles emit carbon dioxide (CO2), and focus on the occupants that spend time inside a confined space where they emit CO2 due to metabolite of cell respiration. Vehicles form part of the indoor spaces where humans spend a lot of time due to traffic or because they have to travel long distances.
Regulatory bodies have been controlling many aspects of modern vehicles; tires, mirrors, seat belts, airbags, screens, etc. However, they have forgotten to look into the air quality inside the vehicles and how it affects the driver’s cognitive performance.
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I had the chance to visit New Delhi and Agra in India due to an annual conference that we had to assist. I was well informed about the poor air quality in the area, so I was prepared to breathe some pollution. I have read many articles and heard many testimonials about the situation there but still, a visit in situ helps someone understand the issue on a whole new level.
Some weeks ago, I published an article on “Why is Air Pollution Invisible” and I think during my visit to India I experienced all of the points clearly.
Immediately, once you come out of the aircraft, you can smell the air pollution. It is everywhere, indoors and outdoors. Even waiting in the immigration line for clearance you can smell it. I didn’t have the instrument in hand at that point in order to measure the concentrations, but from my experience and because air pollution was visible due to high levels, I estimate concentrations of 100μg/m3 of PM2.5. I want to make clear that I was still indoors.
From there, I headed to the hotel in a taxi. As you may imagine, the air quality was not better, but quite the opposite as the fumes from the relentless amount of unregulated vehicles were spewing everything they had in their engines. Particles of all sizes and gas fumes. Interestingly, more than 90% of the vehicle in the streets were occupied by only one person, the driver. On top of the air pollution in the streets, you can add noise pollution as the use of car horns is a tradition in India.
I managed to arrive at the hotel after a small accident with the car (no damages) where I took the air quality monitor out of my luggage in order to measure the conditions in the room. Unfortunately, it wasn’t safe either. The mean PM2.5 concentration during my stay was around 50μg/m3.
The hotel had some small air purifiers in the hallway, but the coverage area was too big for them to handle properly. I looked at the filters and they were pure black, who knows for how long they were running without replacement.
On day two, my nose didn’t register the smell of smoke anymore. I was one of them! Unable to smell the pollution and consequently remind myself that I need to find clean air. This is what happens to locals that don’t have options, eventually, they forget.
For simplicity, here you can see my PM2.5 exposure for the last date of my trip before coming back home. However, the particle counts for the smaller particles like 0.3μm and 0.5μm, which get lost with mass concentration values, were even higher reaching counts of around 400,000,000 particles per m3 and 40,000,000 particles per m3, respectively. By the way, according to the locals, I visited New Delhi during a good AQ time.
Enough with the AQ data, we know it is really bad, my main question was where all this air pollution comes from. Most people will tell me that it is due to vehicle emissions and domestic burning. Still, it doesn’t make sense though because the weather was warm and there was no need to burn logs for heating. Additionally, the issue was persisting all day and night. So after a conversation with a local professor, he pointed out that the main source was waste management. Basically, they burn garbage and these eternal fires create the smog that persists in the city and makes people really sick.
I talked about the car horns, but you will also hear many people cough. It’s normal as their lungs are suffering from chronic exposure to toxic air pollutants.
There is some good news, though. Once the local people realize the source of pollution as I did, they can fix it. New Delhi is populated by 15,000,000 people and I understand that the amount of waste they generate is equivalent to that number, but the management of the waste can’t be “burn it, it will disappear” because it doesn’t. Finally, vehicles need some kind of control and annual revisions that will force the drivers to maintain the car in optimal conditions like EURO 6 compliance does in Europe.
Do you remember the Tamagotchi from the 90s? A small and portable digital pet that you had to take care of in order to keep it “alive”?
Wouldn’t it be great to create the same pet but with the only difference that it breathes air and air quality information is taken into account in order to determine its survival chances? I think it will engage people and help them not to get accustomed to the presence of poor AQ. Poor air quality can be due to the presence of particle pollution but also high CO2 levels indoors which will make the character sleepy.
A while ago, I wrote a similar article on Gamification and Air Quality. Same approach but even more fun! Kids will definitely try to keep the character alive, and it doesn’t even require hardware as it can be an app on your phone. Outdoor air quality data are available all over the world, so there is no problem there, but we need to think about how to implement indoor AQ data into the algorithm that calculates Tamagotchi’s health. Remember we spend most of our time indoors.
In this case, a small wearable monitor would be the best. However, 3rd party companies with Indoor AQ monitors will need to give access to the application that runs the companion character. That way, the character can be updated and engage with the user more often based on real data.
A software service will rise here as the company that decides to commercialize such a feature will have to build something similar to what Amazon, ecobee, or Apple with HomeKit provides in order to feed the app with air.
I don’t like the name Tamagotchi a lot, plus there are some copyright issues there, so let’s name our character Nicholas from the titular character of my kid’s books. Nicholas has superpowers and can see particulate pollutants. I cannot imagine a better companion!
You may have heard the term “air pollution is invisible” which was first told by Dr. Gary Fuller (if I am not mistaken), but apart from the fact that the composition of the pollution is made from tiny particles and gases that are not visible to the naked eye, I think the real reason is different.
People forget easily, and even when they see stuff, repeatable patterns get canceled out by the brain. A clear example are perfumes. When you wear the same perfume over and over, you lose the ability to smell it. Another example is the smell each house has as the owners/occupants of the house are unable to smell it. Visitors, on the other hand, can and sometimes is very potent.
I believe the same thing happens with air pollution. When you expose yourself to the same pungent odors (e.g nitrogen dioxide) because you go to work or school every day, your brain becomes familiar with the odor and it cancels it out. Same thing with wood burning smoke, as I have encountered people that live inside clouds of wood smoke which doesn’t bother them. Eventually, their lungs/heart cannot cope anymore and they die prematurely.
Another reason air pollution is invisible is that the majority of people lack education in order to see the problem. Scientifically speaking air pollution is a very complex topic that involves knowledge in chemistry, physics, statistics, and more. It is not expected for people to have this kind of knowledge and this is the reason we have to communicate the impact it has on human health in simple terms. Environmental education has to come from the early stages of school education which is absent in most countries, even the developed ones.
Sensor technology has allowed us to see the air we breathe yet many public/private organizations are scared of the information we collect and share. Accurate information is a powerful tool. Inaccurate, or the absence of information, is dangerous.
Believe it or not, there is a lot of misinformation about air pollution. For example, wood stove pellets do not produce air pollution nor CO2! This is what the industry of wood burners tells people. Pure lies.
I will close this article with a question, are you allowed to breathe clean air?
This is the first Artificial Intelligent (AI) written article on Indoor Air Quality. I was interested to see if technology understands the issue. I have done zero corrections. What do you think?
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important but often overlooked aspect of a home’s environment. Poor IAQ can lead to a variety of health issues, such as asthma, allergies, headaches, and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Given the health risks associated with poor IAQ, it’s important to understand the sources of indoor air pollutants, the measures you can take to reduce them, and the steps you should take if you suspect your home has a IAQ issue.
Indoor air pollutants come from a variety of sources, including mold, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, chemicals, and building materials. These pollutants can enter your home through open windows, ventilation systems, and other pathways. Poor maintenance of these sources can lead to an increase in the amount of pollutants in the air. For example, failing to regularly clean carpets and filters can lead to an accumulation of dust and other contaminants.
One source of indoor air pollution that is often dismissed is wood burning. Wood burning can produce both direct and indirect air pollutants, such as smoke, soot, and other particulate matter. The smoke can contain a variety of hazardous compounds, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde. In addition, the smoke from wood burning can also contain other pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). All of these pollutants can be hazardous to human health, particularly if the exposure is prolonged.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to reduce the levels of indoor air pollutants and improve the quality of your home’s air. Regularly cleaning carpets, upholstery, and other surfaces can help reduce the amount of dust and other allergens in the air. Additionally, regularly changing the air filters in your air conditioning and heating systems can help reduce the amount of dust and other particles in the air. Finally, using an air purifier can also help reduce the amount of indoor air pollutants.
If you suspect your home has a IAQ issue, it’s important to take steps to investigate and address the problem. The first step is to identify the source of the problem. This can involve hiring professionals to assess the air quality in your home, as well as conducting tests to identify the specific pollutants in the air. Once the source of the problem has been identified, you can then take steps to address it, such as improving ventilation, cleaning regularly, and using air purifiers.
In conclusion, poor IAQ can lead to a variety of health issues, including asthma, allergies, headaches, and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Therefore, it’s important to understand the sources of indoor air pollutants, the measures you can take to reduce them, and the steps you should take if you suspect your home has a IAQ issue. By taking steps to reduce indoor air pollutants and address the sources of IAQ issues, you can help ensure your home’s air quality is as healthy as possible.
When it comes to indoor air we have to be very careful because common activities can deteriorate the air quality very fast. Apart from the fact that we spend a lot of time indoors, an indoor environment needs more time to recover once air pollution become present because houses tend to be very tight and don’t allow the dilution of pollutants as fast as ambient air.
Even people that are very conscious, like myself, commit mistakes. The other day, for example, I was preparing caramel syrup for a holiday dessert, and as I wasn’t paying attention to the caramel (because I was multitasking), the caramel burnt. In a matter of seconds, IAQ dropped significantly. VOCs and PMx concentrations rose. At that moment and based on the outdoor conditions, I decided that it was more appropriate to open all windows in order to dilute the pollutants fast. Cross ventilation to the rescue!
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See The Air 