The following are some of the elements present in our atmosphere and becomes part of the air that we breathe:
· The use of chemicals during the past twenty years has been widespread from building materials, to furniture, house paints, toy paints, synthetic accessories like carpets and rugs, detergents, cleaning materials, deodorizers, pets and household pesticides, and plastic bottles just to name a few. Chemicals that were infused as raw materials slowly eroded, emitted toxins and irritants, leached, or mingled in the indoor air that we breathe. Not all of these substances are present in our homes, but as one transfers location from home to school or to office or even in malls and other edifices, we breathe in these pollutants under a controlled air conditioning system.
· The outdoor pollutants, which we all know come from the combustion of cars, trucks, trains, motor boats, airplanes and even in tractors common in farms and rural areas. The increased number of vehicles for the past 20 years likewise produced a relevant increase in the amount toxic air pollution. In fact, moving air is said to carry even pollution coming from remote places.
· Radon, a toxic gas coming from radium, which is a natural element of the soil, was ascertained to be one of the indoor air pollutants that directly affect the respiratory system. In fact, even the number of lung cancer deaths has increased through the years, which victimized both smokers and non-smokers alike, leading to radon as the main cause. As the gas is formed from under our houses, it enters through the fissures and cracks or emitted as steam in household running waters such as showers and faucets. It accumulates inside our houses reaching a level considered as a great health risk.
What Makes Children, Women and the Low-Income Individuals Susceptible to Asthma?
Statistics show that the majority of those affected are children below 5 years old, women, and those coming from the poor or low-income levels of the community:
· Consider the size of airways in the respiratory system of a child as against the amount of air pollutants that accumulate, it takes little time for these pollutants to take its detrimental effects in the child's breathing system.
· In the same way that children and adults in the low-income sectors, become easily affected due to the natural weakness of their respiratory systems for lack of proper nutrition and supplements to strengthen their natural immunities against ordinary forms of sickness such as colds and flu. They may also be residing in areas near factories and other environmental conditions where there is a great concentration of pollution in all forms and substances.
· In addition, women are said to be highly susceptible due to their constant exposure and closer contact to household chemicals and pollutants while going about their daily chores of cleaning the house. A daily dose of inhaled dust mites, molds, pet's shedding, as well as the use of household detergents and cleaning materials containing toxic chemicals, makes the female member of the household at risk from developing not only asthma but lung cancer as well.
What Has Been Done and What Needs to be Done?
The Public, Environmental, Well-Being (PEW) Commission on Environmental Health summed up their findings with a bleak projection that by the year 2020, the number of asthma sufferers in the U.S. alone will reach 29 million unless actions to reverse its trend takes place. In view of this, a system will be implemented to track down every case of asthma deaths as well as launch comprehensive public information campaigns about asthma and how to manage the disease.
The EPA in support of the Green Campaign has disseminated guidelines and programs that emphasize control of asthma triggers in the environment. These programs include guidelines on home and building materials to consider in improving the quality of indoor air. EPA has provided information about parts of home or buildings, particularly schools that made use of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOC's) which should be seriously considered for renovation.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOC's) represent a large group of raw materials that made use of carbon-based chemicals, which easily transform into vapor at room temperature. Some have odors and some do not but the risk of inhaling these chemicals present health risks once they are inhaled. During the past twenty years, these materials have been widely used and has pervaded in the atmosphere of every room we are in.
Paints, boards, sealants, floorings, carpeting and other highly technical building installations, encapsulations, and ventilation all made use of VOC's in as much as a thousand of these products are in use for almost everything in our daily lives. SVOC's have been determined to take a longer time to erode and have become dust particles in our indoor atmosphere.
EPA likewise recommended that every house should test for radon and likewise install the necessary radon reduction system, which can draw away the radon gas away from homes and buildings. These toxic hazards remain entrapped, while the quality of air we breathe inside our homes, schools, and places of work continue to fill up our respiratory systems with irritants that lead to the development of asthma.
EPA is also pushing for the use of biofuel as green energy to improve the quality of outdoor air. Tax incentives are being given to companies and factories that have shifted to green energy fuels as well as implemented energy efficient procedures in their day-to-day operations. Even car manufacturers are encouraged to produce energy-efficient cars that will make use of green fuel, all aimed at reducing carbon monoxide emissions that permeate in the air.
The medical communities on the other hand are active in disseminating information to the public, also addressed to doctors, who may still be outdated with their methods in treating asthma. Instead of prescribing treatments that produce short-term effects, medical practitioners are advised on the availability of drug medications that can provide longer therapeutic benefits.
Our awareness regarding asthma should also instill in our minds the need for proper nutrition and a healthier lifestyle. The kind of environment we are leaving in today is a conglomeration of all sorts of pollutants within and out of our homes. In the same way, it is also our personal responsibility to strengthen our immunity systems especially those of our children. Part of the information campaign places much importance in the effectiveness of vitamins A, C and E to protect us against the ill effects of oxidizing chemicals in our atmosphere.