Healthy Homes For You Blog

Part 1 - Why is clean indoor air important?
Part 2 - Sources of Indoor Air Pollution
Part 3 - How poor indoor air quality affects your health
Part 4 - Solutions...Creating Healthy Indoor Air inside our homes

Part 1 - Why is clean indoor air important?

Americans spend an average of 90% of our lives indoors according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  This leaves only 10% of our time spent outdoors.

Much is written about outdoor sources of pollution and how human lives can be affected by polluted air, water and soil.  However, given the percentage split above, do you think the indoor environment or the outdoor environment has the greatest potential to affect our health? 

I live in Sacramento, California, and in the summer months, there are frequent notices that warn residences of unhealthy polluted air.  Below is a copy of a common alert that I received in my email many times last summer:

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Now get ready for a shocker...We all should be getting daily warnings about the air pollution levels inside our homes....because the air in our homes can be much worse than outdoor air!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) says that the air inside our homes can be 2 to 100 times more polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. "Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors".  Why is this?  Where does the pollution come from?

Even the cleanliest of households have pollution sources that can emit harmful levels of irritants, allergens, biological aerosols, and chemical compounds that can affect our health.  Indoor air contains a vast amount of visible and invisible contaminants that are either particulates or they are gases, vapors and odors.  Polltants levels build up and become trapped inside our homes because of three major factors:  1) Homes are built airtight for energy efficiency.  2)  Even the draftiest homes lack adequate ventilation, 3) Home design and occupant lifestyles allow build-up of pollutants.

For more information see USEPA's Website and article "The Inside Story:  A Guide to Indoor Air Quality.

See Part 2 Next - Part 2 - Sources of Indoor Air Pollution. 

Environmentally Yours,

Nancy Lancaster is a Realtor and Ecobroker practicing in the greater Sacramento region for Lyon Real Estate .  Visit Nancy Lancaster website to find homes for sale in Sacramento.  Nancy Lancaster sponsors
a unique program called "Healthy Homes For You".

In my last Blog Post I wrote about the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) 2007 update to the the "Toxics Release Inventory"  (TRI). Hazardous materials releases that must be reported to USEPA are listed in the TRI database.

I entered my home zipcode in the TRI datase last week, and discovered that a Georgia-Pacific Chemical facility is located within one miles of my home. 

Where is the Irony you ask??  Today, I read in the Sacramento Bee that the same Georgia-Pacific was fined $2.4 Million for illegally diluting their chemical waste and disposing it into the sewer. They saved $300,000 per year by not hauling their waste to an approved disposal site.

Where is the environmental harm?  Liquids that are disposed in the sewer system travel to sewage treatment plants.  Sewage Treatment Plants rely on a delicate balance of natural bacterial organisms to decompose sewage.  These bacterial balances can be disrupted when unexpected chemicals enter the process.  Not only do chemicals harm Sewage Treatment plants, but the liquids from them are sent directly to our local rivers with out further treatment.

Home buyers should check the TRI database so they can make informed decisions about the are they are thinking of purchaseing a home.  

Environmentally Yours,

Nancy Lancaster is a Realtor and Ecobroker practicing in the greater Sacramento region for Lyon Real Estate .  Visit Nancy Lancaster website to find homes for sale in Sacramento.  Nancy Lancaster sponsors a unique program called "Healthy Homes For You".

The United States Environmental Protection agency (USEPA) recently announced their 2007 update of chemical release report information.  Their on-line database is called the "Toxics Release Inventory"  (TRI). The TRI database tracks chemical releases that must be reported by the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986.

I decided to check out the TRI database, and I entered the zip code for my neighborhood.  As I hit the web link, I had a fleeting thought...  "I'm so fortunate to live far away from companies that use toxic chemicals".  Wow, was I surprised! 

I learned that Georgia-Pacific Chemical has a manufacturing facility about one mile from my home....and yes, they had reported releases.  Nine releases in 2007 to be exact.  The facility is located at the end of a dead end street.  I never knew it was there.  I "Googled" Georgia-Pacific and learned that they manufacture industrial resins.

I am not sure what I will do, if anything, about my new discovery.  Would I have moved into my neighborhood if I knew Georgia Pacific was one mile away?  I am not sure, but I would have liked to make that informed decision when I purchased my home.

I recommend that my fellow real estate colleagues inform their Buyers about the TRI database.  Your clients will be impressed that you are keeping up with the latest environmental news in the neighborhood.

Environmentally Yours,

Nancy Lancaster is a Realtor and Ecobroker practicing in the greater Sacramento region for Lyon Real Estate .  Visit Nancy Lancaster website to find homes for sale in Sacramento.  Nancy Lancaster sponsors a unique program called "Healthy Homes For You".