Indoor Environment
Crucial for healthy living
Indoor environment is a somewhat narrower concept in the paradigm of environmental sciences. It is manifested by many factors. The ambient environmental condition depends basically on several fundamental factors such as air quality, sound pollution and temperature. Factors of ambient environmental conditions include: Temperature, Humidity, Dust and Particulate matter, Toxic gases, Harmful radiation, Microbial spores, Sunlight and other light , Sound pollution, Atmospheric pressure. Temperature: Perhaps the most important factor in determining comfort to an organism is its surrounding temperature. Result of extreme temperature is known to us all. Think of the biting cold and sweltering heat of summer. If the indoor temperature is colder than the body temperature, the human body conducts heat energy to the surrounding air and gradually loses heat (you feel cold). If temperature is too warm, excess heat builds in the body and the body has trouble releasing that heat to the surrounding air (you feel hot). Very low temperature also can reduce the physiological activities to an alarming state. Similarly, very high temperature can make us ill due to water loss from the body. Humidity: Humidity is the second important factor of ambient environment. Physical comfort and discomfort depends on the humidity of the place to a great extent. When it comes to feeling comfortable in your home, the old saying "it's not the heat (or cold) - it's the humidity" rings true. Nothing affects a body's perception of comfort more than the humidity level. And there's a fairly narrow range between what is considered "too much" and "too little" of it. Industry experts state that keeping your home's humidity between 30-60% can help reduce the effects of many unwanted conditions. Excess humidity or too little humidity not only leads to an unhealthy home but also causes permanent damage to your home and belongings. Dust and particulate matter: Dust particles are harmful to health as well as a great cause of discomfort in a place. Particulate matter is anything that is suspended in the air. It can be caused by natural phenomena or come from man-made sources. In high enough concentrations, particulates can aggravate existing respiratory problems or even trigger new ones. Smoke, dust, soot -- all of these are airborne particulates that are inhaled every time we breathe. These particulates are classified by their size. Larger or "coarse" particles range in size from 2.5 to 10 micrometers in size, while "fine" particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers. All of these are far too small to be seen with the naked eye. Toxic gases: In modern life thousands of chemicals we use everyday and generate millions of chemical compounds as a result. Many of them are toxic gases that cannot only harm our lungs but may jeopardize our over all health. According to the EPA, concentrations of toxic pollutants can be up to one hundred times greater inside a home than outside, in our smoggiest cities. Poor ventilation in the home can lead to stuffy air and a build-up of unpleasant odors, irritating pollutants and potentially harmful gasses such as radon or carbon monoxide. As homes are built tighter with better windows, more insulation and higher-efficiency heating and cooling systems, the need for adequate ventilation becomes even more important to be safe from toxic gases. Harmful radiation: Use of energy is multiplied thousand times compared to primitive pastoral lifestyle before industrial revolution. The use of energy varies a lot from lighting our homes to running the motor vehicles. However, some use of energy creates radiation that is quite harmful to our health. Along with that use of radioactive materials for varying purposes such as Chemotherapy is a very common phenomenon now-a-days. Microbial spores: Ambient air of a place may contain spores of certain microbes or plant pollen. These microscopic biological substances may pose risk of health hazard when they are inhaled with air. Sunlight and other light: Direct sunlight makes a person feel warmer because electromagnetic radiation is being embedded directly into the skin. If the temperature feels uncomfortably cool in the shade, standing in direct sunlight will make one feel warmer. But exposure to excessive sunlight or other light may have certain adverse effect on health. Even absence of light is also harmful to health. In presence of light our skin produces vitamin D which is necessary for good health, especially useful for sound formation of bone and teeth. Excessive exposure to sunlight may even yield skin cancer for the ultraviolet content of sunlight is causative agent for it. Sound pollution: Suppose, you are a sick person and you are compelled to live in the busiest part of a city where a lot of vehicles ply and many factories are also run. If someone asks you which phenomenon at your residence is the most irritating to you? Most possibly the answer will be irritating sound from horn of motor vehicles and factories. In city life sound pollution has in fact a very long run effect on physical and mental health of the exposed people. Atmospheric pressure: Change in atmospheric pressure can be a cause of illness. Both very high and low air pressure can disturb our healthy living. Very low air pressure at top of mountain can rapture mucosal membrane of our nose and even cause it to bleed. High pressure of atmosphere can cause dissolution of nitrogen in our blood if we dive and go deep under water. Ease of respiration in room is also affected by air pressure. If air pressure is too low then it becomes a laborious job to continue respiration. Conclusion: Ambient environment is manifestation of our surrounding environment that we actually face in our everyday life. The parameters of our surrounding environment have profound effect on our physical and mental health as well as on our productivity at offices, factories and home. As we stay most of the time at home, office or other work places indoor environmental conditions is very crucial for our healthy living. Certain parameters of the indoor environment such as temperature, humidity, particulate matter and presence of toxic gases induce far-reaching effect on the health of people.
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