Thread: Article on air pollution and lung cancer

Thanks for posting that Tony.
One thing to bear in mind is it's not just cancer - its many, many other medical conditions as well.

People who live in areas with higher PM2.5 concentrations have a far greater risk of death from cardiovascuiar problems, and it exacerbates things like, arthritis, and diabetes. Every inflammatory disease appears to be affected by dust. These findings were published in 2017 in a detailed study by 30 of the world's learning epidemiologists who took into account a wide range of socio/economic factors. As a result they moved "dust" from the 8th leading cause of death in the world to 5th.

What I find incredulous is that there are clear standards for levels of dust in outside air and these have come down slowly over time but there are no standards in Australia for inside air.

To minimize dust inside your house
- no carpets - we did that nearly 30 years ago.
- get rid of exposed fabrics like curtains - SWMBO has two rooms full of exposed fabrics for her arts and crafts - DOH!
- no furry pets - we have two fur ball Border Collies - their hair is not that bad, it's all the crap they track in from outside that's more of a problem.
- beef up your kitchen stove extraction - cooking makes HEAPS of dust, especially grilling, baking and roasting.
- wash bedding and clothing more often - that's my job, not real fond of it.
- get a quality HEPA vac - we use a Robot vac and a stick vac, this is SWMBO's job, but I have to empty and clean the vacs
- seal windows/doors etc so when outside dust levels go up you can retreat inside - the older part of the house badly needs this.
- install a large HEPA room air filter - helps with viruses too - we did that recently and its VERY effective.
- get rid of all appliances that use flames ie gas stoves, heaters, anything with a wood fire etc. - we still have a gas HWS but it is outside.

The linked video is a talk on sealed homes, filtration and the debate which surrounds that idea. The presenter apparently owns a substantial building company in the US and is a bit of an innovator in his area. You will need a bit of patience to watch it or at least I did.

Just a heads up that buildings should not be completely air tight as this can result in a build up of radioactive Radon gas from the earth under a building. This can be especially a problem for buildings with basements and is a know cause for increased cancer rates for people spending long periods in totally sealed buildings

As well as air tightness, buildings need to be ventilated or be able to draw in fresh air at appropriate times.eg on summer nights being able to exchange hot air inside a building for cooler air outside will save energy and, if filtration is not used, to flush out any excess particles and odours that might have built up during the day. Ideally there would be a differential temperature/particle monitoring system to auto control ventilation. The tech is all available - just needs to be strung together in a sensible fashion.

Houses in the US routinely have Radon detectors in them.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Houses in the US routinely have Radon detectors in them.

I don't know about routinely - only one of the houses I visited or lived in in the US had one and because of my interest in radiation I usually asked the occupants about this.

I tried to find out what percentage of homes in the US have detectors but no luck.
I did find out that over 60% of houses in one state (Wisconsin) have never been tested
Radon in houses in the US is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking
About 35 states require a radon test be performed and reported on by an independent contractor prior to sale.
Requirements differ between states, see Know The States That Require Radon Testing
According to estimates, about 1 in 15 homes in the US require something be done about radon,