We can last over a week without food, about three days without water, but air…. A FEW MINUTES???
It is no exaggeration to say that air is the most vital commodity required for our survival. Fortunately, the world is FULL of air. Unfortunately, in much of the industrial world, the air quality is not that great. On average, each of us breathes over 3,000 gallons of air each day. You must have air to live. However, did you know that breathing polluted air can make you sick, hurt your heart?
A report issued by the American Lung Association (ALA), said that even though air pollution levels dropped in many parts of the nation in the last several years, millions of Americans still face dangerous levels of air pollution.
The sad fact is that despite strong regulations, more than half of the U.S. population lives in counties with unsafe levels of either smog or particle pollution. Smog is the worst offender and is often directly responsible for cases of decreased lung function, respiratory infection, lung inflammation and aggravation of respiratory illness. Some 142.7 million Americans live in counties rated with failing grades by the ALA for this airborne pollutant.
Meanwhile, another 76.5 million Americans live in areas where they are exposed to unhealthy short-term levels of particle pollution. Children and the elderly are especially at risk. Short-term, or acute, exposure to particle pollution has been linked to increases in heart attacks, strokes, and emergency-room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease. Particle pollution is most dangerous to those already suffering from asthma, heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema.
The really bad news is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that indoor air pollution can be 2-10 or 20 times worse than outdoor air pollution… in extreme cases, as much as 100 times more polluted. Indoor pollutants have been ranked among the top five environmental risks to public health. The problems they cause can be subtle and do not always produce easily recognized or immediate impacts on health. This is particularly disturbing since it is estimated that as Americans, we spend about 90% of our time Indoors.
Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes.
There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as gas, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidifiers; and outdoor sources such as pollens, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution. And don’t forget dust mites that get in your bedding and float around on human skin particles and pet dander. There are also a great variety of germs, bacteria and viruses brought into the home by people and pets. These particles are usually ultrafine (less than 0.1 microns in diameter) and can remain suspended in the air for months. Germs, bacteria and viruses settle on counter and table tops, doorknobs, flush handles etc. where they can live for 48 hours or more.
Air Pollution and Your Health
Breathing polluted air can make your eyes and nose burn. It can irritate your throat and make breathing difficult. In fact, pollutants like tiny airborne particles can trigger respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma. Today, nearly 30 million adults and children in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma. Asthma sufferers can be severely affected by air pollution. Air pollution can also aggravate health problems for the elderly and others with heart or respiratory diseases.
Children are more susceptible to air pollution because they breathe a greater volume of air relative to their body weight. To make matters worse, schools tend to be at a higher risk of poor indoor air quality because they can have 4 times the occupants as a regular office building for the same amount of floor space and generally less maintenance making air quality in schools an area of a particular concern. In addition, children regularly bring germs and viruses into the environment.
So…What do I do about Indoor Air Pollution?
The most effective thing you can do is to get an Active Air Purifer! Active air purifiers, unlike the common passive air filters you buy in the store, actively take the solution to the pollution! Passive air filters sit in one spot and rely on sucking air through a filter. Even HEPA filters don’t trap particles smaller than about 0.3 microns. In addition, since they rely on pulling surrounding air through the filter, they can only filter an area of about 300 square feet (or less, if there are obstacles to the air flow near them, such as furniture). An active air purifier such as the Fresh Air units available from Green Health Technologies use a technology called RCI (Radial Catalytic Ionization). RCI, is based on a variation of technology originally developed in conjunction with NASA for use aboard the International Space Station.
RCI, called Active Pure, works by sending “scrubber” ions out into the air stream where they cause particulates such as pollen, dust, smoke, etc. to bind together and fall out of the air. This technology takes even the smallest ultrafine particles which are the most dangerous to your health out of the air. Much like when snowflakes which can float around in the air are clumped together in a snowball, they can no longer stay in the air. Using this technology, Fresh Air is able to purify the air in an area of up to 3,000 square feet (in most cases, that’s a whole house!).
Best of all, RCI technology has been laboratory tested and peer reviewed by leading universities to kill 99.99% of all known germs and viruses ON SURFACES in just a few hours. It kills Strep, e-coli, and even the dreaded MRSA. As an example a flu virus that can survive on a hard surface for longer than 48 hours is subject to a 99.99% kill rate in about 2 Hours.
Learn more about Fresh Air Purifiers. Your health and that of your family is worth protecting. Many businesses even put one in their offices to protect their employees — it is a small investment that will pay large dividends. Order yours today at www.greenhealthtechnologies.com You will not be sorry!
