09 Oct 2008
07:37 pm IST

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan once said, “Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources.”

Suspended particulates, Respiratory suspended particulate, Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) form significant part of air pollution. High levels of these elements affect lungs, heart and skin particularly.

Out door air quality is deteriorating in most cities. Atmosphere is thicker and sicker in industrialized towns. If you are in the middle of a large city you sometimes cannot even see stars on a clear sky due to air pollution as well as lighting pollution. Sky is bluer, night is starrier, space is heavenly, tone is pleasant, ventilation is fresh, impression is positive, and circulation is clean in a rural locale. For a hard working urbanite a welcome break is one in a village, which is revitalizing.

If you think only outdoor air quality needs to be fixed in our polluted cities, you are mistaken. If a building is not designed well, its indoor air quality could be far worse than its outdoor counterpart. Air conditioning, upholstery, machinery, improper ventilation, unhygienic indoor toilets, poor maintenance of furniture and partitions, leaking roofs, moisture-prone walls can all add to poor and unhealthy enclosures leading to sick building syndrome. Microbial contaminants, chemical and allergens can create mental and physical health issues.

A 1984 World Health Organization study revealed about 30% of new and remodelled buildings may be linked to symptoms of sick building syndrome. Occupants of such buildings often complain of headache, eye, nose, or throat irritation, dry cough; dry or itchy skin, dizziness and nausea, difficulty in concentrating, fatigue, sensitivity to odours, asthma attacks, and even personality changes such as rage / weeping / paranoia / depression.

Aren’t you glad that smoking is prohibited in public spaces including office buildings except in designated areas? We do hope that compulsory indoor air quality tests are mandated and implemented strictly in all office buildings, particularly in air conditioning buildings.

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Be the change,
Krish Murali Eswar.
"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Gandhiji."