It is imperative to rapidly take measures to ensure our children are healthy and that their growth is not negatively impacted, leading to near and long term issues.

Chemicals in the air, water, foods, and household products we intake daily are major causes for concern. The average American spends between 80 to 90 percent of their time indoors. However, most of us never think of what’s actually floating in the air that we breathe day in and day out. These toxic chemicals are invisible, making them easy to forget, but they are always lurking if nothing is done to mitigate them. Project TENDR has singled out specific pesticides, flame retardants, lead, phthalates, and combustion-related air pollutants.

AirMD provides environmental consulting services and offers a Residential Evaluation to assess the overall condition of your indoor home environment. Testing can include measuring moisture levels, airborne particles, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), and much more. Our Residential Evaluation is a comprehensive first step toward creating a cleaner healthier home for your family.  Upon completion of the analysis, AirMD’s team of scientists and experts will issue a written report enclosed with the test findings and recommendations on the effective methods to take to make sure your indoor quality environment is an ideal one for your children to thrive and be healthy. It’s time for us all to be INFORMED and PROACTIVE.

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AirMD provides comprehensive environmental consulting services nationwide. Call us at 1-888-GO AIRMD with any of your indoor environmental questions and concerns, or to schedule an appointment with one of our consultants

For more information, we invite you to please explore our website right here at www.airmd.com

The post Parents, Be Aware of the Invisible Dangers Lurking in Your Home appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.

Concentrations of VOCs are higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, and photographic solutions.

The risk of health effects from inhaling any chemical depends on the concentration in the air and length of exposure. Scientists look at short-term (acute) exposures as hours to days or long-term (chronic) exposures as years to even lifetime.

Breathing low levels of VOCs for long periods of time may increase some people’s risk of health problems. Several studies suggest that exposure to VOCs may make symptoms worse in people who have asthma or are particularly sensitive to chemicals. These are much different exposures than occupational exposures to VOCs. Each chemical has its own toxicity and potential for causing different health effects.

Short term (acute) health effects include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, worsening of asthma symptoms. Long term (chronic) health effects to high levels of VOCs include increased risk of cancer, liver damage, kidney damage and central nervous system damage.

The evidence of health risks is clearly sufficient to warrant that precautionary measures be taken to limit VOC and SVOC exposures. Eliminating or limiting the indoor sources of VOCs and SVOCs is the first option to consider. In some cases, sources can be reduced through behavior changes or product substitutions, while in other cases source reduction measures are complicated and require tradeoffs. Outdoor air ventilation is another main option for reducing concentrations of VOC’s.

The post Volatile Organic Compounds appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.