Source: The New Yorker
According to a new study conducted by researchers of HOMEChem (House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry), the indoor air quality in people’s home could be equally harmful (if not more) to human health as outdoor air.
Researchers reproduced cooking a Thanksgiving meal in a lab kitchen and found that the combination of using regular home appliances – coffee maker, toaster, oven – led to particulate matter levels in the air that would be considered “polluted” if the space were a city, reports The New Yorker.
HOMEChem is the largest collaborative investigation into indoor air quality, and is collecting data on indoor air quality in order to better understand what humans are exposed to on a daily basis in the spaces they spend the majority of their lives in. According to data from a 2001 EPA study, humans spend more than 90 percent of their lives indoors, so what researchers are in the process of unveiling could be overwhelmingly significant.
Researchers posit that indoor air quality has been ignored by researchers over the years, yet it is so impactful for humans all across the country. However, it will likely take years for researchers to be able to dissect all of the data they’ve collected, and to further understand how it affects human health.
Read Full Story: The New Yorker