Clean Air for Health

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of indoor air quality into sharp focus for the general public. Because SARS-Cov-2 is transmitted by airborne particles, the virus is concentrated in spaces with inadequate ventilation and filtration, increasing the risk of spread.

The consequences for our health reach far beyond COVID or other illnesses—air quality affects all aspects of our health. Although no one organization can fully address the obstacles of low air quality, we can start to improve it together.

Our new Clean Air for All initiative broadens Project N95’s mission to provide equitable access to respiratory protection. We believe that everyone deserves access to the information and resources they need to keep themselves and their communities safe, healthy, and thriving.

It's All up in the Air

Air quality is one of the most important factors in maintaining respiratory health.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has clearly established a correlation between air pollution and a myriad of serious health conditions. Chronic bronchitis, severe asthma, heart disease, and even visits to the emergency room are all common side effects of poor air quality.¹ Frighteningly, even early mortality is associated with air pollution. The EPA estimates that hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in the U.S. have been prevented by the Clean Air Act since 1990.²

Other research indicates that fine particulate matter—or PM_2.5—may be the leading risk for global human health.³ A 2019 study estimated that 102,000 people die prematurely every year from human-made PM_2.5 emissions.⁴ That is nearly double the number of people who die annually from car crashes and murders combined, says study co-author Jason Hill.^5,6

Fine particulate matter is also a potent asthma trigger that is harmful to the most vulnerable groups, including children. Asthma is the most common chronic lung disease of childhood, affecting approximately 6 million children in the United States. Although it cannot be cured, most of the time, symptoms can be controlled by avoiding or reducing exposure to triggers (allergens and irritants).⁷

Unfortunately but predictably, this disproportionately affects low income and non-White households. In 2018, Black children (10.9%) were 42 percent more likely than White children (7.7%) to have asthma. Childhood asthma is a leading cause of student absenteeism and accounts for 13.8 million missed school days each year.⁸

Additionally, a study conducted at Washington State University showed a significant association between increased indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations and student absence rates.⁹ Of concern, the study also found that almost half of the classrooms had CO₂ concentrations above 1000 ppm, which is considered unsafe. Other studies have shown that reductions in ventilation rates, which causes elevated CO₂ levels, correlated with increased office worker absences.

High CO₂ itself is a concern as it causes dizziness, headaches, and poor concentration. It also serves as a proxy for air quality because high levels indicate poor ventilation. A lot of CO₂ in a space likely means that plenty of other pollutants are present, as well.

Understanding the mechanics of air quality can help point us toward a solution.

Don't Welcome Air Pollution Inside

Poor ventilation and filtration results in indoor air pollutants reaching two to five times higher levels than outdoors.¹⁰

Outside air—or ambient air—makes its way indoors with harmful bioaerosols and particulate matter. Even in areas with good outdoor air quality, contaminants can accumulate indoors due to chemical outgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials, furniture, flooring, carpeting, and cleaning products.

PM_2.5 is one of the most deleterious indoor air pollutants. Because of its small size—2.5 microns (2.5µ) in diameter—it is easily inhaled and can accumulate in the lungs and bloodstream. These particles can contain hundreds of different chemicals that may contribute to heart and lung disease. Aerosols that are contaminated with infectious microbes that cause respiratory diseases like RSV and COVID also accumulate inside.

The implications for policy makers are fairly straightforward: clean the air.

While more can surely be done, the general trends are positive. In the United States, average exposure to harmful airborne particulates has decreased by almost a third in the last two decades.¹¹ Environmental regulations, the decrease of coal emissions, and other measures are helping improve air quality across the board.

You can still do more, however, to clean the air in your home, school, or workplace. The solution is ventilation and filtration.