Local air pollution - Box 2 Local air pollution begins at home 2.
Indoor pollution can be many times higher than outdoor pollution.
And they have been checking the polluting effect of the materials used to build a modern house too. The foam in the cushions of a sofa is manufactured from a variety of chemicals and some of those chemicals remain active long after the furniture has left the factory. Household pesticides and cleaning solvents may contain volatile toxic compounds. If a home, or office, or classroom is well-ventilated there should be no problem from these things but with growing awareness of energy conservation, many rooms are now quite well sealed against draughts and get less fresh air. In extreme cases this can lead to the same stale polluted air being circulated round and round inside a closed and sealed 'air conditioned' building.