Indoor air pollution is the cocktail of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These VOCs are released through a number of processes including cooking at high temperatures, the use of chemical household cleaning products, candles, air freshness, diffusers and plugins.
Complex mixtures of VOCs in indoor air have the potential to invoke subtle effects on the central and peripheral nervous system and linked to respiratory irritation, asthma, increased risk of heart and lung disease.
We are spending about 90% of our time inside. The EPA consistently reports inside the typical home, school or workplace show they are 2 - 5 times more polluted than directly outside. This is due to the use of chemical cleaning products, candles, diffusers and plugins.
Professor Jonathan Grigg highlights the risk air pollution has on our children.
A 2016 study found that 40,000 deaths in the UK were found to be linked to air pollution in some way. High exposure to fumes can lead to serious health problems in children with live long implications that could be detrimental to growth, intelligence and neurological development.
Overwhelming evidence also shows air pollution directly relates to reduced lung growth in children and in increased risk developing asthma. Currently 1 in 3 children suffer from asthma and every 20 minutes a child is admitted to hospital because of an asthma attack.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates seven million premature deaths worldwide are caused by air pollution. Double the number caused by obesity.
A 20 year study followed more than 6,000 people to find out how lung and airway function is affected by cleaning at work and home.
Lung function dramatically declined in women working as cleaners or regularly using cleaning chemicals at home.
The effect on lung health was equivalent to smoking 20-cigarettes a day.
The 30 year study found using bleach and bleach based products and other household disinfectants just once a week increased the risk of chronic pulmonary respiratory disease (COPD) by nearly a third.
COPD is a common, preventable respiratory disease. The WHO predicts is will be the third leading cause of death by 2030.
Scientist have linked the use of common household cleaning products, such as disinfectants to altering babies and infants gut bacteria, predisposing them to obesity.
Projections suggest that the ocean will contain more plastics than fish (by weight) by 2050.
In some parts of the sea, there's reportedly six times more plastic in the water than plankton according to leading marine journals.
Estimates suggest that more than 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year, this is the equivalent to dumping one waste removal truck into the ocean every minute.