Test shows risks of poor indoor air quality in Dubai. Gulf News conducts test on indoor air quality and discovers a grim reality that could affect many Dubai households. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00You don't see them, but they could be slowly wreaking havoc on your health if you don't
00:12act now.
00:13Your home, school, or office could have high levels of pollutants without you knowing it.
00:19Such pollutants include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds,
00:26dust, molds, viruses, and bacteria, which are difficult to flush out if indoor air is
00:32poorly circulated.
00:33It is estimated that people spend 90% of their time indoors.
00:38This is especially true in the UAE, where temperature in the summer months could range
00:42between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius.
00:45Air conditioning is therefore the number one ally against the summer heat, but you should
00:49be aware of the risks.
00:51Gulf News collaborated with Enviro and Industrial Solutions ME to test the indoor air quality
00:56of a Dubai household and determine how it affects the health of the occupants.
01:01Just five minutes into the eight-hour test, the carbon dioxide levels already spiked at
01:06more than 2,500 parts per million, more than thrice the Dubai municipality's standard
01:12of 800 parts per million.
01:14Since we are breathing in an indoor area, the quality of air that we are breathing is
01:18very important because of the time and the pollution which are inside there.
01:24To identify the quality of the air quality inside the area, we need to monitor certain
01:30parameters and Dubai municipality has a table of the standard that we need to follow that
01:35standard.
01:36It means that these parameters should be monitored during this specific timing.
01:40The parameters which are mandatory to monitor in indoor area are carbon monoxide, carbon
01:45dioxide, volatile organic compounds, ozone, particulate matters, formaldehyde, temperature,
01:53humidity, air velocity, and bacteria.
01:56I suffer sore throat every two to three months and whenever I go to the doctor, they say,
02:04the doctor says to me that it's a severe infection, so I get worried and I usually
02:10have ulcerative colitis.
02:12Further, dust and for example, we're dusting the floor, yeah, I usually get irritated and
02:19then start sneezing, like a sneezing that comes to like 20 times non-stop and then after
02:24that would be colds and cough.
02:28Amir Ali Mansouri of AIS inspected the four AC vents and found only one was circulating
02:34air from outside to inside.
02:36He said the defective AC is a big factor in the poor quality of air in the apartment.
02:41Other causes of poor air quality include placing a humidifier in a cupboard where cleaning
02:46agents that emit volatile organic compounds are stored and a cramped kitchen with an exhaust
02:52system that barely works.
02:53The eight-hour test confirmed Mansouri's observation.
02:57The VOCs in the Castillo household peak at 2,084 parts per million, way above the standard
03:03rate of 349 parts per million.
03:07Humidity levels inside the house also did not meet municipality standards.
03:11It's quite alarming because the very important thing that you want in your house is to be
03:17safe and you're breathing fresh air somehow even though you're indoors and I think we
03:23have to know the proper steps to give a proper solution in maintaining the cleanliness of
03:29the air that we breathe inside the house, especially not just for us but for the baby
03:33as well.
03:34The couple was recommended to use air cleaners, replace air filters, open windows a few minutes
03:39every day to allow fresh air to circulate and reduce the use of household chemicals.
03:44Irish Eden Belleza for Gulf News.