Test shows risks of poor indoor air quality in Dubai

Gulf News

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

Transcript

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.

02:07So I get worried and I usually have also rhinitis.

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

02:51system 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.

03:06Humidity levels inside the house also did not meet municipality standards.

03:10That'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.

03:22And I think we have to know the proper steps to give a proper solution in maintaining the

03:28cleanliness of the air that we breathe inside the house, especially not just for us but

03:32for the baby as well.

03:33The 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.

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