Looking to learn more about air quality and how it affects your home or business? Check out our guide down below.
In this article, you’ll read about:
- What is air quality?
- What are clean air standards?
- How is the air quality index calculated?
- What ventilation is good for those with asthma?
- What air index is safe for babies?
- Why is air quality important?
- Can air quality affect mood?
- Can it cause acne?
What is air quality?
Air quality is the measurement of how many pollutants and particles are in the air. According to the Center for Science and Education, good air quality has a low concentration of pollutants. Poor air has high levels of pollutants and chemicals, which could negatively impact health.
What are clean air standards?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has determined the standards of air quality through an Air Quality Index. This index measures the concentration level of pollutants and ozone in a particular location. Depending on the level, the index gives the location a score between 0 and 500.
The higher the score, the worse the pollution. Anything above 101 is considered violating the national health standard, according to the EPA.
Here are the scores and how they relate to air quality levels:
- 0 to 50: Good
- 51 to 100: Moderate
- 101 to 150: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
- 151 to 200: Unhealthy
- 201 to 300: Very Unhealthy
- 301 to 500: Hazardous
How is the air quality index calculated?
AirNow has an AQI calculator that you can use on their website. Otherwise, you’ll need to use a complicated math equation. You can find this equation on page 24 of a document provided by the EPA.
What ventilation is good for those with asthma?
According to the EPA, when the AQI is 100 or higher, the air is dangerous for people with asthma. So anything underneath 100 should be good, although those who are unusually sensitive to pollution or ozone may still have problems.
What air index is safe for babies?
Children fall under the same category as those with asthma. So their AQI levels are going to be the same; they’re both sensitive to ozone or pollution.
Why is air quality important?
Having good air quality is important because:
- Unclean air could potentially cause health problems
- You don’t want pollutants to be in your water
- The surrounding environment could be negatively impacted
- If the quality is bad enough, you won’t be able to see through the haze
Can air quality affect mood?
According to a 2019 study published by the Ochsner Journal, pollution and poor climate cleanliness can cause negative neurocognitive effects. Neurocognitive relates to the part of the brain that thinks and reasons. So pollution could have an effect on mental health.
“An expanding amount of research indicates that air pollution has an influence upon mental health outcomes,” according to a 2020 study published by AFIT Scholar. “Outdoor air penetrates indoors, leading to the possibility that health effects from harmful outdoor air pollutants continue within the confines of the built environment.”
Students studying math or reading didn’t perform as well as they normally do due to poor airborne matter. You can read more in the 2017 study published by Economics of Education Review that found this.
Although none of these studies specifically talk about mood, there could be an effect on one’s mental health, which includes mood, because of pollutants in the air.
Can it cause acne?
According to a 2017 study published by the Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, pollution might worsen acne symptoms, though further research is needed. The authors of the study suggest wearing sunscreen and skin care products to create a barrier from pollution.
There are many factors that cause acne, the environment being one of them. A 2020 study published by the Frontiers of Public Health supports this. Again, the researchers in this study said further research would be needed.
While acne and poor air could be linked, there isn’t enough evidence and research to give you a definite answer.
Conclusion
Looking to improve the level of air cleanliness inside your home or business? Give us a call and we’ll give you a free quote.