How Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality be improved?
Indoor Air Quality: Studies of human exposure to air pollutants by the EPA indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2 to 5 times, and occasionally more than 100 times, higher than outdoor pollutant levels.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide results from incomplete combustion of fuel and is emitted directly from vehicle tailpipes. In urban areas, the motor vehicle contribution to outdoor carbon monoxide pollution can exceed 90%. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with lung disease are particularly at high risk for adverse health effects caused by indoor air pollution.

What are the Sources of Carbon Monoxide in the Home?
Other Health Symptoms:

Unvented heaters are being used in Rhode Island and gas companies are still selling unvented heaters. Vent safety shutoff systems on furnaces and vented heaters protect against blocked or disconnected vents or chimneys.

Carbon monoxide detectors in homes and businesses should be required to reduce poisoning incidents. These detectors sound an alarm when exposure to carbon monoxide reaches potentially hazardous levels over a period of time. They are as important to home safety as smoke detectors.

 

  • exercise capacity

  • visual perception

  • manual dexterity

  • learning functions

  • ability to perform complex tasks

  • headaches

  • dizziness

  • weakness

  • sleepiness

  • nausea

  • disorientation

 

Initiate inspection in homes and businesses in order to make sure that all fuel-burning appliances operate properly. Inspectors should check all heating appliances and their electrical and mechanical components, thermostat controls and automatic safety devices. - Adopt an ordinance requiring the installation of CO detectors in homes and businesses. (Most of these devices cost below $100)

- Prohibit the sale of unvented heaters.

 
* For an assessment of potential hazards in homes or business call Pat Manzo at Providence Community Action to qualify for assistance.

 

Indoors, radon can accumulate in the basements and ground level floors of houses, where it can adversely affect human health. It comes from the decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils. Radon has been found to cause lung cancer in humans.

 

OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY

Hazardous air pollutants are monitored by the RI Department of Environmental Management at a site in East Providence, which on the average is downwind of Providence and therefore is thought to give a representative estimate of concentrations in Providence. Of the 18 chemicals that were monitored in 1998, six presented a cancer or chronic health risk of more than one in a million (assuming a life-time exposure). These chemicals, and the factors by which they exceeded the one-in-a-million standard are:

 

 

 

Small particles from combustion of fossil fuels presents a significant risk to health. The RI Department of Environmental Management is setting up a system to assess this risk.

 

Rhode Island does not meet the health-based standard for ozone.  In order to attain the standard scheduled by the Clean Air Act, the Office of Air Resources at DEM is working to implement new emission reduction programs and is working with other states to assure emission reductions in the region help Rhode Island attain the standard.

 

 

  • Barbara Morin, RI Department Of Environmental Management, Office of Air Resources, 222-2808

  • John Cucco, RI Department of Health, Air Monitoring, 277-3406, 50 Orms Street, Providence, RI  02904

  • Mr. Ted Burns, RI Department of Environmental Management, Division of Air and Hazardous Materials, 222-2808, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767