Indoor pollution is caused by the presence of physical, chemical and biological contaminants in the air within confined spaces.
The prolonged stay in such places (most people spend approximately 80% of the day in buildings or means of transport) poses a serious risk to human health, especially for the more vulnerable, such as children, the elderly and people suffering from chronic illnesses and allergies.
SERVICES
Check for the presence of asbestos
Active and passive sampling with specialised instruments for:
- Radon
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Carbon dioxide (CO
2) - VOCs
- Formaldehyde
- Hydrogen sulphide (H
2S)
Research to discover the source of the pollution
Building remediation
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For more information
Indoor pollution is related to confined environments, such as workplaces (non-industrial), housing, commercial, recreational and transportation facilities. This kind of pollution is referred to when contaminants (or the majority of them) are produced within the buildings themselves.
Sources can be varied but mainly derive from human activities, building materials, furnishings and air treatment systems.
The main indoor air contaminants can be of a physical, chemical or biological nature.
- Physical Pollutants
- Radon (naturally occurring gas hazardous for human health in high concentrations, arising from soil and rocks beneath a building)
- Artificial mineral fibres (amorphous silicas classifiable by the raw material: rock wool, glass wool or glass yarn, often used for insulation purposes)
- Asbestos (natural material with microcrystalline structure and fibrous appearance, mainly used for thermal and electrical insulation)
- Chemical Pollutants
- V.O.C. Volatile Organic Compounds (main sources include gas appliances, paints, glues, and many building materials, including formaldehyde, often used in the manufacture of adhesive resins)
- CO
2carbon dioxide - CO carbon monoxide (odourless, colourless, tasteless gas formed in combustion reactions)
- H
2S hydrogen sulphide (colourless gas with the distinctive odour of rotten eggs. It is extremely toxic, an irritant and asphyxiating) - NOx und SOx (nitrogen and sulphur oxides are emitted by combustion in gas burners or liquid fuels for heating or cooking)
- PCBs polychlorinated biphenyls (organic compounds considered to be persistent and bioaccumulable pollutants in living organisms, also used as additives in paints, pesticides, copying papers, adhesives, sealants)
- Biological pollutants
- Viruses and bacteria (can be pathogenic to humans. Those which thrive in air-conditioning systems can release endotoxins)
- Fungi and moulds (these produce spores that can be deposited inside air conditioners and generate mycotoxins with serious health effects)
- Pollen (fall from deposits on clothes or the hair of animals, and provoke allergic reactions)
- Mites (organisms that settle in mattresses, sheets, dirty carpets, and produce allergens that are dispersed in the air with dust)
