According to a U.S. EPA advisory, “Long-term health effects from repeated exposure to polluted air include some respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer.”

The advisory is found on the EPA website at www.epa.gov/iaq and adds, “It is prudent to improve indoor air quality in your home, even when symptoms are not yet noticeable” (emphasis added).

According to a 1995 report by the EPA, indoor air pollution is the number one environmental health issue in America. EPA studies show the level of INDOOR air pollution is often FIVE times higher than outdoor air, and can be up to 100 TIMES higher!
Preventive Medicine recently reported that EPA studies “indicate that the general population is exposed to high levels of carcinogenic substances in their homes. The highest personal exposures were 5 to 70 times the highest outdoor levels,” with some toxin levels inside the majority of homes “greater than levels that qualify as a chemical waste site for Superfund
status” (emphasis added).

According to a Business Week report (6/5/2000), U.S. companies can save $58 billion annually by preventing sick building illnesses, and an additional $200 billion in worker performance improvements by improving indoor air in offices. The cost SAVINGS in workers’ health and productivity is 8 to 17 TIMES the cost of making indoor air improvements.

The American Journal of Public Health (April 2001) reported a German study of 2,600 adults that found that blood pressure rose in tandem with air pollution levels. Scientes have discovered that pollution may cause changes in the part of the nervous system that controls blood pressure, which could increase the likelihood of heart attacks and other cardiac problems.

MOLD is becoming more problematic in new and old homes alike, especially after the energy crisis has encouraged homeowners to maintain nearly air-tight homes.

“I’ve gone into houses that are so neat and clean there’s not even a teacup out of place. Then I go into the basement and find mold growing on the legs of the furniture,” says Jeffrey C. May, home inspector and author of “My House is Killing Me: The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma” (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2001) and who was quoted in an article in the New York Times (11/10/2001) entitled, “Mold: An Insidious Danger in Homes”.

Molds in large quantities can cause severe allergic symptoms, and high-risk individuals include infants, children, the elderly and immune compromised individuals. Poisonous, airborne mycotoxins are found in both living and dead mold spores. And you cannot always see mold — it can lurk behind wallpaper, under carpets, inside walls, and even inside heating and air conditioning ducts and systems, according to May.

Nearly 50% of homes contain problem molds, according to a report in USA Weekend, Dec. 3-5, 1999. Nearly 100% of all chronic sinus infections afflicting 37 million Americans are linked to molds, according to a 1999 Mayo Clinic Study. In a 1994 Harvard University School of Public Health study of 10,000 homes in the U.S. and Canada, 50% had “conditions of water damage and mold associated with a 50% to 100% INCREASE in respiratory symptoms.”

Available air cleaning technologies can be divided into three broad categories:

Passive Filtration (mechanical)

* These include pleated paper-fiber filters in sealed housing. Example: HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Arrestor).
* Efficiency depends on system design; there’s by-pass potential in poorly sealed units.
* High pressure is required to push air through filter, requiring more electricity with a higher noise level.
* HEPA alone has no effect on odors or gases.
* Filter changes and electricity consumption makes these filters more costly to operate and maintain.

Ultraviolet Light:

* Outside air is purified naturally with UV light from sun; UV-C spectrum of UV light is effective against pathogens.
* UV light can be used in air purifiers, but indoor air must come in sustained, close contact (proximity and time factors) with the UV light bulb to be effective.
* Units that simply blow air past UV light may not be adequate.
- Ozone Generators:
* Ozone can be produced by corona discharge or by UV-ozone bulb.
* Poorly designed units may emit more than the 0.05 ppm limit set by the FDA for areas inhabited by people and pets.
* Corona discharge units produce nitrogen oxides which are potent pollutants.

Did you know:

* Each cubic foot of indoor air contains as much as 20 million tiny airborne particulates.
* A majority of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems do NOT filter out 98.5% of smaller airborne particulates and pollutants that can get into your lungs! The new Shaklee AIRSOURCE air purification system is unlike any other preceding air purifier, using advanced new, patent-pending technology to effectively clean and disinfect the air:
* Reduces indoor air pollutants with innovative photo-ionization and electron generator technologies
- Disinfects air: Antibacterial and antimicrobial
- Reduces odors, airborne bacteria, particulates
- Does NOT create unsafe levels of ozone
- Considerably quieter operation than most other air purifiers on the market
- Energy-efficient: One unit uses only 20 watts of electricity
- Efficient, cost-saving: One unit covers up to 3,000 square feet; suitable for entire home or small to