Popular Search Terms:
  • Fellowes Shredder
  • Volo Wall System
  • Bulldog Shredder
  • LX Series

Common types of indoor air pollution

The common causes of indoor air pollution

Why is indoor air pollution a problem?

The benefits of improving indoor air quality

Where to start?

Most of us know we can easily pass viruses to each other in any indoor space that’s not well ventilated. But we’re not necessarily aware of other particles that we risk breathing in wherever indoor air is not properly ventilated.

Particles like these are measured in microns. Most people can see particles that are 50-60 microns or more¹, and the average human hair is between 70-100 microns in diameter.

A particle smaller than 10 microns is known as PM10 and includes many of the pollutants in our indoor environments, while PM2.5 is even finer particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less, including smoke, dust and engine fumes.

Because of their tiny size, particles under 10 microns can be inhaled and deposited in our airways and lungs, presenting a significant risk to our health. These tiny particles can float in the air for many minutes or even hours, enough time for anyone to breathe them in.

The common causes of indoor air pollution include:

Virus particles

Flu, measles, chickenpox and legionella are just a few infectious illnesses that we pass to each other through the air.

We transmit these tiny virus particles by coughing, sneezing and even talking, and depending on how hard we cough or sneeze, they can travel for more than six feet. They then build up in areas with little or no ventilation - and linger in that air for hours.

Researchers have found that virus particles can be as small as 0.1 microns², including covid particles, which can range from 0.1 to 0.5 microns³. One study found that flu virus particles ranged from 0.35 to 9 microns, and that these can remain airborne for dozens of minutes to several hours.

Although this ‘viral environment’ creates a problem all year round, it becomes even more severe in the winter months when we’re less likely to open windows and spend more time indoors. In early 2024, many European countries faced a ‘tridemic’ of flu, covid and other respiratory illnesses⁴ that threatened to overwhelm health services.

Making sure your organisation is set up to deliver clean indoor air could have a significant impact on the health of your business.

Asthmagens and allergens

If you’re one of the six percent of people across Europe with asthma⁵, then you’ll probably know that the quality of air affects your chest and lungs.

In workplaces many of us can be exposed to substances, known as asthmagens⁶, that make our airways more sensitive.

These substances can make asthma symptoms worse or even cause people to develop asthma. They include wood dust, metal working fluids and cleaning products.

Many irritants, including asthmagens, and particles of dust and dirt, average around 2.5 microns, and can enter human lungs.

Pollen, which is an allergen and a common cause of hay fever, ranges between 15 and 200 microns⁷. This means that while it is still an irritant, it’s large enough to be trapped in the nose and throat before it reaches our lungs.

Mould

Mould is another serious indoor air pollutant that can cause many health problems, including respiratory infections, asthma, and allergies.

If there is inadequate ventilation, and an environment is damp or humid, mould can grow, and it releases disease-causing toxins⁸.

These mould spores, which are most often between two and 20 microns in size, can cause sneezing, watery eyes, coughing and dizziness, and they can also trigger asthma or make it worse.

This is a particular issue for anyone with a weakened immune system, asthma or allergies. Children, elderly people and people with breathing problems and lung diseases are particularly susceptible to mould spores indoors.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Spraying a cleaning cloth

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that easily become gases at room temperature.

In a workplace, a common cause of VOCs is cleaning products and building materials⁹. These products release toxic fumes, which can be harmful when inhaled. They are linked to respiratory infections, asthma, cancer, as well as damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system.

Concentrations of VOCs have been shown to be ten times higher indoors compared to outdoors, and in a busy workplace, with hundreds of colleagues, customers and visitors mixing, the risks to health are high.

Why is indoor air pollution a problem?

Poor indoor air quality contributes to 6 million sick days each year Poor indoor air quality contributes to 6 million sick days each year

Indoor air pollution continues to be a threat to our health because most of us spend up to 90% of our time indoors, at home, school, work and in leisure environments.

Around 2,000,000 healthy life years are lost every year due to exposure to poor indoor air quality¹⁰ and in EU countries, it’s believed that at least 99,000 deaths per year may be attributed to indoor air pollution.

Air pollution is also hitting employers’ pockets. It is responsible for six million sick days each year and makes us feel less well, and less productive, in the workplace.

Employers are responsible for the health and wellbeing of their people and are required to do risk assessments to manage this.

If employees are worried about their health at work and believe they are not being listened to, they can report the problem to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The benefits of improving indoor air quality

Your business will benefit by tackling indoor air pollution.

Calculations show that three million working days that are currently lost to illness could be regained if air pollution levels were reduced to recommended levels¹¹.

Workplace satisfaction and employee enjoyment of the environment are other big considerations. The more comfortable the working environment, and the healthier the air, the more that complaints about odours, mould and other issues will reduce.

It’s clear that by improving indoor air quality employers will benefit from a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.

Where to start?

To understand the different types of indoor air pollution affecting your business, and how to address this, you need to monitor your indoor air quality (IAQ).


Find out more about monitoring your workplace indoor air quality at:

INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING

Or to discuss a FREE Indoor Air Quality Assessment with one of our IAQ experts, visit:

INDOOR AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Sources

1 What Is a Micron? Definition and Examples (sciencenotes.org)
2 Minimum Sizes of Respiratory Particles Carrying SARS-CoV-2 and the Possibility of Aerosol Generation - PMC (nih.gov)
3 How coronavirus compares to the world's smallest particles | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
4 Europe battles ‘tridemic’ of respiratory illnesses (ft.com)
5 Asthma prevalence in the EU 2019 | Statista
6 https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/living-with/indoor-air-pollution/work
7 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/pollen
8 https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-pollutants-and-sources
9 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/what-causes-indoor-air-pollution-sources-how-to-reduce
10 https://www.actionforcleanair.org.uk/business/clean-air-workplaces
11 https://www.cbi.org.uk/articles/air-quality-in-the-workplace/

Operating as a fourth-generation family business establishes our cultural foundation. It’s a shared ideal among our team to align under our commitment to integrity and solidifying the relationships that matter most.

Our Family Heritage

Fellowes GIVE is a purpose-led corporate initiative in which we partner with organisations to help meet some of the most fundamental human needs in our local communities.

Our Give Initiatives

How we shape the world of work today has a profound impact on the world of tomorrow. By building sustainability and stewardship into every level of our organisation, we can protect the worklife potential of our children and grandchildren.

Our Sustainability Efforts